 "Mixed harvest")
Seldom do ordinary folks receive an invitation from the President. So, when Gambhir Singh, a farmer in Panara village of Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh, got a letter from the highest office in the country in January inviting him for an audience with President Pranab Mukherjee, his reaction was one of disbelief. Somebody had played a prank on him, Singh was convinced, though the letter didn't look forged. A whole platoon of Madhya Pradesh officials and a cabinet minister descended on Panara to tell him that the letter was genuine. Singh was not convinced even when he boarded the train for Delhi. The experience at Rashtrapati Bhawan was surreal. He shared the podium with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and received the Krishi Karman award from Mukherjee. When he returned to his village, Singh was richer by Rs 1 lakh.
Singh was felicitated because he had attained record wheat productivity of 74 quintals per hectare in his 22-acre (8.8 hactare) farm. It is on the back of men like Singh that Chouhan talks of transforming the face of agriculture in the state. The farm sector grew 14.28 per cent in 2012-13 (projected) and 18.1 per cent in 2011-12. This is a huge improvement over previous years (see chart) and has helped Madhya Pradesh ramp up the growth in its gross domestic product from 4.69 per cent in 2007-08 to 11.81 per cent in 2011-12. The state, Chouhan claims with pride, has become second in the production of wheat in the country after Punjab. It is on the basis of this growth that Chouhan's friends want to pitch him as a candidate for the prime minister's post if the National Democratic Alliance comes to power in the 2014 elections - a direct rival to Narendra Modi of Gujarat.
At an event organised by Business Standard Hindi in Bhopal last year, Chouhan had recounted the incident that galvanised him into action: he had gone to Delhi to plead with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia for additional food for the state; but Ahluwalia told him that he should first put his house in order. Chouhan said that he came back empty handed, and a tad hurt also, but was determined to improve the farm yield of his state. Singh, the farmer from Panara, recognises the contribution made by officials of the state government, especially those from the agriculture department, in improving his yield. "Local agriculture and revenue officials encouraged me to use modern farm implement, put more attention on timely irrigation and adequate use of fertilisers," he says.
How exactly did Chouhan go about it? His first step was to improve irrigation. He introduced various schemes like Kapildhara and Balram Talab Yojana under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. A number of farmers, under the scheme, dug wells in their fields. The thrust was to reduce groundwater use and promote the use of surface water. Major changes took place in 2011-2012 when irrigation projects like Kolar, Kunwar Chain Sagar, Bariyarpur, Rani Avantibai Lodhi Sagar, Banganga, Bagh, Rajghat and Bansagar were taken up for 756,000 hectares of farmland. In addition, nearly 400 bodies of farmers were formed to utilise 2,062 various large, medium and small irrigation projects. Three thousand water bodies were constructed to insulate farmers from drought-like conditions. The state government pumped Rs 222.11 crore in the programme. The year 2010-11 had added 1.2 million hectare to the irrigation potential of Madhya Pradesh; the number climbed to 1.89 million in 2011-12. (THAN AND NOW)
A seed replacement programme was launched through formation of seed producer companies of small and marginal farmers under various schemes like the World-Bank-funded District Poverty Initiative Project. These farmers were given foundation and breeder seeds to multiply. These companies, thus, produced certified seeds to channelise them to farmers. In 2010, the state started advanced storage of fertilisers to ensure timely supply to farmers. As a result, consumption of fertilisers has improved from 63.44 kg per hectare in to 84 kg per hectare in 2011-12. In addition, short-term loans on soft terms were liberally granted to farmers. The disbursal went up from Rs 1,237 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 7,447 crore in 2011-12. More importantly as many as 7.14 million were issued kisan credit cards by 2011-12.
According to the third and final forecast released by the state's Commissioner of Land Records, rabi production in 2012-13 is likely to touch 2,098 kg per hectare (a total area of 104.32 lakh hectare) against 1,838 kg per hectare in 2011-12. The production, thus, is estimated at 212.62 lakh metric tonne against 176.87 lakh metric tonne the previous year.
Similarly, kharif production is estimated at 1,383 kg per hectare during 2012-13 against 1,096 kg per hectare during 2011-12 and it is expected to go up to 164.06 lakh metric tonne against 127.64 lakh metric tonne. Even soyabean production is expected to be a never-before record of 82 lakh tonne.
If one analyse the data of two years - 2010-11 and 2011-12 - the crop acreage stood at 209.44 lakh hectare and 215 lakh hectare, respectively, while production increased from 254 lakh metric tonne to 304 lakh metric tonne with a respective per hectare production of 1,213 kg and 1,436 kg.
"Unfortunately, we witnessed frost and unseasonal rains that have affected nearly 3.5 lakh hectare, otherwise we would have surpassed last year's figure," says R K Swai, principal secretary, agriculture department.
But there is another side to the picture. Take the example of Gulab Singh, a farmer of the nearby Barakhad village. He owns less than two acres of land and the inclement weather has added to his woes. "The unseasonal rain has destroyed my crop. The wheat has lost its lustre and they (government staff at procurement centre) are refusing to buy it. What should I do?" he asks. Other farmers in the 25-odd villages too have similar stories to narrate.
Data published in state Agri Economic Survey 2013, tabled for the first time in the state assembly during the recent Budget session, reveals that the state has shown uneven growth rate in agriculture (see graph). The survey also reveals that despite a huge gap in growth rate between two years, the contribution of farm sector's gross domestic production remained almost stagnant at 20.3 per cent and 21.8 per cent.
The authorities aren't worried. "The government has not only turned aggressive on agri-extension schemes, it has also added huge area under irrigation - it has gone up to 24 lakh hectare from a mere 7.5 lakh hectare a few years ago," says D N Sharma, director of state agriculture department. "Our farm subsidies have reached 75 per cent in many cases. Besides, intensive efforts have been made to create better rural roads." He lists cheaper farm loan, regular power supply and good return on yield as some of the steps. "Farmers," he says, "can reach the government through SMS, call centres and other means of communication."
Plans are also afoot to invite private players through non-government organisations. "This would attract more and more investors in the state in the farm sector. We plan to invest at least Rs 1,000 crore in the 12th plan on this initiative," says Swai. "Yet there are challenges like improving pulse production and seed replacement rates, arranging for soft credit in time for farmers and ironing out problems in crop insurance schemes."
While the government is pleased with its efforts, it has its share of sceptics. Indore-based Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA), an agency that independently surveys crops, questions the government's soyabean production data. "SOPA's estimate for soyabean is 65 lakh tonne this year. This data (government's estimate of 82 lakh tonne) is shocking and unbelievable," says SOPA spokesperson Rajesh Agrawal.
G S Kaushal, ex-director of the agriculture department and one of the members of a committee appointed by MP Human Rights Commission to investigate farmers' suicides, adds, "Agriculture data is collected by low rank revenue staff like patwaris. They do not visit the fields and fill up readymade performa on guesswork and estimates. I had a bitter experience during my stewardship in the agriculture department. Had the growth rate touched such highs, then why are suicide cases among farmers on the rise? Madhya Pradesh stands fourth in the number of farmers' suicides?" He adds, "If you go by their (agriculture department's) statements, then the wheat production target is stagnant at 160 lakh metric tonne for the last several years. If the growth rate of 18 per cent or more is correct, then why have they failed to maintain it now? During the last 10 years, I have observed that 10,000 farmers have committed suicide and the number is rising since farm input cost is more than what farmers' yield fetches them."
Kaushal has a theory. "Excessive use of fertilisers is the main reason why productivity has shot up," he says. "Are they going to turn Madhya Pradesh into a cancer-state with the overuse of fertilisers? I recently observed that in Vidisha district, of the 45 persons attending a cancer awareness camp, 14 were detected with the disease. Isn't this happening in Punjab and Haryana? I have alerted and advised the government on various occasions to discourage the excessive use of fertilisers," he says.
Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister Ramkrishna Kusmaria counters: "Of all Indian states, we are on top in bringing huge areas under organic farming. We are the first to refuse transgenic trials and seeds. We might have crossed 20 per cent growth this year had inclement weather not ruined crops in different pockets of the state." The government, he adds, is "now working on the second phase of reforms - to provide farmers a market linkage."
Gambhir Singh, meanwhile, is back home. The reward money has almost run out. His photographs still adorn the laudatory posters of the government across the state. Like the other farmers, he's not sure how long the good run will last.
Singh was felicitated because he had attained record wheat productivity of 74 quintals per hectare in his 22-acre (8.8 hactare) farm. It is on the back of men like Singh that Chouhan talks of transforming the face of agriculture in the state. The farm sector grew 14.28 per cent in 2012-13 (projected) and 18.1 per cent in 2011-12. This is a huge improvement over previous years (see chart) and has helped Madhya Pradesh ramp up the growth in its gross domestic product from 4.69 per cent in 2007-08 to 11.81 per cent in 2011-12. The state, Chouhan claims with pride, has become second in the production of wheat in the country after Punjab. It is on the basis of this growth that Chouhan's friends want to pitch him as a candidate for the prime minister's post if the National Democratic Alliance comes to power in the 2014 elections - a direct rival to Narendra Modi of Gujarat.
At an event organised by Business Standard Hindi in Bhopal last year, Chouhan had recounted the incident that galvanised him into action: he had gone to Delhi to plead with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia for additional food for the state; but Ahluwalia told him that he should first put his house in order. Chouhan said that he came back empty handed, and a tad hurt also, but was determined to improve the farm yield of his state. Singh, the farmer from Panara, recognises the contribution made by officials of the state government, especially those from the agriculture department, in improving his yield. "Local agriculture and revenue officials encouraged me to use modern farm implement, put more attention on timely irrigation and adequate use of fertilisers," he says.
* * *
How exactly did Chouhan go about it? His first step was to improve irrigation. He introduced various schemes like Kapildhara and Balram Talab Yojana under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. A number of farmers, under the scheme, dug wells in their fields. The thrust was to reduce groundwater use and promote the use of surface water. Major changes took place in 2011-2012 when irrigation projects like Kolar, Kunwar Chain Sagar, Bariyarpur, Rani Avantibai Lodhi Sagar, Banganga, Bagh, Rajghat and Bansagar were taken up for 756,000 hectares of farmland. In addition, nearly 400 bodies of farmers were formed to utilise 2,062 various large, medium and small irrigation projects. Three thousand water bodies were constructed to insulate farmers from drought-like conditions. The state government pumped Rs 222.11 crore in the programme. The year 2010-11 had added 1.2 million hectare to the irrigation potential of Madhya Pradesh; the number climbed to 1.89 million in 2011-12. (THAN AND NOW)
A seed replacement programme was launched through formation of seed producer companies of small and marginal farmers under various schemes like the World-Bank-funded District Poverty Initiative Project. These farmers were given foundation and breeder seeds to multiply. These companies, thus, produced certified seeds to channelise them to farmers. In 2010, the state started advanced storage of fertilisers to ensure timely supply to farmers. As a result, consumption of fertilisers has improved from 63.44 kg per hectare in to 84 kg per hectare in 2011-12. In addition, short-term loans on soft terms were liberally granted to farmers. The disbursal went up from Rs 1,237 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 7,447 crore in 2011-12. More importantly as many as 7.14 million were issued kisan credit cards by 2011-12.
According to the third and final forecast released by the state's Commissioner of Land Records, rabi production in 2012-13 is likely to touch 2,098 kg per hectare (a total area of 104.32 lakh hectare) against 1,838 kg per hectare in 2011-12. The production, thus, is estimated at 212.62 lakh metric tonne against 176.87 lakh metric tonne the previous year.
Similarly, kharif production is estimated at 1,383 kg per hectare during 2012-13 against 1,096 kg per hectare during 2011-12 and it is expected to go up to 164.06 lakh metric tonne against 127.64 lakh metric tonne. Even soyabean production is expected to be a never-before record of 82 lakh tonne.
If one analyse the data of two years - 2010-11 and 2011-12 - the crop acreage stood at 209.44 lakh hectare and 215 lakh hectare, respectively, while production increased from 254 lakh metric tonne to 304 lakh metric tonne with a respective per hectare production of 1,213 kg and 1,436 kg.
"Unfortunately, we witnessed frost and unseasonal rains that have affected nearly 3.5 lakh hectare, otherwise we would have surpassed last year's figure," says R K Swai, principal secretary, agriculture department.
* * *
But there is another side to the picture. Take the example of Gulab Singh, a farmer of the nearby Barakhad village. He owns less than two acres of land and the inclement weather has added to his woes. "The unseasonal rain has destroyed my crop. The wheat has lost its lustre and they (government staff at procurement centre) are refusing to buy it. What should I do?" he asks. Other farmers in the 25-odd villages too have similar stories to narrate.
Data published in state Agri Economic Survey 2013, tabled for the first time in the state assembly during the recent Budget session, reveals that the state has shown uneven growth rate in agriculture (see graph). The survey also reveals that despite a huge gap in growth rate between two years, the contribution of farm sector's gross domestic production remained almost stagnant at 20.3 per cent and 21.8 per cent.
The authorities aren't worried. "The government has not only turned aggressive on agri-extension schemes, it has also added huge area under irrigation - it has gone up to 24 lakh hectare from a mere 7.5 lakh hectare a few years ago," says D N Sharma, director of state agriculture department. "Our farm subsidies have reached 75 per cent in many cases. Besides, intensive efforts have been made to create better rural roads." He lists cheaper farm loan, regular power supply and good return on yield as some of the steps. "Farmers," he says, "can reach the government through SMS, call centres and other means of communication."
Plans are also afoot to invite private players through non-government organisations. "This would attract more and more investors in the state in the farm sector. We plan to invest at least Rs 1,000 crore in the 12th plan on this initiative," says Swai. "Yet there are challenges like improving pulse production and seed replacement rates, arranging for soft credit in time for farmers and ironing out problems in crop insurance schemes."
While the government is pleased with its efforts, it has its share of sceptics. Indore-based Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA), an agency that independently surveys crops, questions the government's soyabean production data. "SOPA's estimate for soyabean is 65 lakh tonne this year. This data (government's estimate of 82 lakh tonne) is shocking and unbelievable," says SOPA spokesperson Rajesh Agrawal.
G S Kaushal, ex-director of the agriculture department and one of the members of a committee appointed by MP Human Rights Commission to investigate farmers' suicides, adds, "Agriculture data is collected by low rank revenue staff like patwaris. They do not visit the fields and fill up readymade performa on guesswork and estimates. I had a bitter experience during my stewardship in the agriculture department. Had the growth rate touched such highs, then why are suicide cases among farmers on the rise? Madhya Pradesh stands fourth in the number of farmers' suicides?" He adds, "If you go by their (agriculture department's) statements, then the wheat production target is stagnant at 160 lakh metric tonne for the last several years. If the growth rate of 18 per cent or more is correct, then why have they failed to maintain it now? During the last 10 years, I have observed that 10,000 farmers have committed suicide and the number is rising since farm input cost is more than what farmers' yield fetches them."
Kaushal has a theory. "Excessive use of fertilisers is the main reason why productivity has shot up," he says. "Are they going to turn Madhya Pradesh into a cancer-state with the overuse of fertilisers? I recently observed that in Vidisha district, of the 45 persons attending a cancer awareness camp, 14 were detected with the disease. Isn't this happening in Punjab and Haryana? I have alerted and advised the government on various occasions to discourage the excessive use of fertilisers," he says.
Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister Ramkrishna Kusmaria counters: "Of all Indian states, we are on top in bringing huge areas under organic farming. We are the first to refuse transgenic trials and seeds. We might have crossed 20 per cent growth this year had inclement weather not ruined crops in different pockets of the state." The government, he adds, is "now working on the second phase of reforms - to provide farmers a market linkage."
Gambhir Singh, meanwhile, is back home. The reward money has almost run out. His photographs still adorn the laudatory posters of the government across the state. Like the other farmers, he's not sure how long the good run will last.