Stubbornly high food inflation has three features that should be taken into account while planning a long-term strategy to tame it. First, it is driven largely by high prices of nutritionally superior and protein-rich foods, notably vegetables, fruit, milk, eggs, meat and fish. Second, the demand for these foods is growing relatively faster in urban areas. And third, almost all these foods can be produced within or around the cities, and delivered to consumers at a reasonable cost to ease supply crunch and dent price spike.
This mode of agriculture - producing farm products within and on the peripheries of cities - is referred in farm circles as peri-urban agriculture and is fast gaining ground the world over. Some countries have made it a normal part of town planning thanks to its myriad advantages, ranging from boosting supplies of farm fresh products to conferring environmental benefits. India, too, can gain by doing so under its long-term policy to restrain the spike in food prices.
Some existing systems of urban farming, such as kitchen and roof-top gardening and backyard animal husbandry, are also part of urban and peri-urban agriculture, and need to be encouraged. However, their scope is limited, especially in densely populated cities where habitation is growing vertically and balconies are the only open spaces available to residents. However, areas around urban centres can easily be earmarked for peri-urban agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry.
Delhi, for instance, has a large number of villages with designated agricultural lands. Why should these lands be used for growing low-value cereals that can be produced elsewhere as well? The same can be said about the entire National Capital Region, which is dotted with cities and towns along with their sprawling stretches of arable land. Progressive farmers of this region can gainfully switch over to producing high-value horticultural or protein foods, including livestock products, for supply to lucrative urban markets. The case of most other mega, medium and small towns is not too different.
A policy paper (number 67) on urban and peri-urban agriculture, brought out recently by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has strongly recommended that peri-urban farming should become an integral part of urban land-use planning as well as national food production and distribution system. Currently, neither urban nor rural planning seeks to capitalise on the huge potential of peri-urban agriculture. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, too, has recognised the role of peri-urban agriculture in feeding and greening the cities. It has also advised member nations to consider it as an essential part of farming systems.
A formal beginning in promoting urban and peri-urban farming was made in 2011 with the launch of a scheme called "vegetable initiative in urban clusters". It aimed at increasing the supply of good-quality fresh and processed vegetables to cities at reasonable rates by reducing the number of intermediaries between producers and consumers. Given the satisfactory outcome of the scheme in areas where it has been implemented, its extension to more cities seems advisable.
Certain precautions are, however, necessary in peri-urban farming. The foremost among these is to address the possible health and safety issues concerning peri-urban agriculture. Farmers tend to use readily accessible sewage water, which, in most cases, contains hazardous pollutants. Mumbai can be a typical case in point where health considerations in peri-urban farming have received scant attention. Nearly 20 per cent of the leafy vegetables hitting the city's markets are grown in areas along railway tracks with untreated sewage that carries a sizable load of harmful fecal bacteria and pollutants such as nitrates. Vegetables grown on these tracks are, therefore, usually contaminated and can be risky for consumption. Civic authorities, thus, need to suitably treat sewer water before allowing it to be used in peri-urban agriculture.
Besides, steps are needed to ensure adequate availability of seeds, seedlings and other inputs, including manure and fertiliser, in urban belts to enable people to take to this mode of farming. Also needed are certain supportive services for providing technical know-how and training for producing high-priced items such as mushroom or for growing vegetables and other crops in greenhouses during the off season when prices are high.
surinder.sud@gmail.com
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