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Subject: Agriculture

  • [pib] Multi-Layer Farming

    ICAR is undertaking location-specific multi-layer farming involving crops of different heights.

    Multi-Layer Farming

    • Multi-layer farming means growing and cultivating compatible plants of different heights on the same field and at the same time.
    • It is generally practised in orchards and plantation crops for the utmost use of solar energy even under high planting density.
    • It is mostly cash crop-based and it includes a combination of vegetables and fruits that can be grown together.

    How it is done?

    • In Multi-layer farming, the crops are grown at different heights on the same land.
    • This farming cannot be done in open fields as shade is required. It is one type of intercropping.
    • Growing plants of different height in the same field at the same time is termed Multi-layer cropping. It is generally practised in orchards and plantation crops for maximum use of solar energy even under high planting density. It is the practice of several crops of varying heights, rooting pattern and duration to cultivate together.
    • The objective is to utilize vertical space more effectively.
    • In this, the tallest components have foliage of strong light and high evaporative demand and shorter components with foliage requiring shade and high humidity.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.What are the advantages of fertigation in agriculture?

    1.Controlling the alkalinity of irrigation water is possible.
    2. Efficient application of Rock Phosphate and all other phosphatic fertilizers is possible.
    3. Increased availability of nutrients to plants is possible.
    4. Reduction in the leaching of chemical nutrients is possible.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

    (b) 1,2 and 4 only

    (c) 1,3 and 4 only

    (d) 2, 3 and 4 only

    Benefits offered

    • Prevent water evaporation from the soil; as an effect, 70% of water is saved.
    • The income per unit area increases substantially
    • Minimize risks of crop yield loss and this system enables a steady supply of farm products the whole round the year.
    • Reduces the impacts of hazards such as high-intensity rainfall, soil erosion, and landslides.
    • Improve the soil characteristics and adds organic matter to the soil.
    • Effective utilization of leaching materials and helps in effective weed control.
    • Provide micro-climate conditions that advantage crops underneath.

    What else?

    : Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA)

    • In addition to this, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Support to State Extension Programs for Extension Reforms” popularly known as ATMA Scheme is already under implementation since 2005.
    • Presently, the Scheme is being implemented in 691 districts of 28 states & 5 UTs in the country.
    • The scheme promotes a decentralized farmer-friendly extension system in the country.
    • Under the scheme, grants-in-aid are released to the State with an objective to make available the latest agricultural technologies and good agricultural practices in different thematic areas of agriculture and allied areas to farmers including training for multi-layer farming.
    • Training of farmers is one of the eligible activities of the ATMA Scheme.

  • A high growth plan for Indian agriculture

    The article deals with the issue discussed in the recently published book ‘Revitalising Indian Agriculture and Boosting Farmer Incomes’. It suggests strategies for six Indian states and underlies the importance of the diversified approach to different states.

    Why agriculture is central to Indian economy

    • Agriculture engages close to 42 per cent of the country’s workforce.
    • With its close interlinkage with poverty, it is best positioned to alleviate problems of malnutrition and hunger.
    • In addition, agriculture supplies inputs for other industries.
    • It is critical for triggering a multiplier effect in the economy, where a financially empowered farming community triggers a demand-led growth, particularly for manufactured products and services.
    • There is no doubt that the sector needs to grow not just for those employed in it but also for the economy as a whole.

    Growth strategy needs to take into account diversity across the states

    • The growth process of agriculture should not just more efficient, and inclusive of India’s small and marginal but is also sustainable — both financially and environmentally.
    • But then comes the question of the diversity in Indian states, where they differ as much on factors of production like land and water as they do on access to market opportunities.
    • They even differ in their vulnerabilities to climate and weather changes.
    • This begs the question, should the roadmap not be customised to the needs, vulnerabilities, and resource-base of each state?

    Strategies for six states

    • The recently published book “Revitalising Indian Agriculture and Boosting Farmer Incomes” proposes strategies for six Indian states: Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
    • In the six states, three factors explained most of the agrarian growth.
    • One, access to infrastructure — mainly irrigation and roads.
    • Two, diversification to high value agricultural products like fruits, vegetables, and allied activities like dairy and poultry.
    • Three, price incentives or favourable terms of trade.
    • Bringing markets closer to farmers and increasing the efficiency of the value-chains emerged as an important factor that explained agricultural growth in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Bihar.
    • By ensuring timely access to sufficient irrigation, states like Gujarat and Punjab could explain their high performances.
    • Role of uninterrupted quality power too emerged important in this.
    • Diversification of the agricultural basket of a state was found to strengthen a state’s agri-performance.

    Relation between growth rate and policy reforms

    • The requirement to undertake policy reforms, mainly related to marketing, emerged as a key driver and predictor of growth.
    • The NITI Aayog’s Agricultural Markets and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index — AMFFRI evaluates Indian states on the extent to which each of them undertook required agri-reforms.
    • A low AMFFRI rank implies the state is undertaking desired reforms.
    • It was found that states that undertook reforms, and were thus ranked low on AMFFRI, witnessed a relatively faster agri-GDP growth rate.
    • States which did not undertake required reforms, and thus were ranked high on the AMFFRI witnessed relatively lower agri-GDP growth rates.
    • There were some exceptions: Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra.
    • These states undertook reforms, and thus had low AMFFRI ranks, but they witnessed a low agri-GDP growth rate.
    • This is likely to be attributed to the delayed effect of reforms on the agri-performance.

    Way forward

    • As a part of the roadmap, the book makes a case for states to move beyond production-centric approach to a value-chain approach with FPOs at its centre.
    • It highlights importance and requirement of growing public investments in basic infrastructure.
    • And finally, in the longer run, rationalising subsidies via direct income transfer is suggested.

    Consider the question “Despite its comparatively lower contribution to the GDP, agriculture plays a central role in the Indian economy. What are the factors that make agriculture central to the economy? Suggest the pathway to fuel the growth of the sector.”

    Conclusion

    If the government follows this path of investing in infrastructure, ensuring a more diversified agriculture and linking small-holder FPOs with markets, it will pay rich dividends not only to the farming community but also the entire economy.

  • Farmers produce organisations (FPOs)

    The article analyses the role farmers produce organisations (FPOs) can play in improving the bargaining power of the small farmers and also suggest ways to improve FPOs.

    Declining size of farm holdings

    • The average farm size in India declined from 2.3 hectares (ha) in 1970-71 to 1.08 ha in 2015-16.
    • The share of small and marginal farmers increased from 70 per cent in 1980-81 to 86 per cent in 2015-16.
    • At the state level, the average size of farm holdings in 2015-16 ranged from 3.62 ha in Punjab, 2.73 in Rajasthan and 2.22 in Haryana to 0.75 in Tamil Nadu, 0.73 in Uttar Pradesh, 0.39 in Bihar and 0.18 in Kerala.

    Encouraging FPOs to help small farmers

    • Small farmers face several challenges in getting access to inputs and marketing facilities.
    • In the last decade, the Centre has encouraged farmer producer organisations (FPOs) to help farmers.
    • Since 2011, it has intensively promoted FPOs under the Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), NABARD, state governments and NGOs.
    • The membership of an FPO ranges from 100 to over 1,000 farmers.
    • The ongoing support for FPOs is mainly in the following two forms:
    • 1) A grant of matching equity (cash infusion of up to Rs 10 lakh) to registered FPOs.
    • 2) A credit guarantee cover to lending institutions (maximum guarantee cover 85 per cent of loans not exceeding Rs 100 lakh).
    • The budget for 2018-19 announced supporting measures for FPOs including a five-year tax exemption.
    • The budget for 2019-20 talked of setting up 10,000 more FPOs in the next five years.
    • Some studies show that we need more than one lakh FPOs for a large country like India while we currently have less than 10,000.

    Looking at the performance of FPOs in last decade

    • Experience shows a mixed performance of FPOs in the last decade.
    • Some estimates show that 30 per cent of these are operating viably while 20 per cent are struggling to survive.
    • The remaining 50 per cent are still in the initial phase of mobilisation and business planning.
    • NABARD has undertaken a field study on the benefits of FPOs in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
    • The study shows that in nascent FPOs, the proportion of farmer members contributing to FPOs activities is 20-30 per cent while for the emerging and mature FPOs it is higher at about 40-50 per cent.
    • A study by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has undertaken a comparative study of FPOs in Maharashtra and Bihar.
    • In Maharashtra, some of the FPOs have organically evolved (OFPOs) when farmers have taken the lead to adopt market-oriented practices, develop cost-effective solutions in production and marketing.
    • In the case of Bihar, almost all FPOs have been promoted (PFPOs).

    Challenges

    • Studies of NABARD show that there are some important challenges for building sustainable FPOs.
    • Some of these are lack of technical skills, inadequate professional management, weak financials, inadequate access to credit, lack of risk mitigation mechanism and inadequate access to market and infrastructure.

    Focusing on 3 issues for the improvement of FPOs

    1) Getting credit

    • Issues such as working capital, marketing, infrastructure have to be addressed while scaling up FPOs.
    • Banks must have structured products for lending to FPOs.
    • These organisations lack professional management and, therefore, need capacity building.

    2) Linking with input companies

    • FPOs have to be linked with input companies, technical service providers, marketing/processing companies, retailers etc.
    • They need a lot of data on markets and prices and other information and competency in information technology.

    3) Augmenting the size of land

    • The FPOs can be used to augment the size of the land by focusing on grouping contiguous tracts of land as far as possible — they should not be a mere grouping of individuals.
    • Women farmers also can be encouraged to group cultivate for getting better returns.
    • FPOs can also encourage consolidation of holdings.

    Consider the question “How FPOs can play an important part in helping the small farmers by improving their bargaining power? What are the challenges faced by the FPOs?”

    Conclusion

    The FPOs have to be encouraged by policy makers and other stakeholders apart from scaling up throughout the country to benefit particularly the small holders.

  • Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2019,

    Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2019, published by the World Bank highlights the constraints faced by farmers. The article highlights the key findings of the publication.

    Constraints in carrying out farming activity

    • Debates around the farm laws have brought to light the issue of developing a sound regulatory framework to promote India’s agricultural growth.
    • The fact remains that farmers, mainly smallholders, across India continue to face various constraints.
    • They include constraints in accessing agricultural inputs, markets, finance, human resources, and information, which are critical for increasing farmers’ competitiveness.
    • A recent publication by the World Bank titled Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2019 measures the extent to which government regulatory systems in 101 countries worldwide make it easier for their farmers to operate agricultural activities.
    • These indicators measure the strength of a country’s agricultural regulatory environment pertaining to market integration and entrepreneurship in agriculture.
    • Among 101 countries covered, India ranked 49 on the EBA aggregate score.

    Key takeaways from EBA for India

    • India lags behind its close competitors in world agriculture, namely China, Brazil, and Russia.
    • Compared to these three countries, India has the weakest performance on five out of eight indicators.
    • They are registering fertilizer and machinery, securing water, sustaining livestock, and protecting plant health indicators.
    • Registering fertilizer and machinery indicators measure domestic laws and regulations that provide farmers access to fertilizer and agricultural machinery.
    • The regulatory processes that help farmers make appropriate decisions regarding the level of investment in irrigation are measured by securing water indicator.
    • Sustaining livestock indicator captures the quality of regulations affecting farmers’ access to livestock farming inputs.
    • The quality of legislation on phytosanitary standards (SPS) is captured through the protecting plant health indicator.

    Need to develop a suitable regulatory system

    • Governments can play a critical role in this regard by enacting laws and regulations.
    • Such laws and regulations can influence farmers’ access to agricultural inputs, cost of production, agricultural markets and value chains, the competitiveness of farmers, and private investment in the farming sector.
    • The regulatory system that governs irrigation management is essential for reducing the variability of farm output, prices, and incomes, minimising vulnerability to natural shocks, and incentivising the production of riskier and high returns crops.
    • Gaining access to the global agricultural value chain requires a sound regulatory framework on SPS.

    India’s strong areas

    • The comparative score of India on supplying seed, trading food, and accessing finance indicators is high.
    • Supplying seed indicator evaluates laws and regulations that ensure timely release of seed to farmers.
    • The trading food indicator assesses laws and regulations that facilitate exporting of farm products by farmers.
    • The regulatory framework on the use of warehouse receipts is assessed using accessing finance indicator.
    • A robust warehouse receipts system enables the farmers to obtain the credit needed to invest in agriculture.

    Opportunity for India

    • The future of world agriculture and food production is expected to increasingly depend on middle-income countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia.
    • To make the best use of this great opportunity, India needs to put in place an agricultural regulatory system that would make it easier for its farmers to conduct agricultural activities.

    Consider the question “Farmers, mainly smallholders, across India continue to face various constraints in carrying out farming activities. What are the implications of such constraints? What role government can play in removing these constraints?”

    Conclusion

    The EBA project results reveal that, compared to its close competitors, the strength of India’s agricultural regulatory environment is weak on the whole and with respect to key performance indicators.

  • [pib] Glycemic Index in Rice

    The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has provided some useful information about some indigenous varieties of rice.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:

    Q.With reference to the Genetically Modified mustard (GM mustard) developed in India, consider the following statements:

    1. GM mustard has the genes of a soil bacterium that give the plant the property of pest-resistance to a wide variety of pests.
    2. GM mustard has the genes that allow the plant cross-pollination and hybridization.
    3. GM mustard has been developed jointly by the IARI and Punjab Agricultural University.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Indigenous varieties of rice

    • Indigenous varieties of rice are being promoted through varieties of programmes.
    • 574 indigenous varieties of rice have been propagated and tested at more than 10,000 farmers’ fields.
    • Nutritional profiling of 300 selected rice varieties has been done for market linkage and better price to the farmers.
    • Farmers are also being trained on conservation, improvement and use of traditional/ indigenous varieties through participatory variety selection.
    • Further, for access to seeds of these indigenous varieties, community seed banks have been established.

    Key varieties

    • Lalat and Improved Lalat (GI value: 54) as Low GI
    • Swarna, Sambha Mahsuri and Shaktiman (GI value <60) as intermediate GI have been identified

    There is no certification for GI (Glycemic Index) in rice in India.

    What is Glycemic Index (GI)?

    • GI is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to food, with pure glucose arbitrarily given the value of 100, which represents the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food.
    • The GI of a specific food depends primarily on the quantity and type of carbohydrate it contains.
    • But it is also affected by the amount of entrapment of the carbohydrate molecules within the food, the fat and protein content of the food, the number of organic acids (or their salts) in the food, and whether it is cooked and, if so, how it is cooked.
    • A food is considered to have a low GI if it is 55 or less; high GI if 70 or more, and mid-range GI if 56 to 69.

  • Minimum Selling Price for Sugar

    The Indian Sugar Mills’ Association (ISMA) has asked for an increase in the Minimum Selling Price of Sugar.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane is approved by the:

    (a) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

    (b) Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices

    (c) Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture

    (d) Agricultural Produce Market Committee

    Minimum Selling Price (MSP) for Sugar

    • The price of sugar is market-driven & depends on the demand & supply of sugar.
    • However, with a view to protecting the interests of farmers, the concept of MSP of sugar has been introduced since 2018.
    • MSP of sugar has been fixed taking into account the components of Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane and minimum conversion cost of the most efficient mills.

    How is the pricing of Sugarcane done?

    • With the amendment of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, the concept of Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane was replaced with the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)’ of sugarcane in 2009-10.
    • The cane price announced by the Central Government is decided on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
    • This is done in consultation with the State Governments and after taking feedback from associations of the sugar industry.

  • [pib] ‘Red Rice’ exports from Assam to the US

    In a major boost to India’s rice exports potential, the first consignment of ‘red rice’ was flagged off today to the USA.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2019

    Q.Among the following, which one is the largest exporter of rice in the world in the last five years?

    (a) China

    (b) India

    (c) Myanmar

    (d) Vietnam

    Red Rice

    • Iron rich ‘red rice’ is grown in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, without the use of any chemical fertilizer.
    • The rice variety is referred to as ‘Bao-dhaan’, which is an integral part of Assamese food.
    • Much like brown rice and white rice, red rice also comes with many incredible health benefits.
    • Due to the presence of a component called anthocyanin, this rice is usually consumed either partially hulled or unhulled.
    • Red rice derives this eye-grabbing colour from this component and has much more nutrient value as compared to other varieties of rice.

  • Operation Green

    The article compares the performance of  Operation Flood with Operation Green and offers several lessons for the success of Operation Green.

    Operation Green and its expansion

    • There were three basic objectives when OG was launched.
    • First, that it should contain the wide price volatility in the three largest vegetables of India (TOP).
    • Second, it should build efficient value chains of these from fresh to value-added products with a view to give a larger share of the consumers’ rupee to the farmers.
    • Third, it should reduce the post-harvest losses by building modern warehouses and cold storages wherever needed.
    • The Union budget for the FY 2021-22 proposes the expansion of Operation Green (OG) beyond tomatoes, onions, and potatoes (TOP) to 22 perishable commodities.
    • The move reflects the government’s intentions of creating more efficient value chains for perishables.

    Comparing performance of OG with horticulture sector

    • A closer examination of the scheme reveals that it is nowhere near achieving its objectives.
    • ICRIER research reveals that price volatility remains as high as ever.
    • It also reveals that farmers’ share in consumers’ rupee is as low as 26.6 per cent for potatoes, 29.1 per cent in the case of onions, and 32.4 per cent for tomatoes (see graph).
    •  In cooperatives like AMUL, farmers get almost 75-80 per cent of what consumers’ pay.
    • Operation Flood (OF) transformed India’s milk sector, making the country the world’s largest milk producer, crossing almost 200 million tonnes of production by now.
    • Although OG is going to be more challenging than OF there are some important lessons one can learn from OF.

    Lessons from operation flood

    • First and foremost is that results are not going to come in three to four years.
    • OF lasted for almost 20 years before milk value chains were put on the track of efficiency and inclusiveness.
    • There has to be a separate board to strategise and implement the OG scheme, more on the lines of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for milk.
    • Second, we need a champion like Verghese Kurien to head this new board of OG.
    • The MoFPI can have its evaluation every six months, but making MoFPI the nodal agency for implementing OG with faceless leaders is not very promising.
    • Third, the criteria for choosing clusters for TOP crops under OG is not very transparent and clear.
    • The reason is while some important districts have been left out from the list of clusters, less important ones have been included.
    • What is needed is quantifiable and transparent criteria for the selection of commodity clusters, keeping politics away.
    • Fourth, the subsidy scheme will have to be made innovative with new generation entrepreneurs, startups and FPOs.
    • The announcement to create an additional 10,000 FPOs along with the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and the new farm laws are all promising but need to be implemented fast.

    Consider the question “What are the objectives of Operation Green? How far has Operation Green succeeded in achieving its objectives?”

    Conclusion

    These lessons from Operation Flood will help in securing the success of the expanded Operation Green.

  • [pib] PM-KISAN Scheme Completes Two Years

    The PM-Kisan scheme, launched with an aim to ensure a life of dignity and prosperity for farmers has completed two years of successful implementation.

    PM-KISAN

    • Under this programme, vulnerable landholding farmer families, having cultivable land upto 2 hectares, will be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year.
    • This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal instalments of Rs. 2,000 each.
    • This programme will be entirely funded by the Government of India.

    Note: Aadhaar was made optional for availing the first instalment (December 2018 – March 2019). But now it is mandatory.

    Exclusion categories

    The following categories of beneficiaries of higher economic status shall not be eligible for benefit under the scheme.

    1. All Institutional Landholders
    2. Farmer families in which one or more of its members belong to the following categories
    • Former and present holders of constitutional posts
    • Former and present Ministers/ MP/MLAs/Mayors /Chairpersons of District Panchayats
    • All serving or retired officers and employees of Central/ State Government Ministries (Excluding Multi Tasking Staff /Class IV/Group D employees)
    • All superannuated/retired pensioners whose monthly pension is ₹10,000/-or more (Excluding Multi Tasking Staff / Class IV/Group D employees) of the above category
    • All Persons who paid Income Tax in the last assessment year
    • Professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants, and Architects registered with Professional bodies and carrying out the profession by undertaking practices.

    Do you know?

    West Bengal is yet to implement the PM-KISAN scheme while the farmers have completed their registrations!

  • Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)

    Importance of animal husbandary and dairy sector

    • As an allied industry of agriculture, the animal husbandry and dairy sector collectively employs more than 100 million people.
    • Since the bulk of establishments in this sector is concentrated in rural India, the socio-economic relevance of this sector cannot be overstated.
    • the Central government unveiled a string of measures to cushion the economy, as a part of which the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) was announced.

    More about AHIDF

    • The AHIDF has been set up with an outlay of ₹15,000 crore.
    • As per the provisions of AHIDF, a project will be eligible for a loan amount that covers up to 90% of the estimated cost –
    • There will be interest subvention of 3% for all eligible entities.
    • Applicants can submit the proposal with a complete Detailed Project Report through the Udyami Mitra Portal.
    • The fund includes a diverse set of stakeholders such as FPOs, private dairy players, individual entrepreneurs, and non-profits within its ambit.

    Strengthening dairy value chain

    • There is a pressing need to enhance chilling infrastructure at collection centres by setting up bulk milk coolers.
    • If the infrastructure needs for milk processing and distribution are included, then the overall potential investment opportunity is to the tune of ₹1,40,000 crore across the dairy value chain.
    • There is also considerable potential to increase the productivity of cattle, especially by enhancing the quality of animal feed.
    • With this in mind, the AHIDF has been designed to support the establishment of animal feed plants of varying capacities.
    • The infrastructure gap of 10-18 MMT in the production and supply of affordable compound cattle feed translates into an investment potential of around ₹5,000 crore.

    Boosting the poultry industry

    • There are not only economic but nutritional benefits to boosting the poultry segment’s output, efficiency and quality.
    • India is the fourth largest chicken meat producer and the second largest egg producer in the world.
    • India is well-positioned to help mitigate rampant malnutrition given that chicken meat provides the cheapest source of protein per unit.
    • With eggs being introduced as part of the mid-day meal within several anganwadis in the country, an upgradation in poultry infrastructure would be closely intertwined with social justice outcomes too.
    • Macro benefits regarding climate change and employment are linked to this sector.
    • Enhanced infrastructure can make processing units more energy-efficient and help mitigate their carbon footprint.

    Consider the question ” As an allied industry of agriculture, the animal husbandry and dairy sector are important for rural area and the socio-economic relevance of this sector cannot be overstated. In light of this, examine the role Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) could play in transforming rural economy.”

    Conclusion

    The AHIDF also has the potential to create over 30 lakh jobs, even as it overhauls domestic infrastructure towards giving greater prominence to India’s dairy and livestock products in the global value chain.