BS Reporter | New Delhi April 13, 2013 Last Updated at 20:39 IST

'Agriculture presents contrasting picture of stagnation & change induced by consumption'

The CII-Mckinsey Report says India's farm output may rise by 130% in next 20 years

RBI governor D Subbarao recently talked of changing consumption pattern in rural areas towards protein diet which has led to higher inflation in these items. In a different context, a CII-Mckinsey report also pointed towards this trend. The third Food and Agriculture Integrated Development Action Report titled: India as an agriculture and high-value food powerhouse: A new vision for 2030, prepared jointly by CII and McKinsey and Company, said the story of Indian agriculture in the past decade o r so has been changing gears to some extent with a significant alteration in consumption patterns skewed towards high-value food items prompting higher production of these crops and rise in output per agriculture worker. Barring this small tract, however, Indias agriculture presents a dismal scenario with stagnating yield and low farmers income. This change in consumption pattern has significantly improved India's per capita farmer output, the report said. It said food consumption in India is gradually shifting towards premium food items across rural and urban landscapes which is fuelled by increasing disposable incomes and rapidly evolving consumer needs. Indians are now spending much more on high-value foods. In fact, the ratio of cereals and pulses in the overall food budget of the average Indian consumer has dropped by more than 25 per cent. Consumption has been shifting from plant-based proteins such as pulses, to animal-based protein such as milk and meat, the report said. It said that between 2000 and 2010, the contribution of cereals and pulses in the overall per capita food expenditure reduced from 40 per cent to 28 per cent, while that of animal-based products and fruits and vegetables rose from 36 per cent to 42 per cent. This change in consumption pattern has improved productivity of Indian farmers as well and studies show agricultural output per worker increased two times between 2000 and 2010, the report pointed out. There has been a marked shift in production from basic foodgrains to high-value produce, especially fruits and vegetables. In 2000, basic foodgrain formed 60 per cent of the total produce by weight, while fruits, vegetables and meat and fibre formed only 38 per cent. By 2010, there was a shift to high-value crops, which formed 45 per cent of total production, the report said. The increase in the production of certain high-value foods such as soybean, potato, mango, banana and poultry has been up to four times faster than basic produce like rice and wheat.

The study shows a distinct shift by farmers to the high-value portfolio in pockets of excellence, where strong demandsupply links have been forged, and increased yields and quality of produce have allowed successful exports in addition to catering to domestic demand agriculture rose as well, the report said. However, beneath this rosy picture there lies the sordid tale of stagnating yields and slowing farmer income. The report points out number of reasons for the same, which include a slowdown in per hectare yields across all crops, poor quality of seeds, insufficient technology, ineffective extension services, lack of awareness and adoption of best practice methods among farmers, and low adoption of the latest technology, adversely affecting yields. The other main cause of stagnating yields and flat farm growth is the use of outdated practices and inputs, low involvement of organised sector and unfulfilled export potential. India has made good progress in exports, going from ~90,000 crore from 2006 to 2010 to ~1.35 lakh crore in 2012. However, still the share of exports is about 12 to 14 per cent of production, which is much lower than the world standards, the report said. It showed that only 35 to 40 per cent of cultivated land in India is irrigated and there is minimal penetration of new water saving technologies like drip irrigation. The agricultural sector is at yet another cusp of change, which could play out over the next two decades. The past few decad es have shown the resilience of Indias farmers in satisfying the nations food requirements. India is no longer a calorie-deficit nation and must broaden its horizons and start thinking like a global agricultural powerhouse, the report said.

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The draft report on sale and distribution of imported pulses, accessed by Mail Today, focuses on the period from 2006 to 2011. In the report the PAC has accusedthe government of making pulses unaffordable for the aam aadmi. "The market was under the control of private traders, which resulted in steep escalation in the prices of pulses," says the report. According to the committee report, in 2006, imported pulse was supposed to be distributed via NAFED but the ministry of consumer affairs and food and public distribution (F&PD) failed to identify appropriate channels for distribution and the imported pulses were sold by the importing agencies in the open market through tendering process. "The committee was appaled to note that department of consumer affairs had no field machinery to distribute pulses," the report read. The committee also blamed the government for turning a blind eye towards formation of a cartel when it came to high

minimum bid quantities in the range of 200 to 1,000 MT. About 73 per cent of the pulses in this category were sold to four private players. The report also said successful bidders did not leave the stock of pulses in time leading to jacking up of pulse prices throughout India. Despite imports, availability of pulses has decreased to 37 grams per day in 2009 to 69 grams in 1950, noted the report. The draft report on fertiliser subsidy also paints a stark picture. The report says that New Pricing Policy (NPS) has failed to incentivise increase in domestic production of fertilisers. The report states that subsidy on imported fertilisers from 1998-99 to 2008-2009 increased from 3 per cent to 47 per cent of the total subsidy. "While the assessed requirement of fertilisers went up by more than 70 per cent during 11-year period from 1998-99 to 2008-09, the total production went up by 11 per cent leading to increase in the imports by massive 236 per cent," the draft report states. The report also pointed out that assessment of fertiliser requirement is not done in a scientific manner. It says that it was done in a pedestrian manner by enhancing the requirement by 5 to 10 per cent over previous year's consumption. __________________________

Raising Indias pulse rate

With a focused and integrated approach, India has the potential to produce more than double the current output of pulses, say Pratik Kadakia and Jeffry Jacob of Tata Strategic Management Group A lot has been written about the sharp rise in pulse prices over the past few months. The government, too, has announced several measures to control prices. While these short-term measures may succeed in controlling the prices to some extent, we need to take a long-term perspective if we are serious about developing a sustainable solution to this issue. Pulses, or daal, are an integral part of the average Indian meal. A large proportion of the Indian population is vegetarian, and pulses form the main source of protein. The protein content in pulses is about 1825 per cent. This makes pulses one of the cheapest sources of protein for human consumption. However, the per capita domestic production of pulses has declined from 60g / day in 1970 71 to 36g / day in 200708. This, despite India being the largest producer of pulses in the world, with 25 per cent of total production, 30 per cent of total consumption and 32 per cent of global acreage under pulses. The productivity of pulses in India has been very low, at 638kg / ha, compared to best-in-class yields of about 1,900kg / ha in Canada and the US. The World Health Organization recommends 80g / capita / day of pulse consumption for India. Based on expected population growth, India will require about 38 million tonnes of pulses by 2017 18 to avoid protein deficiency. Considering the current domestic production levels (15.11 million tonnes in 2007 08), there is a huge gap that needs to be addressed if India has to be self-sufficient in pulses. If India has to meet the above projected demand, it would have to either double its acreage at current yield levels or double the yield while keeping acreage constant. Since either of the above may not be feasible in isolation, the country needs to look at a combination of both. There are several reasons why pulses have not received the attention they deserve. Pulses in India are considered a residual crop and grown under rainfed conditions in marginal / less fertile lands with almost no focus on pest and nutrient management. Heavy weed infestation, blue bull and pests destroy over 30 per cent of standing crops before harvesting. In addition, there are post-harvest losses during storage due to attacks by the pulse beetle. This has resulted in pulses being considered a risky crop by farmers and yield levels being amongst the lowest in the world.

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Best practices in pulses Tata Strategic Management Group recently undertook a study in the area of pulses and looked at some of the best practices prevalent in other countries; some of the important observations of the study are:

Market development and ensuring profitability Pulse growers' associations in the US and Canada focus on developing newer markets (eg animal feed, food ingredient industry). Governments ensure easy access to credit, including providing nonrecourse market assistance loans. Promoting good agronomic practices Pulse growers' associations in Canada educate farmers on timely seeding, fertilisation and pest control for every crop cycle. Mechanised harvesting, the usage of high-yield-variety (HYV) seeds and recommended seed replacement practices are followed. Focus on R&D Investment in research is made by the government and through growers levies collected from pulse producers. High-yielding varieties and short-duration crops suitable for local conditions are developed and popularised. Increasing area Fallow substitution in irrigated lands has resulted in increased production in several countries. Improving efficiencies through aggregation Pulse growers' associations help realise economies of scale along the value chain, leading to better adoption of technology and infrastructure. Potential to grow more India has the potential to increase acreage by encouraging the production of pulses in rice fallows (see figure). A substantial part of rice fallow land can be targeted for cultivation of pulses during the rabi season. Intercropping and growing short-duration varieties between Kharif and rabi season, by relay cropping and intercropping, ensures the further utilisation of existing agricultural land. The replacement of upland paddy with pulses is another viable option that has the potential to give better net returns to farmers. Indias yield can be brought to world-class levels through a mix of good agronomic practices and farmer education. The use of HYV seeds has the potential to increase yields by 25 35 per cent. Inoculation of seeds with Rhizobium bacteria results in better nitrogen fixation and improves yields. Improving the seed replacement ratio and ensuring the timely availability of certified seeds would further increase production. Proper pest and nutrient management are very important levers to increase the production of any crop. Appropriate nutrients, such as sulphur, zinc and phosphorus, help in improving plant biomass for pulses and result in better yields. Currently, only 15 per cent of the total area under pulses is irrigated, compared to an average of 46 per cent for food grains in general. Providing scheduled and controlled irrigation increase yield. Irrigation requirements for pulses are much lower than those for other crops and could be provided through sprinklers, etc. Pulses need to be stored at optimum humidity conditions to prevent post-harvest losses due to attacks by

the pulse beetle. These insects mainly attack whole grains and not split pulses. By shortening the cycle time from harvesting to milling and storing pulses in split form, these losses can be drastically reduced. By extending crop insurance to pulses in an effective manner, farmers would stop seeing pulses as a risky crop. Providing efficient sourcing mechanisms will provide the farmer with security on assured offtake, which could further encourage farmers to grow more pulses. Considering the measures listed above, India has the potential to produce over 37 million tonnes of pulses. If India desires to achieve its true potential in pulse production, we need a focused and integrated approach to address these barriers.

Going against the grain

Pulses provide a significant part of Indias nutritional needs. Yet Indias production of pulses has remained stagnant, making the country increasingly dependent upon imports. This article by Gayatri Kamath examines the several constraints and challenges that face pulse cultivators in India Come June every year, most Indian farmers look to the sky for signs of rain. In India, the weather gods can be benign and rain bounty or turn tail and wreck havoc on crops and fields. The process of growing and cultivating crops has always been overshadowed by the looming spectre of risk. For centuries now, Indian farmers have adopted pulse cultivation as a traditional way of mitigating this risk. Pulses are sown along with a primary crop (wheat, cereal, oil seeds or cotton) so that if some factor were to affect the main crop a pest or disease infection, a tardiness on the part of the rain gods, a drop in the support price of wheat or cotton, etc, there is always the income from the pulse crop to fall back on. These past few decades have seen production of wheat, rice and cotton rising steadily, thanks to strong support prices and subsidies from the government, and the liberal inputs of high-yield seeds, fertiliser and pesticides. Yet the domestic production of pulses has increased slowly and has been outstripped by the growing demand for pulses. India produced 12.7 million tonnes of pulses in 196061; this figure peaked at 15.1 million tonnes in 200708, but domestic consumption in 200708 was over 18 million tonnes. Over the years, India has become increasingly dependent on pulse imports. Fields and grassroots The low rates of pulse production in India can be traced to low yields per acre and the low acreage under pulses. There are several reasons why pulse production has not grown in India. Some of these are historic, and most can be directly traced to the poor connection between new research and development and the practitioner out in the field. Yet all these constraints are easily addressed. The challenges can be categorised as follows: Agroclimatic (Land and rain) Biological (Pest and disease) Socio-economic (Risk and revenue) Knowledge-based (Research and information) Infrastructural (Government and community)

Agroclimatic: In India, pulses have traditionally been grown on non-irrigated, rainfed land. Only 15 per cent of pulses are grown under irrigation (as compared to 46 per cent of other food grains). Farmers sow pulse seeds in the monsoon months and leave the rest to nature. The crop is negatively affected by heavy rains, as the seeds undergo moisture stress, and cold weather causes the flowers and pods to drop. Biological: Pulse crops are legumes; that is, they bear pods containing seeds. The flowers and pods are extremely prone to heavy infestations of weeds, pests and diseases that are unique to legumes. Pod borer, pod fly, sterility and mosaic viruses, and wilt are the most common infestations, destroying as much as 30 per cent of the standing crop each year. Post-harvesting losses are also high, with moisture and storage pests such as pulse beetles damaging the seeds. Socio-economic: The single biggest factor affecting pulse production is the fact that pulse yields are much lower than other food crops. At 638kg a hectare, Indias pulses yield is far below that of best -in-class countries (USA, Canada), which produce about 1,800kg a hectare. Over the years, rice and wheat yields have improved two-fold (and even three-fold in the case of wheat) as a result of government schemes and the green revolution effect that has brought better seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, support prices, subsidies, etc within the ambit of farmers. Yet pulse crop yields have remained at a level of only 56 quintals per acre, very low compared to those of rice (33 q/acre) or cotton (12 q/acre). Little wonder then that most farmers focus on growing crops where returns are higher. Knowledge-based: There seems to be a yawning gap between what is achievable in pulse production and the grassroots reality. Agricultural research in India has produced several high-yield varieties (HYV) of pulse seeds that can improve yields two-fold and are of shorter duration, thus allowing farmers to grow two or even three crops in a year. Drought-tolerant and disease-tolerant seeds are being developed that cut risk considerably. Proper seed-treatment and crop-protection techniques are available that can control disease and pest infestation. Changes in cropping patterns (sowing three crops in a year, intercropping two crops, etc) can dramatically improve farm revenues while positively impacting soil quality and reducing the need for chemical fertilisers. This knowledge has yet to be internalised by the farming community in the same manner as has happened with other food and cash crops. There has been poor dissemination of knowledge and research between the academic world and the practitioners of pulse cultivation. Infrastructural: What pulse farmers in India lack are strong local communities that can work together in several ways to benefit the participants by accomplishing the following: Pooling resources and information Developing seed banks for quality seeds Setting aside areas for quality seed production Identifying new lands that are fallow and can be brought under pulse cultivation

Propagating the benefits of intercropping and multiple cropping Spreading awareness of the nitrogen-fixation benefit of pulse crops Developing micro-credit and crop insurance schemes, and so on. The government has taken the first step towards strengthening pulse cultivation by setting up several initiatives under the Ministry of Agriculture: a technology mission for oilseeds, pulses and maize, a national pulses development project, and a national food security mission. But what is needed is the creation of local pulse growers' associations that can build knowledge bases and resources. The need for support Pulse crops are environmentally sustainable and have a positive impact on the land. Growing on nonirrigated land, they use less water. With a natural ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and thereby increase the nitrogen content of the soil, they reduce the need for fertilisers and enhance the arable quality of the soil. They also mitigate global warming by lowering the levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the air. Pulses are 1824 per cent protein, thus providing Indias population with an alternative to animal based protein (meat, eggs, and milk). By increasing acreage under pulses, and improving pulse crop yields, India can achieve self-sufficiency in pulses and reduce its import bill. For this, pulse farmers in India need support from two different sources: 1) the government, in the form of subsidies, inputs, access to quality seeds, information and price support, and 2) the research community, in the form of credible information, new techniques, new seed varieties, etc. By supporting pulse cultivation, India not only works towards averting a shortage crisis in pulses, it also builds domestic food capability and reduces the agricultural communitys dependence on cro ps that require high inputs of water, nutrition and protection. This has to be Indias second green revolution, long overdue.