INDIAN AGRICULTURE

lndian Agriculture

A Policy Perspective

B M BHATIA

Under the Ausplces of the Centre lor Policy ResearchNeuY Delhi

SAGE PUBLICATIONSNew Delhi/Newbury Parldlondon

Copyright @Centre for Policy Research, 1988.

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Contents

Foreword

Preface

1. Introduction

2. "fhe Green Revolution and After

3. Current Problems and Challenges

4. Agriculture-based Development

5. Strategy for Agricultural Development

6. Technological Breakthrough andPolicy Choices

7. Ecology and Agricultural Development

8. Summary and Conclusions

References

Index

7

8

13

22

39

6rc2

133

149

167

183

189

Foreword

Indian agriculture has been India's mother economy. For thou-sands of years, India's civilisation has been built and has grown onthe foundatiorts of its agricultural economy. And even in the lastyears of the twentieth century, the agricultural sector accounts forover two-thirds of the employment.of the Indian labour force.

The strides made by India in agriculture since Independence areundoubtedly impressive. To be self-sufficient in foodgrains over a

short period of about thirty years is no mean achievement. How-ever, India's population growth will not stabilise for quite sometime. And the need for both growth in production and employ-ment in the agricultural sector will be unabated.

What should be our policy perspective on Indian agricul-ture? This was the mandate we gave to B M Bhatia, one of thecountry's leading agricultural economists. Bhatia has prescribed a

blend of policy shifts and high technology options to move towardsagriculture in the twenty-first century.

Bhatia's policy recommendations deserve serious considerationby policy-makers, academicians in this sector and lay citizensinterested in the future development of agriculture.

Centre for Policy ResearchNew Delhilanuary 1988

V A P,c,I PeNlNprrp,n

Preface

It is not enough tS view policy in terms of the achieve-farm sector or the attainmentsupply and raw materials for

ment of a certain growth rate inof national self-sufficiencv inagro-based industries. Contri around 40 per cent of theGDP and employing 67 per centagriculture remains the mainstay

of the countrv's labour force.

The fortunes of algriculture notfortunes of national economy.

This apart, rapid agriculturaltion of the endenfic socio-econc

Indian economy to this day.affect but actually govern the

holds the kev to the solu-problems of rural poverty and

unemployment confronting the In the peculiar circum-based on the accelerateditances of India, the development

growth of the industrial sector for the growth process ofthe whole econolnv could not worked and has not worked.The much-vaunted trickle-down has not materialised. RuralIndia, except the [rrigateddeprived as befote.

regions, remains as poor and

The green revolution has solved, food problem of the country.of food production ahead ofIt has helped to {eep the growth

the demographic growth rate of tlhave a comfortable level of buffer

country. The result is that weof foodgrains in the public

sector. The agriculturists in the 1 revolution belt---cxtendingfrom Punjab to *est Uttar through Haryan+--has experi-enced an unprecgdented measurerural poverty andlunemployment iand Haryana.

prosperity. The incidence ofthe country is lowest in Punjab

confned to areas en-The revolutiorl has. however.has not touched rain-fed and

Preface l9

dry-land agriculture. This is b€cause the higlt-yielding varieties(HYv)-fertilisers technology that wrought the freen revolution is

specific to irrigated agriculture. It is not relevant to the 70 per centof Indian agriculture that is rain-fed. The latter needs a differenttype of technology or technologies. But the obsession with HYV-fertilisers technology has prevented adequate attention being paid

to rescarch in alternative technologies. Meanwhile, the incre-

mental cost on agricultural returns (or ICOR) has started risingdisconcertingly in the green revolution areas, with the result thatthe continued preoccupation with the technology in use at pres€nt

has begun to be called into question in several quarters.There have been other serious and unexpected fallouts of the

green revolution. It has produced large imbalances in the croppingpattem and wide regional disparities in the agricultural sector inthe ormtry. lt has helped to produce burdensome surpluses in some

crops and painful shortages in others. We have bulging bufferstocks of wheat and rice but are spending a sizeable amount ofprecious foreign exchange on importing vegetable oil and sugar

because our production of oilseeds and sugarcane falls short of the

demand for these by the concerned industries. The production ofcoarse grains (that forms the staple diet of the poor in the country-side) and pulses (which are the main source of protein for thepeople in a predominantly vegetarian country) has considerablylagged behind the growth of population with the result that the per

capita availability of pulses has almost halved in the last twentyyeanl.

The inoome disparities between the develope<l and underdeve-loped agricultural regions of the country have become so palpable

that we can talk today of two Indias agriculturally, one dynamic

and progressing, the other backward and stagnating. It is in thelatter that little dent has been made into the basic problems ofpoverty, undernourishment and destitution.

All this would suggest the need for a change in the country'spolicieson agriculture. But several other factors have combined at

the present juncture to make the need for such a change all the

more urgent. The Seventh Plan has started running into difficultieson the resource front. Budget deficits and adverse trade balances

have risen to untenable levQls. Public sector enterprises have been

found tg be unable to generate tesources for their own mainte-

oance and expansion, leave alone contributing to the financing of

l0l Preface

process jeopardy. In the circum-stances it has bec0me all the tnore necessary to have a fresh lookat the country's

policy was problgms and challengesfacing the country in the rculture in particulbr, at the juncture? What are the policy

field in general and agri-

choices available and which of should be preferred? Whathelp can be given by ecology measures and devel-opments in emerging bi for accelerating the agricul.tural growth ratetural growth rate in the country? Tdese and other similar questionswere posed and.answers sought in tl,le course of this study. This hasbeen viewed in the perspective of the last fifteen yean of thepresent century-1985 to 2000.

The first draft of this study ready in October 1985 andcirculated to experts and poli in the Planning Commis-sion and the Union Ministry of as well as to academicsworking in the field of agricultural Valuable @mmentswere received, among others, Manmohan Singh, DeputyChairman, Planning Commission, {nd C.H. Hanumantha Rao, inoted agricultural economist and a of the Planning Commis-sion at the time. Later, a seminar ori the stddy was organised at theCentre for Policy Research (CPR) in May 1986. Further sugges-tions and valuabld comments rec€ived at the seminar from

, Ministry of Agriculture, V.G.M. Subramaniam " formerlv l

Bhatia, Adviser, Flanning , G.R. Saini, Economicand Statistical Adviser, Ministry of Agriculture, and from severalcolleagues in the CPR like L.P.study has been rovised in the

and Nirmal Mukarii. Theof all their comments. Of

course, I alone am res-ponsible for a{ry deficiencies that may be stillleft in the study.

I would like to thank all the mentioned persons for theirpains in going thrdugh the earlierof their valuable advice. My spe<Panandiker who ihvited me to ul

and giving me.the benefit

this study at the CPRand, throughout the course of study, lent me his valuable

him for all this. I would alsosuppor-t. I cannot adequatelylike to,express my grateful thanksparticularly Nirmal Mukarji, Pran

thanks are due to V.A. Pai

my colleagues at the CPR,Bhabani Sen Gupta,

Prefacelll

Isher Judge Ahluwalia and V"L. Rao, for several fruitful discus-

sions I have had with them at various points in the course of thestudy. Equally, I am indebted to our young and dynamic librarian,Kamal Jit Kumar, for meeting my daunting demands tbr books andjournals so promptly. Last but not the least, I would like to thankT. Rao and other supporting staff in the typing and computer unitsof the CPR for their unfailing support in typing the manuscript andseeing through the word processor its several drafts.

1

Introduction

Indian agriculture has recorded substantial growth during thethirty-five years of planned development starting with the FirstFive Year Plan in l95l=52. The index number of agriculturalproduction, with the average of the triennium ending 196S-70 as

the base, rose from 58.5 in 1950-51 to 138 in 197&-79 and 155.8 in198H4. During the same period, the index for foodgrain produc-tion rose from 57.1 to 139.3 in L978-79 and 160.1 in 198184, whilethat for non-foodgrain items rose trom 62 to 135.3 in 1978-79 and

146.7 in 1983-84. The overall annual compound growth rate ofagricultural production in the country for the period 199-50 to1983-84 was 2.61 per cent and that of cereal production was 2.96

per cent. Contrary to general belief, the two growth rates duringthe period of the gredn revolution were a little lower than duringthe total period of thirty-four years taken together. Thus, thegrowth rate of total agricultural production in the period 1967-{8to 198!&[ was 2.59 per cent and that of cereal production 2.87 per

cent (against 2.61 and 2.96 per cent, respectively, for the thirty-four year period).

Between 1950-51 and 198!84 the production of foodppains rose

from 51 million tonnes ro 152.4 million tonnes; sugarcane from 57

million tonnes to 177 million tonnes; cotton from 3 million bales(of 1?0 kgs each) to 6.58 million bales: jute and mesta from 3.3

million bales (of 180 kgs each) to 7.41 million bales; and that of the

live major oilseeds from 5.2 million tonnes to 12.8 million tonnes.

These increases are quite significant but do not measure up to

14llxoraN AcnrculTune.

either the size of the resource alloc{tions in the plans for theagricultural sector, or to the expectatiofrs aroused byiechnologicaladvances in the farming sector made ilp the mid-sixiies. The prob-lem of food security has been solved i{r the sense that productionincreases have resulted in a situation uihere everyone in the coun-try has physical acce$s to food but fodd security (in the sense ofproviding everyone with economic acdess to food) remains a dis-tant dream. The rate of agricultural grQwth achieved has been tooinadequate to make any significant ifnpact on the problems ofpoverty, unemployment and hunger. The gains in productivityhave remained contined to select areps which have imerged asenclaves of high growth amidst stagn[ting, backward, and low-yield unproductive agpiculture in the iest of the country. Conse-quently, India's agricultural has assumed a dual cha-racter. There is the green revolution belt in the north that has

!eco19. tttg main supplier of grain to the government for runningits public distribution system. Over 80 per cent of the supplies oTgrain to the pubtic distribution are now provided by thelhree northern states of Puniab, and (west) U.P. Byfocusing attention on this area in itscultural policy, the government has

thrust and asri-fostered, agricul-

turally, the division of the country intd the surplus and the deficitareas, the irrigated, gtreen revolution bplt representing the formerand the rain-fed agrictrlture areas the . The result is that thecountry has today two agricultures-a scientific and vibrantagriculture in the north and a tradition[], unprogressive and staidagriculture in the othor four regions (n4mely, thJ central, eastern,southern and western regions). faqte t.t, which shows thegrowth of yields of fobdgrains for the -year period f96HltD 198H1 in different regions, illus the point.

In the northern region, the increase in yieldi between 196{)-61d 1980-81 was of the order of 125.6 pbr cent. The corresoondinpand l98O-81 was of

figures for the other r'egions are:cent. The corresponding

ngures tor the other rlegions are: centrdl 36 per cent; eastern 22.7Plt_*-lt; southern 5813 per cent; and livestern 31.6 per cent. Theall-India average was 40.87 per cent.

During the same peniod, the in foodgrain production innorthem India was 1S4.7 per cent; India 52.75 per cent;eastern India 45.64 per cent; lndia 39.52 per cent; and

average increase was 58

I

l

in all regions other

IntroductionllS

Tablc 1.1F@'tr,turri.fu(W palwtan)

Region 19@41 1970-71 IgWl Annual CompoundRaE of Glowth

19&41 totw41 f )

CentralEasternNorth€mSouthernWestern

All-Idir

799943

I,489952f)/

872

879|,an1,9451,168

772

1,423

ffi878862738548

7@

r.551.034.152.32r.73

1.83

than the northern, was below the national average. Tbe annualcompound rate of grofih in foodgrain output over the period iothe northern region was 5.36 per cent compared to 2.14 pcr cent inthe central, 1.86 per cent in the eastern, 1.70 per c€nt in thesouthern and 2.01 per cent in the western region. The atrnualcompound growth rate of consumption of fertilisers over the sameperiod in the northern region came to 16.29 per cent (against 9.g5per cent in the western,6.54 per cent in the southern, 10.03 percent in the eastern and 14.18 per cent in the central regioo),

The northern region coven the three states of punjab, Haryanaand west Uttar Pradesh. Table 1.2 shows the position of thesestates vis-a-vis the others with re$pect to irigation and intensity ofcropping.

It will be seen from the table that Punjab and HaryaDa are wayahead of the other states in terms of irrigated area, intensity ofirrigation and cropping intensity. In the case of U.p., however, theposition

-d99s n91 emerge so clearly. This is because it is only

western U.P. which falls in the green revolution belt while thifgures in the table relate to the whole of U.p. Among the soutlcmstates, Tamil Nadu shows the highest percentage of irrigated areaand intensity of irrigation but not intensity of cropping.

- Apart from severe regional disparities, production growt[ in

this sector has been accompanied by serious distortions in thecropping pattern. In the foodgrains group, wheat has made themaximum gain. Its share in the total grain production of thecountry has gone up from 13 per cent during the First plan period

16llxornx Acnrcul-runs

Ilrigsted landas a o/" of Total

Land UndqCultivation

lfilgat?d Ara, IInter.Jity of

of lrriggfio,n ordin 197U79

Ineemrty ofIrigation

IrrigatedArea os

of NetAreo)

169

155

119

103

138

125100

133

129155

r22119

113

122104

r27

Inter$W ofCropping

(Gross CroppedArea as

Prcportiot of NetCropped Area)

PunjabHaryanaUttar PradeshWest BengalOrissaBiharAssamTamil NaduAndhra PradeshKeralaKamatakaRajasthanGujaratMaharashtraMadhya Pradesh

Atr-Itrdi

78.0952.5550.8626.8818.83

v.82r.3545.9632.2r10.34

t3.618.71

r7 .9710.3913.6

26.56

159

151

139

ta136

133

124

ll6131

108

l13l@1m115

123

to 28 per cent inr the Sixth Plan. has improved its positionslightlyi its sbare has gone up 39 per cent to 41 per cent overthe samc period. On the other , the share of coarse grains

wenf down from !2 per cent ir tIilSixth Plan rnd thbt of puls€s from

First Plan to 23 per cent in the6 per cent to 8 per cent during

the same pcriod. Rice has beencomposition of total foodgrain pr

to keep its position in theas a result of the contri-

bution of tlre nonrtraditional areas

Uttar Pradesh to fthe growth of ri<Punjab, Haryana and westem

prduction in the country. Butfor the performqnce of th€sc advanced areas. thegrowth rate of rioe output lcrouldthe share of the ciop ir the total (

been far more trdest andof foodgrain produc-

tion would have declined. Thr:responsible for the greater partoutput in the codntry during thecent of the total ihcrease in the qbeen contributed by wheat and

the total growth of foodgraintion would have declined. while the northern region is

thirty-five years, over 80 peroutput during the period has

alone.

IntroductionllT

This has meant a switch in consumption from coarse grains tothe two 'superior' grains-rice and wheat-by a large section ofthe rural poor who traditionally ate millet and maize. The produc-tion of coarse grgins increased from 18.88 million tonnes in 1%9-50to 27.75 million tonnes in 1982-83 (an increase of less than 50 percent over a period of thirty-three years) as against a 155 per centincrease in the total cereal production during ttris period. Thischange in the composition of cereal production in the countrysince Independence has great significance for anyone trying tounderstand or analyse the food and poverty problems of India.The rural poor were traditionally the major consumers of milletand other coarse grains. These were not only relatively cheaperthan wheat and rice but, what is more important to note in thepresent context, were largely raised in the rain-fed and drylandareas by subsistence farmers for self-consumption. The substitutionof wheat and rice for coarse grains in the staple diet of the ruralpoor thus means their being drawn into the money and marketeconomy. This has far-reaching implications for food and pricepolicies. The rise in foodgrain prices now affects the rural poormore adversely than before when they purchased only a little, ifanything, of their food requirements from the market. DharamNarain has demonstrated that the extent of poverty in rural Indiahas come to b€ positively related to the level of prices and thatinflation accentuates rural poverty. The relatively sluggish growthin the output of coarse grains and the consequent change in theproportion of various components in the total grain production ofthe country has given a new dimension to the problems of poverty,food supply and food prices.

Other disconcerting features of the emerging pattern are thevirtual stagnation in the output of pulses and the serious lag in thesupply of oilseeds compared to the rapidly rising demand foredible oils in the country.

Agricultural growth during the last thirty-five years has beencharacterised by (i) an increase in agricultural instability as re-flected in the increased variance of yields from year to year afterthe introduction of new HYV seed-fertiliser technology; and (ii) agrowth in imbalances and distortions in the cropping pattern.

The increased instability of production is attributed to the widevariance in yields rather than to the total failure of crops in a partof the country during years of adverse weather that would make aconsiderable diffrrence to the total crop production. In the irrigated

18/INor,qN AcLlculrunr

areas of northeh India and in wheat and rice crops in theseBut sincq a larger part of theareas. the vield variance is

comes from rain-fed agricul-from year to year in this casewheat. Taking rabi and kharif

much wider variations than theprincipal rabi cereal) is largely

(the principal kharif grain) isand is, therefore, subject to

greater fluctuatibns. Thus, the continues to be an irnpor-tant factor in determining thethe prices of fertiliser and itsability of electric power and

of crop production in a year but

have emerged 4s the new facvariance in yield and crop prot

It may appear odd to talk of

accounting for the increased

sugar and lorlg-staple cotton..depletion of foodgrain stockweather conditibns, the coun

the problem of iegional imbalpoint was made by Manmohan

to the farmer, and the avail-supplies for irrigation pumps

since 196667.

specific strategy' to overcomein crop production. The same

production under planning. Butand distortions in crop

has brought thdse imbalancesfact is that agricultural growthits wake. The official annual

Economic Survdy for 1982-83

There also appears to be ces in the cropping pattern.with a substantial surplus ofFor example, the country is

On the other hand, in view ofin 1979-80 and unfavourable

had to undertake imports offood grains. At the same we are also faced with theshortage of ollseeds and

The Survey for 19821-.85 whilefar has been amsly rewarded'

that 'the strategy followed soon, significantly, to add: 'How-

ever the imbalalnces persist and crop-wise... . Someareas show veryl substantial inhave lagged behind.'And, w there were welcome gains in

in vield rates while others(,gtttll\t. t-llttt, !

I cereal productioh in 198!84, shortfalls relative to require-ments continue in the of oilseeds, necessitating bulkimports of edible oils. In pulses there is a large gap betweendemand and supply." The S suggests that it is now desirablefor the country [o adopt a 'regi

. Deputy Chairman, Planning

The Green Revolutionl 23

had posed, it was only natural that defence was given precedenceover development. That is not the point. What is important to notein the present context is that the country was facing a paucity offunds for development purposes and that its own developmentprocess was getting stalled. Meanwhile, a feeling had been grow-ing for some time arnong the donor countries that the resourcesavailable with them for international food aid were limited, rela-tive to the demand for aid from food-deficit developing eount{ies.The aid, they argued, should go to countries which showed thegreatest chalce to survive a transient shortfall in their food supply.India began to be treated as a triage case which could not be savedfrom inevitable doom. It was amidst this gathering storm on theeconomic and food front that Lal Bahadur Shastri, a man totallycommitted to the cause of India's toiling millions, became thePrime Minister of the country.

No one else in authority in the country has ever shown a greaterinsight into and a better perception of India's development prob-lem than Lal Bahadur Shastri. By the single symbolic act of invi-ting a very senior and experienced Central Minister, C. Subra-maniam, to take charge of the Food portfolio in his cabinet, he putagriculture at the centre of the stage in government policy-makingand planning. It was this decision of the Prime Minister to whichthe credit of ushering in the green revolution in the country mustultimately go.

Subramaniam's approach to securing a breakthrough in agri-cultural production was twofold. First, he suggested that agri-culture be given the benefit of modern farm technology that hadrecently become available, in a bid to raise crop yield levels in thecountry; and second, the farmer must be assured of a remunera-tive price for his produce if he were to take the risks associatedwith the use of expbnsive inputs like high-yielding varieties ofseeds (which were particularly costly at the time) and chemicalfertilisers. For the first, Subramaniam obtained the approval ofthe Cabinet for the import of 18,000 tonnes of Mexican dwarfwheat seed and spent precious foreign exchange (amounting to $5

million) on it at a time when every dollar of foreign exchange was

required to import foodgrains to feed the population threatenedwith an impending famine of.devastating proportions. At the same

time, he requested the scientists in the Indian Council of Agri-cultural Research to rise to the occasion and intensifv their effort

24l Irrlor,q.N Acntculrunr

of adapting the latest HYV technology to Indianconditions.

Far more important and however, was the policyHe arsued that unless thedecision he took on agricultural

country's cheap grain policy was , food production couldnot go up. He prgposed thatfarmers that there would be afor their produce, vuhich would

government should assure the-supported base price

their costs and ensure a profiton cultivaton of land. His for this basic policy change

senior ministers (headed bvthat this proposal would

all over the country and causeand powerful urban middle

class. They called Subramaniam' proposal a disaster that wouldantagonise the cities. In reply, iam asked the cabinet tochoose between self-sufficiency foodgrains and urban unrest.Not only that. As he later in a press interview, without thebold policy initiative he took, choice before the country lay

a satellite of U.S.A.'The U.S.between starvatibn and 'beco-President. Lvndon Johnson's at the time. he added. was

such that io nation with any de'fhe powerful support of the

of self-respect could tolerate.5Minister carried the day for

him in the cabirlet. He won the case. A 15 per cent immediateincrease in foodgrain prices was and a one-man Commis-sion (L.K. Jha) was appointed examine the whole structure ofprices. On the recommendationcultural Prices Commission wason a continuous basis

the Jha Commission, the Agri-up to advise the Government

on the price policy of agricrpaddy, rice, dheat, jowar, baj

commodities, particularlymaize, gram and other pulses,

sugarcane, oifseeds, cotton abalanced and Int6grated price

jute with a view to evolving ain the perspective of the

oveiall needs of the economy with due resard to the inter-ests of the producer and the

The letter of the policy decisionat the time has bEen adhered to;'the iesults of the fertiliser-seedThe bogey of cofisumer interest

tresan to materialise.

agricultural price policy takenspirit was forgotten as soon as

'stokins the fires of inflation'

The Green Revolutionl 25

has been raised even at the supposedly expert Agricultural PricesCommission level. This has been done to prevent agriculturalprices from being raised adequately to induce the farmer to put inhis best effort to fully realise the potential for agricultural produc-tion that modern farm technology has created.

There is sufficient empirical evidence available to prove thispoint as well as show the damage the agricultural price policypursued since the early seventies has done to the growth of agri-'cultural production. Take, for instance, the ratio between wheatand fertiliser prices. The price increases for wheat in the crisisyears of 196547 had been given extra leverage by a price declinein nitrogen fertilizer resulting fiom new techniques of manufac-ture. This was an important factor in the success of the techno-logical solution of the country's food problem that Subramaniamhad successfully sought. In the early part of the decade, it requiredalmost 7 kgs. of wheat to buy I kg. of nitrogen. Considering therisks, it was hardly an attractive proposition when one kilo ofnitrogen would add only about 10 kgs. of grain to the output. By1968, however, it required roughly 3 kgs. of wheat to buy I kg. ofnitrogen-a very attractive proposition when the new varietiesyielded up to 20 kgs. of extra grain for the 3 spent on purchase ofnutrients. It should have been obvious to a perceptive policymaker that it was the engine of profit opportunity thrown up bythe new farm technology, on the one hand, and the favourableturn in the grain-fertiliser prices ratio on the other, that drove theinnovative dynamics of the green revolution in the country. Butthe point was missed. The retail control price of nitrogen (ammo-nium sulphate 20.6 per cent N) was Rs. 2.12 per kg. on 30 March1972.ltwas raised to 2.96 per kg. on 1l October 1973 and Rs. 4.54per kg. on 1 June 1974. ln 1971-:12,2.64 kgs. of wheat wererequired to buy I kg. of nitrogen; in 1974-75 the rario had changedto 4.14 kgs. of wheat to I kg. of nitrogen. The result was reflectedin the growth rate of consumption of fertilisers. The all-Indiaconsumption of nitrogen showed a growth rate of 40.2 per cent in196748, consumption going up from 0.74 million in 196647 to1.03 million tonnes that year. The following year, the growth ratewas 16.7 per cent and in 1969-70 , I2.3 per cent. It rose again to apeak of 21.6 per cent in 197112. After that it began to decline. In1972-73 it was 2.3 per cent, and in 1914-75 -3.5 per cent.

The country reaped a rgcord harvest of 108.4 million tonnes of

--T

tbnnes the year aftPr. It revived to 1

but fell to 101 million tonnes againoutput of feodgralns was 9 per cet

lE1l12, -7.7 per pent n1n213,'lper cent again in 19'14-75. Undoubr

26llxoreN Acnrculrune

foodgrains in 1970-71. The in the following year wasfurther fell to 97 millionlower at 105.17 million tonnes.

.63 million tonnes in 191T74197+75. The growth rate ofin 1970-71, -3 per cent irrper cent n 197T74 and -3.5

ted production from 197112 to I:dly, the weather factor affec-4-75 but the relation of pro-

'duction with the prices and of fertilisers during theperiod is too obvious to be The procurement price of

kept constant at Rs. 76 perwheat (common $thite) in Punjabquintal from 1967-68 to L972-:13. lnT74, the Agricultural

85 per quintal but the gov-Prices Commissiotr recommendedernment (which wbs in the midst a serious food crisis) fixed theprice at Rs. 105 per quintal. Theand 197176.

price was paid in 19.1-75

Production revived from 1975- onward when the outp.rt olln 1977-78 production

79,131.9 million tonnes. In1979-80 production fell to 109 ion tonnes due to adverse

three years (up to 1982-83),reached in 197U79.

stopped working in Indianthe reasons? Among others,

the hike in the price of fertilisers by the government-38per cent on 8 June 1980, and 17 .5 per ceht in July 1981.

prices were reduced by 7.5The policy was reversed and fertiper cent in 1983. $imultaneously,had accumulated with the Food C

order to clear the stock thation of India because the

farmer was not lifting imported isers to the extent that hadbeen anticipated darlier, anallowed on sales of 2 millioncent reduction in the orice

10 per cent discount wasfrom this stock. This 17.5 per

cent reduction in the price of ferment in the procurement price of

, coupled with improve-and rice, broke the con-

tinuous four year (1979-80 to I ) spell of production stag-nation. The countrv had a production of 152.4 milliontonnes in 198!84:

This makes it evident that alone is not enouqh toachieve a sustaine{ higher growthtry. The technological thrust has

te in aericulture in the coun-

climatic conditions but thereafter,it remained stagndnt around the I

The technologi4al revolution Iagriculture once again. What we

be backed by appropriate

The Green Revolution lTl

policy measures if it is to achieve the desired results. 'The growthof agricultural production in the past,' Buta Singh, Union Ministerof Agriculture at the time, lamented, 'has not been commensuratewith investment in the agricultural sector'. He went on to add:

During the period 1976-77 to 1982-33 the gross irrigated areahas been increasing at the rate of 5.6 per cent per annum, dieseland electric irrigation pump sets have been increasing at therate of 8 to 9 per cent per annum, the area under high-yieldingvarieties has been increasing at the rate of 7 per cent per annumand fertiliser consumption at 11 per cent per annum. While allinputs (in real terms) put together increased at the rate of 4.1per cent per annum, the real output increased at about half thatrate (2 per cent) per annum.T

That four out of the six years taken by the Minister in estimatingthe performance of agriculture were bad yean does not fully explainthe poor results in growth. Taking a longer time period horizon,we find the same relation between the growth rate of inputs andoutput. The CSO data from 197G-71 to 198!84 shows an increasein inputs (in real terms) of 4.4 per cent per annum and an increasein real output of 2.4 per cent, showing a decline in the incrementalinput-output ratio by 24 per cent in the fourteen year period. 'Thisworsening incremental capital output ratio (ICOR) needs to bearrested and reversed during the Seventh Plan' suggested MalmlmAdiseshiah, 'through the components of growth . . . narnely, con-servation and improvement of soil and water use and promotion oforganic manures and increased .foresi cover to strengthen agri-cultural ecology.' 'While these remedial actions are referred to inthe Approach Paper,'he goes on to add, 'it is to be regretted thatthere is no reference to the fact that the increased outputs since thegreen revolution period are being obtained at the cost of evenhigher increases of inputs, which is a wastage of our scarce capitalresources.'"

This is as good as saying that an exclusively technology-basedgrowth strategy is not likely to succeed even in the future, and thatwe have to go deeper into the whole question of developmentstrategy for agriculture and the policy measures needed to accel-erate the past trend growth rate to the desired 4 to 5 per cent perannum level over the next ten to fifteen years. At the same time.

28/INoraN Acnrculrune

touched so far nor is it likely todry-land agriculture which coverscultivation in the country. Foringly becoming too costly to remproduction of cefeals and otherareas has continued to rise partlyof inputs and partly because offcrtiliser resources by the farmeyears. More food is certainly bein

plenty' on the food front is to beThis, in itself, should be suffi

suitability of HYV-fertiliseragriculture in the country. For

on irrigation. It has neitherefit in future the rain-fed and

70 per cent of the land underther, the technology is increas-n sustainable. The unit cost ofoduce in the sreen revolutiona result of the rise in the pricee wasteful use of water andthat has developed over the

produced but at increasing costper unit. This prevents a fall in the ice of food which is necessarvif the poor (who are undernouri at present) are"to increasetheir consumptiqn, and the nt paradox of 'hunger amidst

lved.ient ground for changing the

growth strategy amd technology t has been in use in the countrvtbr the last two decades. But are other reasons pointing tothe imperativeness of the chang . The most important is that

so much from the plan targetsactual crop prodqction has differion at all between the plan

targets and the Actual or promise and the perfor-mance. For example, towards the of the Sixth Plan period, thethen Union Food Minister stated egretfully:

(l) The attainment of Sixth targetsmesta is

have not

jute and mesta were reachedonly in orle year, i.e., 198The area, production and , of pulses was the highest in

not exceeded in anv vear inIhe area, production and1975-76 and these levels '

the subsequent period. In the case of gram, the highestarea and production were 1975-:76 and the highest yieldin 19 ,1&-79. As resards . the highest area undergroundnut was in 197l-72; for rapeseed and mustard, thepeak level of productivi1974-75. [n respect of <

was attained as far back as

, the highest area was inand productivity in 1978-79.growth rate of area, produc-

in respect to pulses,uncertain.been reached in any(ii)

(iii)

(ir)

sugarcane, cotton, jute anCotton ptoduction targets

(v)1979-80 apd peak prodAn analysls of the long

The Green Revolution / 29

tion and yield of principal crops during the period from196748 to 1981-82 reveals that jowar, bajra, smzill millets,barley, gram, groundnuts and sesamum had negative growthrates in area under cultivation. The output growth rateswere negative in respect to bajra, small millets, barley andpulses. The growth rates of yield were negative in the case

of gram and pulses. Besides, the productivity growth was

low ([ess than 1 per cent) in the case of bajra, maize, smallmillets, tur, sesamum, rapeseed and mustard, totaloilseeds, jute and sugarcane.

(v;) The growth rates assumed for the Sixth Plan are unlikely tobe achieved in respect to rice. pulses, total foodgrains,sugarcane, cotton, jute and mesta."

' This does not encourage hope for the Seventh Plan achieving atarget growth rate of 5 per cent in foodgrains and 4 pcr cent inagriculture as a whole. Instead of asking the basic questions (such

as, why the green revolution has been haltcd in its course; why ithas remained confined to areas where it started almost two de-cades ago and has not spread to other parts of the country; andwhy the trend growth rate of agricultural production in the post-green revolution period has practically remained the same as in thefifteen-year period preceding the revolution), policy-makers andadministrators continue to have faith in the technologicalapproach to get Indian agriculture to move faster than in the past.

They do not.ask themselves the question of how the past trendgrowt! of 2.6 per cent per annum could be converted into a 4 or 5

per ceot annual growth.rate in the current plan period. Buta Singhsuggested that the following lines of action would achieve theresults that the planners have set for the Seventh Plan pcriocl:

(l) Where the area as well as the yield of a crop arc high (e. g..wheat in Punjab. Haryana and west Uttar I'radesh), in-creased attention could be given to markcting and price

- support operati()n.(li) Where the yield of the crop is high but the arca is not

large, the strategies should be so devised as to increase thearea under that crop as well as the farmers' attention and

care to that crop. Examples are: summer groundnut inOrissa, Maharashtra and Gujarat; hybrid cotton inGujarat. Maharashtra, Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh andTamil Nadu; and bnro paddy in West Bengal.

crop itself bhould bethe strate$y should be tocropping pattern.ro

Except for paylng greatersupport operations' under thefocused on extendlng the use ofand crops which have remained soagro-climatic zoner, it is theto look for the above situations andtold the agriculturhl scientists.rt

in the ceniral region.(iv) Where both yield and area

This approach to the problem rf,fipal: The Minister did not stop to a

big'. And why the yields per hecrcountry (like Punj{b) with ilt theservices as well ab marketing ii

30/INoraN Acmculrune

(fii) Where tha area under aare low, efforts should bebe the strategy for rice in

remain much belolv the levelscountries of the wdrld. Why doescountry and what does thethe rising trend o{ the ICOR inhave rice yields in the eastern reqiomakes the Minister believe that iheis required to effect a substantial i

the. spread of modern farmrevolution belt to the rest of thenot taken to the use of fertilisersseeds in regions 'where the yield of

production in the 4astern region?the country not started moving cland farming and research effo-rt'generation and dissemination ofcrucial to sustain the growth of aglresearch and exterlsion are the twoencing the spread of modern technecessary but not a sufficient to cause a radical change in

is large but tbe yield levelsincrease the yield. This should

eastern region and for wheat

are low, it is obvious that theby another crop. Therefore,ing about a change in the

to 'marketing and pricehead, the entire strategy is-fertiliser technology to areasar unaffected by it. 'In every

of the extension systeminitiate strategies,' But'a Singh

growth is mechan-himself what had prevented

from the northern green. Or why the farmers hadhigh-yielding varieties ofis high but the area is.not

, even in the best parts of theresearch and extension

available in them.in agriculturally advanced

ICOR continue to rise in thent propose to oo to reverseSeventh Plan period? Why

remained low so far and whatttention of scientists is all that

in paddy yields and totalhis rain-fed agriculture in

ite so much talk about dry-to it? It is true that the

technology is veryproduction and that

most important factors influ-' This. however. is a

The Green Revolutianl 35

Obviously, agriculture had to be content with a peripheral place inthe growth process. The country had made its choice of develop-ment strategy. [t had decided to follow the development modelbased on the experience of nineteenth century Europe, whichaccorded the highest priority to industrialisation in the country'sdevelopment plans, pushing agricultural development to .thesecond position in those plans.

Basically, this has remained the development strategy of thesuccessive five year plans since then. Agricultural prograrnmeshave been conceived and implemented ever since .as an aid to theprocess of growth through industrialisation rather than as an integ- .

ral (leave alone the central) part of the growth process. Thefunction assigned to the agricultural sector is to serve as a supplierof foodgrain and raw material for industry in the required quanti-ties. Production targets in every five year plan are set according tothe projected needs of the economy for foodgrains and commer-cial crops and production programmes are designed to meet thosetargets. Plan allocations are made accordingly.

Objections to this growth strategy were raised at the very outsetby economists like C.N. Vakil and B.R. Shenoy. In the discussionsof the Panel of Economists on the Plan Frame of the Second FiveYear Plan, the critics argued that the relative neglect of the wagegoods sector (which meant agriculture and small scale consumergoods industries) would result in growing shortages of food andother articles of daily consumpfion and, thus, prove inflationary inits impact. It did not take long for these apprehensions to cometrue. Food shortages (which had been overcome completely andthe country made self-sufficient in grain supply during the last twoyears of the First Plan) reappeared in the very first year of theSecond Plan as did the inflationary pressures in the economy. Bothgathered momentum so that by the end of the 1950s and earlysixties, the country was once again confronted with a serious food,and a little later, an inflationary crisis. The problem was sought tobe solved not so much by vigorous action towards raising domesticfood production as by increasing resort to concessional imports of' foodgrains and some cotton from USA under PL 480 agreementswith that country. In the Second Plan period, 19.3 million tonnes offoodgrains, mostly wheat, were imported.

The process continued during the Third Plan period. Half-hearted efforts were made to increase domestic production.

36/INpren AcRrcuLrune

Intensive Distnict followed by tensive Area Asricultural Devel-opment Progr|mmes were lar

imports not only continued butPlan period. Irt 196tr5 the co!million tonnes of foodgrain. Y

. But the dependence onincreased during the Third

had a record production of 89

, the wholesale price index rosethat year by I L per cent and of foodgrain went up from 3.6million tonnes in 1962 and 4.million tonnes in 1964 and 7.16

supplies to it-he decreedof a few months duration

tonnes in l970*ill. Then therecaused by, apart fror\ unfavlimaginative prlce policy pursr

brought about another spurt iphase of green revolution. This

million tonnes in 1963 to 6.3tonnes in 1965. It is at this

stage that India came to be by the aid-giving countries as

a triage case or one for which was little hope of survival withthe limited arnount of aid that internationally available andwhich. therefofe. deserved to dumped so that food aid comingto it could be rtsed for better to save the more deservingfood-deficit nations. They f' confirmation of their view in thecrisis of 1965{7 caused by theeastern states of Bihar and Or necessitating still heavier im-

failure of crops in the

ports to stave off famine and life. President Johnson's actronto keep this country thencef on a leash in the release of PL 480

agreements under that head to beto the future uncertainties

of the situation. It was thisthe adoption of the new agricul-

revolution in 1967 .

curve of foodgrains once-overgoing up from the pre-revolution

record of 89 million tonnes in 1 to a peak of 108.42 milliona pause in growth for four years

weather conditions, an un-

to foodgrains andby the government with respect

djustments made in that policyproduction starting the second

grain production suddenly j(beginning in 1975-76 whenfrom 101 million tonnes in

1974-75 to 120.8 million tci that vear) continued for the nextthree years culpinating in peak of 131.8 million tonnes of

same factors that had caused thestalling of the green revolutionThe production curve had been

tonnes in the second phase of therevolutign and it stayed there the next four years. Once again

The Green Revolution | 37

an increase in the procurement prices had to be made over thefour-year period and a 17.5 per cent reduction (7.5 per centreduction pluq 10 per cent discount on the sale of old stock) infertiliser prices made in 198!84 before another spurt of 20 mil-lion tonnes in grain production was achieved in 198H4. Theproduction of 152.4 million tonnes in 198}84 meant the shifting ofthe production curve by another 20 million tonnes' Since then,production has remained stagnant at around the 150 million tonnes

mark. In keeping with past experience, the next jump of about 20

million tonnes may come in 1987-88 or 1988-89 depending uponwhen the government gives the next concession in fertiliser prices

and, of course, upon the amount of rainfall in that year. Thereason for this stop-go-stop record in agricultural growth duringthe last twenty years is that the technological breakthrough ob-tained in the mid-sixties has not been backed by consistent andappropriate supportive farm policies by the government.

The absenie of appropriate and adequate policy support has

stood in the way of the realisation of,the full potential of agricul-tural growth through the application of modern farm technologyby the country. Even today, the approach to agricultural growth inthe country remains target-oriented and the reliance for achievingthe set targets is entirely on technological factors (like extension ofirrigation, covering greater area under HYV seeds, increasing theconsumption of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and expansionof research and extension services at the laboratory and fieldlevels). It is not being realised even now that technology and theavailability of modern inputs can only make increased farm pro-duction possible. The actual realisation of the potential thrown upby the new technology depends, among other things, upon themotivation of the farmers to put their land to the best use, and tomake optimal use of modern technology and the inputs associatedwith it for raising crop yields. Indian policy-makers have com-pletely ignored this in their formulation of agricultural policy. Thisexplains why even after the beginning of the green revolution in1967, the growth rate of agricultural output in the country has

been practically the same as during the pre-revolution period.Higher growth rates (such as those envisaged in the fifteen-yearperspective outlined in the Sixth Plan and again in the SeventhPlan) are possible only if the technological thrust is backed by apackage of appropriate policy measures focusing on the motiva-

38/h.,rureN Aonrculrune

tion of the farmer to put his la{rd to the best use, take the fullestadvantage of lechnological knqlw-how and inputs.made availableto him, practise efficient land- afrd water-management on his farm,adopt the cropping pattern thai gives him the maximum possiblereturns in money terms besidps providing him and hij familymembers maxlmum amount of on-farm employment, and effectinnovations on his own to get tlie best out of his farming business.In our policy-rnaking, the impdrtance of the involvemint of thehuman factor in the developmpnt process has been completelyignored. This deficiency has to be made good, for, experience ailover the world is that in agricirltural development, man countsmore than any other agent of pfoduction.

ftoCurrent Problems andChallenges

Agricultural growth in India over the irast thirty-five years.has

b""en chara.t"-tised by certain features wlich need close attention'

Among the more important of these are:

1. The overall annual compoirnd growth rate of 2,6 per cent forthe thirty-four-year period from 1949-50 to 1983-84' though

satisfactory., is much below the 4 to 5 per cent mark that is

deemed technically feasible and economically very essential'

2. The growth rate of foodgrain production was the same :xi

that ;f aU crops, namely, 2.6 per cent but that of cereals was

significantly higher, being 2.96 per cent'- . -

3. A-mong ceieals-, wheat has recorded the highest growth rate

of 6.2i per cent'while small millet and barley 'recorded

negative growth rates of 0.90 and 0.80 per ceir{ respectively'

4. Wheat alio recorded the highest productivity gains among

all crops, the growth rate of yield of the crop being 3'12 per

cent over the Period.5. As in the case of different crops' growth was not evenly

distributed over different states of the Union' In fact, a larger

part of the growth in foodgrain production is accounted.l.or

Ly the coniiguous tract in the notth comprising Punjab,

Fiury"nu and-west U.P. Andhra Priidesh, Maharashtra and

Jamhu and Kashmir are other states that have shown above

the national average growth rates in the seventies'

over 55 per cent of the area,the national average.

6. There is a direct positiverate in agricultural prodrand the expansion of irri

levels than those withtural sector.

a srowth rate below

lation between the qrowthin a region. on the one hand.together with the increase in

or little growth in the agricul-

the consurnption of fertilisers, on the other. Thestates with a high perction show high output

of cultivated area under irriga-rates, high intensity of crop-

ping and high consumptionof cultivated area.

chemical fertilisers per hectare

7. States withthigh agricultural rates show a much lowerincidence gf poverty and uch higher per capita income

.These features may be discussdd under three broad heads: (j)

sluggish and uneven growth of crqp production and the distortionof cropping pattprns; (ll) inter-st]ate and regional disparities ingrowth; and (ili) agricultural groryth and poverty. Let us discusseach of these in turn.

Crop prduction

Table 3.1 shows at a glance the.cofnpound annual growth rates ofarea, production and yield of different crops separately for thelonger period of thirty-four years ftfrom 1949-50 io l9g3_g4) an<tthe latter half of that period. wlrlich is the period of the greenrevolution.

_ The principal gchievement of lndian agriculture which is ac-

claimed.internatipnally is that the growth rate of foodgrain pro-duction in the country has exceedeS the demographic growth rate.The

-result is that as against a statF of perennial-food shortage in

the first two decades since Indepe]ndence, we can today boait of

Table 3.1

Compound Growth Rotes of Areo, Production & Yiekl ofPrincipd Crops in lndia (in per cent per annum)

crcp During1967-68 n 198,t-34

During1949-50 to 198,1-44

Arca Pn utlion Yieltl Arcu PrQtlltdiotl Yield

RiceWheatJowarBajraMaizcRagiSmall millctBarleyCoarse cercalsTotal Cercals

GramTurOthcr pulscs

Totul Pulscs

TotalFoodgrains

Sugarcanc

C roundnutSesamcRapcsccd &

MustardSevett 0ilsc<rls*Total Oils€edst

CottonJutc & McstaTotal Fibres

Teir

CoffecRubbcrTotal Planta-

tion Crops

PotatqTobaccoTotal Non-

foodgrains

Ar.r. Cn<)Ps

1t.92 2.46

2. n0 6,02

-0. 16 l.l7(1..14 2.13

I .l{6 2,6.1

0.27 |.n.l

-1t.77 -0.9()-2.04 0.ri0

0.45 t.410.lt:l 2.96

-().550. (il)

0.ltO

0.33

0.74

2.01

| .12(1.(15

l .lJ0

l.13l.(l{}

0.500-9-5

0.5()

I r. tt2

2.866.37

2.3.1

3.99().llo

| .22

{).lr.l

3.1 I

1.911

0.46

1.53 1).6.1

l.12 2.613

1.53 -{1.76| .79 -$.790.75 -(1.{)5|.5't 0.61

-0.l3 - 1.79

1.27 -4.5()1.21,t -0.rig1.17 0.3',7

?-.27 1.62

5.77 3.U)2.04 2.112

0.70 l.5l0.66 0.70

2.79 2.18

- | .23 0.57

-3.01 1.54

0.91 t.752.87 2.O4

l.0l|.201.57

2.53 1.09

|.72 1.35

L53 l.l32.t7 2.002.(n l.l32.O4 1.77

2.{r l 2.01

4.65 0.755.75 2.25

't .42

1.85

3.372.40

1.33

t.68

Ncg. 0.55 -0.35 -0.51 -0.19(!.26 -0.35 0.99 t.38 0.390.4't -0.33 0.n5 1t.79 -0.06{).23 0.08 0.4',7 0.35 -O.O2

2.61 1.56 0.38 2.61 1.84

l.l2 2.02 3.05

0.55 0.02 +.2i().4t -0.33 t.22

3.l3 t.30 t.422.07 0.73 0.382.(X) 0.62 0.12

2.42 1.90 0.17

l 30 0.57 0.70

2.12 1.55 0.l9

?.41r 1.65 0.79.t.r{n 1.96 3.lt?tl.(r6 2.12 3.40

3.12

5.97

2.211

?.62

7.61

t.'t/ 2.2t 3.33

1 .90 3.92

t..lrf 0.27

t.0.1 0.tt1 2.53

1.12 0.-50 2.59

Note:'Sevenoilsecdsincludcgroundnut.scsamc.rapeseedandmustard,linseed,castorseed. nigcrsccd and silfll()wcr.

+ fotal oilsccds incluclc se'vcn tlilsccrJs. ctrcrlnut and cotton seed.

42 / INorex Acrrcur-rune

being 'virtually alone among thesignificant reservd holdings"5own crop surpluses. This is aearly sixties when India hadexperts and aid donors as asupply and food security.

This is, indeed, an impresiveis all that the Indibn planning andthirty-five years has to show to itsEven here, the picture is not asFirst, wheat accounts for theproduction among the bereals regiof production, area and yield inis interesting to note that the gr(post-green revolution period isrevolution periods combined. Thising down of the gfowth rate ofthe introduction df HYV-fertiliserThe larger part of the increase inthrough an increase in yields ryears, the greater part of theexpansion of the area underin 1950-51, the yield per hectare1955-56 and 851 kgs. in l96G6t(which was a vear of severe

After the beginning of thecrop rose steadily from theto 1,307 kgs. in l9?G-71, to 1,6911983-84. This means more than aover the thirteen-year period.in production shown for the

1

tical. The year 1967-{8 was theand a bumper crop year. Theon the high base of output inf983-84 (again an exceptionallylittle lower than if the base taken

The green revolution hai beenmany. Considering the fact thatcereal production of the country1950-51 and 16.66 per cent in 1964

nations in establishingover the Vears from Our

from the situation in theto be regarded by foreignnation with respect to food

but unfortunatelv thiseffort over the last

in the agricultural field.as it appears at first sight.gains in productivity and

the highest groveth ratesperiod 1949-50 to 198H4. Itrate of output of wheat in the

than for the pre- and post-partly the result of the slow-

area under wheat aftertechnology in the mid-sixties.

after 1966-67 was achievedin the preceding seventeenin production came from the

ion of the crop. From 660 kgs.of wheat rose to 708 kgs. in

fell to 821 kgs. in 1965-66

revolution, the yield of thisrecord of 861 kgs. in 19@-61

in 1981-82 and 1.851 kgs. inof the average yield

, also, the lower growth rate1967-68 to 198!84 is statis-year of the green revolutionrate of production calculatedyear for the period endingcrop year) is bound to be a

low.the wheat revolution by

share of rtheat in the totalfrom 15.23 per cent in

to 29.66 per centin 197&-79

Current Problems and Challenges 143

and 32.5 per cent in 198!84, the description does not appear to beinapt. The growth in rice production has been relatively modest,its output going up from 20.6 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 30.56million tonnes in 1965-66, 53.8 million tonnes in 197-a79 and 59.8million tonnes in 198H4. The share of rice in total cereal produc-tion went down from 48.6 per cent in 195G-51 and 49.1 per cent in1965-66 to 44.6 per cent in 1978-79 and 43.1 per cent in 198!84.The total foodgrain production in the country rose from 50.8miflion tonnes in 1950-51 to L52.4 in 1983-84 (or an increase ofabout 101 million tonnes). Of this increase. the share of wheat andrice together was 78 million tonnes or more than three-fourths ofthe inciease.

Before the green revolution, maize, bajra and ragi, among thecoarse grains, showed satisfactory growth rates in output. Hovr-ever, after the revolution they lost ground, both in cultivated areaand output, to wheat and paddy. The result was that except forragi, the other two crops showed extremely poor growth rates ofproduction for the period 1967--68 to 1981-84. Taking all thecoarse cereals together, their output increased from 15.4 milliontonnes in 1950-51 to 21.4 million tonnes in 1965-66, 30.4 milliontonnes in 1978-79 and 34 million tonnes in 1983-84. Small millet.as can be seen in Table 3.1, for the whole period under review, hasshown a negative growth rate in area, yield and output. This is adisconcerting development because these formed the staple of thediet of the poor in large parts of rural India. These were grown bysubsistence farmers. While this may suggest that some of thesefarmers have taken to more remunerative crops, which is to bewelcomed, the large majority arnong them are losers becausewithout any new avenue of income and employment opening tothem, they have been made to change their staple diet from coarsegrains to wheat and rice which they have to buy from the market.

A part of the explanation for this change lies in the fact that theprices of'superior' grain, wheat and rice, are lower than the cost ofproduction of coarse grains. But this would be an advantage if afarmer were putting his tiny piece of land to more productive usethan cultivation of low-yielding millet and other coarse grainscrops. This, however, is hardly the case. 'fhis apart, the very factthat the subsistence farmer, as a result of this process, has nowbeen drawn into the vortex of market and money economy andexposed to competition instead of being governed by tradition and

,14l lNorax AcnrcuI-'runs

custom which was the case earlier, at a disadvantage in as muchas the transition is ffom the status of

to exercise any pull on the market.Even more deplessing in the of grain output in the

country is the facl that the on of pulses (which are themain source of protein for the poor eating a vegetarian diet) hasremained practically stagnant over the last three decades. Thetotal production of pulses in 1960-61 was 12.7 million tonnes. Itwas 10 million tonnes in 1973_74,11.2 mittion tonnes in lg7F7g,12.71 million tonnes in 1983-84 and 12.2 million tonnes in 1984-.

farmer to that of a market

85. The per capita availability ofgrams per day in 1960-61 to 45.2

independent, though poor,consumer with little means

consequently fell from 69in 1977J8,44.9 grams in

197V79 and39.2 grams in 1982-83. It was 38.9 grams in 1984-85.Apart from its adverse soci mic effects, this unbalanced

growth of food crop production reffects badly on our systeh ofplanning and the nature of our economv. There seems tobe little relation between planning fn the agricultural sector andactual crop production, between the targets fixed for individuatcrops and actual achievement. trt ig trui that in a free marketeconomy (such as we have in agricullture where production deci-sions are to be taken by millions of sDread over the vastcontinent with diverse imati4 and socio-economic condi-tions), the cropping patter'n be dictated trv anv centralauthority like the Planning . B'lt there are factors likeprice and fiscal pollcies that can be effectivelv to influ-ence and even reguiate thelines. This element has been

irlg pattern along the desired

planning which, by and large, hasby its absence in ourthe allotment of planin a five-year periodoutlays to various Bectors of the

framework. Distortions and imsuffered over the last thirty-five

that crop production hasserve to emphasise the point

Current Problems and Challenges 145

The case of oilseeds is only slightly better: the output of theseven oilseeds (which stood at 8.61 million tonnes in 1976.77) roseto a peak of 12.8 million tonnes in 1983-84, compared to l0 niillioritonnes in the previous year. In 1984-85, the output touched the l3million tonnes mark but declined the next year to I l.15 milliontonnes. This shows that the increase in 1983-84 did not reDresent a

break from the past but was the effect of favourable rainf;ll duringthat year.

Regional and I nter-State Disparities

If distortions and imbalances in the cropping pattern were theresult of the absence of the necessary policy support to agriculturalplanning, regional and inter-state disparities in agricultural growthwere the outcome, albeit indirectly, of the agricultural policiesafter the mid-sixties when the principal national concern in farmproduction became attaining self-sufficiency in food supply. Thenew agricultural strategy of concentrating the use of availablesupplies of inputs (like HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers and pesti-cides) in areas which held out the best promise of quickest returnsin terms of output, laid the foundations for accentuating the al-ready existing regional and inter-state disparities due to naturaland socio-economic factors. The northern region, which had the in-built advantage of having large supplies of irrigation water, forgedahead of the other regions in the growth of agriculture and food-grain production. Once set into motion, the process of widening ofinter-regional and inter-state disparities in growth rates continuedgathering momentum. The process was sustained by the policiesthat the compulsions of the national food self-sufficiency objectiveforced the government to pursue. Table 3.2, showing the annualcompound growth rates of area, yield and production of foodgrains over the period 19fu1 to 1980-81, illustrates the point.

In the case of production, only the northern region (with an

annual growth rate of 5.36 per cent) was above the nationalaverage of 2.31 per cent. The southern region was the lowestfollowed by the eastern region. The growth rates of airea and yields(at 1.16 and 4.15 per cent. respectively) in the northern regionwere also the highest among all the regions. However, the gains inyield, as is to be expected under the circumstances. were fargreater than the gains in area under cultivation in the region.

46llnorer Aonrculrune

Tabl€ 3.2Growth Rates ol Arw, Prdaction aA.yietd

(196L41 to 1)Fc[dgmfus in Difierznt R€gions

Rare o.f Growthtol980-31

Production Yield

CentralEasternN0rthernSouthernWestern

Atlfnaia

State

Andhra PradeshAssamBiharGujaralHaryanaHimachal PradeshJammu & KashmirKarnatakaKeralaMadhya PradeshMaharashtraOrissaPunjabRajasthanTamil NaduUttar PradeshWest Bengal

Totsl All-Indtu

197&-8t 1970-73

Grow,th Rates

t97o-73 I%i245 t96245,o to to

1978-Ar 1970-73 1978a1

0.580.84

l. l6-0.62

o.27

0.46

2.141.865.361.702.01

2.31

1.55

1.03

4. l52.32t.tJ

1.83

Table 3.3State.Wke Grcwth of Prduction

(in miltion

Avdrsge Aversge A

l0.l 6.2,l t,l

9.r 7.r4.3 3.45.9 4.40.9 0.9t"2 0.97.1 5.21,3 1.33t0.5 9.710i0 4.25.2 4.0

I l;9 '7.6

6,5 6.46t9 6.5

21,3 t7 .2718 7.2

12318 94.6

t)

2.54r.372.333.7rf,. /Jr.944.693.160.911.333.011.22

8.052.471.85

3.502.Ol

4l.8

6

6.19 -0.980.50 2.233.14 1.522.92 4.503.67 7.880.s4 3.X3.58 5.803.87 2.45

-0.03 . z.ts1.03 1.63

11.58 -4.893.0E -0.615.72 10.420.26 4.720.83 2.812.70 4.30r.08 3.62

3.42 2.'t4 3.08

5.

Current Problems and Challenges 147

A better idea of the unevenness of growth of foodgrain produc-tion geographically can be had by looking at the growth ratefigures of the states. Table 3.3 shows the state-wise growth offoodgrain production for seventeen major states.

Six out of the seventeen states showed a growth rate higherthan the national annual average of 3.08 per cent during the period196245 to 197&{1. Punjab, with an annual growth rate of 8.05,stood at the top and Haryana with a rate of 5.75 came second. InU.P., the growth rate at 3.5 per cent per annum during the periodwas not so spectacular compared to the other two northern statesbut that is due to the fact that only the western districts of U.p.,which are well irrigated, have experienced the impact of the greenrevolution.

Taking an average of four years, 1979-80 to 198!84, we findthat the three northern states of Punjab, Haryana and U.p. (with16.8 per cent of the population of the country) account for 33.38per cent of the grain production. If we take Punjab and Haryanaalone, the picture becomes more stark. With 4.3 per cent of India'stotal population, these two states contributed 14.3 per cent of thecountry's fotal grain production in 198!84. Against that, fourwestern and central region states-Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maha-rashtra and Madhya Pradesh*having26 per cent of the country'spopulation produced ?5.4 per cent of its grain output; the foursouthern states-Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka andKerala-accounted for 19.23 per cent of the foodgrain productionagainst 25 per cent of the population; and the four eastern statee*Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, and Bihar-had 18.12 per cent and25.4 pl cent, respectively, as their share in foodgrain productionand the population of the country. Thus, compared to the propor-tion of the population they have, the three northern statel ofPunjab, Haryana and U.P. constitut€ the only food surplus regionout of the four regions. The eastern and southern regions liaveturned heavy deficit regions. Of the procurement of li.2 milliontonnes of foodgrains in 1984-85, the three northern srates ac-counted for l5.2 million tonnes (or 83 per cent) of the total. Theonly state outside the region contributing significantly to the pro-curement of grain by the Centre was Andhra pradesh which con-tributed, in 198,f-85, 1.1 milllon tonnes (or a little over 6 per centof the total of 18.2 million tonnes). This means that for running thepublic distribution system, the Union government has to depend

'l _

48/ INorax Acnrculrune

for 90 per cent df the needed su$plies on four states-Punjab,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Andh{a Pradesh-which have surplusproduction to spalre.

The three northern states are thN principal states with irrigatedagriculture. They have tAe highesf proportion of cultivated areaunder irrigation and the highest infensity of cropping in the coun-try. Thus, against the national avefage of 26.6 per cent,78.09 percent of its sown area was irrigated in Punjab in 197&-79 while theintensity of cropping here was 159 (against the national average of123). Tables 3.4 and 3.5 give the relbvant data for the other states.r6

Punjab and Haryana are far ahdad of the other states, both incultivated area and in the

part of Uttar Pradesh, are the, together with the westernof the agricultural growth

that India has experienced in the lalst twenty years. The two states,which were united at one time, with some initial advan-

the proportion df irrigated tointensity of cropping. These two

them an excellenf start in

tages for rapid agricultural growtfl: a highly developed irrigationsystem; a hardy peasantry which is responsive to new ideas; a

network of roads and transporteach other but the villages to the

not onlv the towns toas well; organised mandies

for the sale of tlie produce; and fwo agricultural universities at

Ludhiana and Hi$sar which not onfy conduct agrtcultural research

but also actively engage themselvps in extension work. The twostates were also fortunate to have ruling politicians strongly com-mitted to agricultural growth. advantages would have given

al growth: and they certainlydid.

But, even so, the growth could dot have been sustained or couldnot have continuod gathering if it had not been helped

by the Central government ;

tingly. were discriminatory inwhich, wittingly or unwit-of agriculture in these two

states. The whole asricultural of the country came tocentre on getting the maximumthese two states to feed the pu

of foodsrains fromdistribution system so that it

could be run without resorting to imPorts or with a minimum ofimports. The libpral allocation of funds for the construction ofirrigation works; generous offered for private irriga-tion works; supply of inputs fertilisers, seeds, pesticides,

Current Problems and Challenges | 49

Table 3.4Inigate.l Arco Statc.wise I97g-79 (Ara in ,Ufi hectares)

Slate Net Sown lrrigaaed. percentage

Area Area

PuhjabHaryanaWest BengalUttar PradeshOrissaBiharKeralaAssamTamil NaduAndhra PradeshMadhya PradeshRajasthanGujaratMaharashtraKarnataka

A|l-hdia

4,t7'73,6505,s39

t7 ,4826,0978,5322,2042,6796,251

11,34918,847

t5,47 |9,543

18,245

10,315

|,42,938

3,262I,918I,4898.892I ,1482,960

22Il572

2,8733,655, lt<

2.895t,715I,ft96I,,tt)9

37 ,961

78.0952.55

26.8850.8618.{33

34.6910.34

2r.3545.96

32.21

t2.2818.7 t17 .9710.39

13.66

26.56

view to inducing the farmer in Punjab and Haryana to produce andsupply the maximum wheat and rice to the public sector procure-ment agencies-all these factors had the effect of perpetuating theadvantage the two states had at the start over the rest of theoountry in producing wheat, and later rice as well. A dualisticeconomy came to be.buitt up in agricutture also, with the progres-sive, capital-intensive, modern and innovative segrnent located inthese two states plus the contiguous districts of western UttarPradesh, and the stagnant, taditional, and relatively unproductivesegment ovet ths re3t of the country. There was little 'trickle-down'effect of the green revolution from the northern green revolutionbelt to agriculture in the rest of the country. The result is thepresent contradictory situation of glut in foodgrains, wheat andrice, with the incidental problems of finding safe stbrage and theheavy cost of carrying the surplus stocks, on the one hand, andalmost 40 per cent of the country's population remaining under-nourished and semi-starved on account of lack of purchasing.power, on the other. It is the agricultural policies of the govern-ment, pursued particularly since the mid-sixties, that are largely tobe blamed for this contradiotory food situation in the country.

50/INorer Acntq:lrune

TalIntensi y o, Ctowittg,

Net SownArea

2

('0N hfctar's)

Land Use

Gross

CroppedAres

Intensiryof Cropping(Col. 4 over2xlm)

PunjabHaryanaWest BengalUttar PradeshOrissaBiharKeralaAssamTamil NaduAndhra Pradesh

Madhya PradeshRajasthanGujaratMaharashtraKarnataka

All-lndb

4,|'t'l3,650( <?o

r't ,4826,09?8,5322,2042,6796,251

I I,349I ti,84715,471

9.54318,245

10.3t5

1.42,938

6,623q 5r,7,878

243tn8,215

I I,3812.8863,31I7,6U

13,l2l2r,747t't ,49610,389

t9.860l l, r33

|;t5,r77

IE178

159

l5lt42139

136

IJ.'

l3lt24

I l6I l5I lJ109

109

t08

r23

682632433772qx)

846615

8t8

Oilseed produdtion is another spot in the overall gmwrh ofagriculture in thQ country. As out earlier, the productionof oilseedst in the country has kept pace with the growth in

ta terms, the output of oilseedsin 1%1) rose to 17.46 kgs. Per

demand for edible oils. In Per(which was 15.76 kgs. Per anr

the consumption of edible oils har

substituting buttPr and ghee as a

in the country. llence the increar

rapidly growing fmport bill of thewhich stood at d mere Rs. 23 cr<

annum in 1971 but fell to 13.58 s. per annum in 1981. It hadin 1984 which, though higher'improved to 17.25 kgs. per

than that in 1981, was still lower the 1971 level. Meanwhile,increased because they are now

ins medium on a wide scale

shortage of oilseeds and thefor edible oils. This bill,

in 1970-71 and still lower (at

Rs. 14.2 crore) in 1975--76, sharply to Rs.446.3 crore in

' The principal dilseed croPs are

linseed, and castorseed.

rapeseed and mustard, s€same,

Current Problems and Challenges I 5l

1979-80 and Rs. 683 crore in 198L81. The provisional tradefigures for 1984-85 put the irnports of edible oil for that year at Rs.92L crore and {or 198${6 at Rs. 614 crore. The final figure for thelatter iear is, however, likely to turn out to be much ligher.

The sharp increase in the import of edible oils in lndia coincidedwith the beginning of a difficult phase of balance of trade andexternal payments balance situation in the country. It is the strainon foreign exchange resources of the country that the growingimport of edible oils caused which was responsible for focusingattention on the need for encouraging oilseeds production in thecountry.

Increasing the production of oilseeds in the countfy poses somepeculiar problems. Price incentives and input subsidies cannot, bythemselves, bring about crop substitution in the desired directionof increased production of oilseeds in place of cereals (which havebegun to be in surplus supply). The surplus cereal production isconfined to irrigated regions while oilseed crops are raised mostlyin dry-land and rain-fed agriculture regions. Because little atten-tion has been paid by research scientists in

.the past to evoMng

high-yielding strains of oilseed crops, excepting groundnut to someextent, the yields in these crops continue to be low. The averageper hectare yield of nine oilseed crops in the country was 529 kgs.in L97&-79,532 kgs. in 1980-81 and 563 kgs. in 1982-83. It is onlyin the following two years that some improvement in the matterbecame visible, with the average yield rising to 679 kgs. in 19g3-g4and 684 kgs. in 1984-85. There was a set-back in 19gt{d, again,with the average yield falling to 591 kgs. Even this yield level ii notattractive enough to tempt the farmer to grow oilse.eds in place ofcereals where such a substitution is technically possible becausethe lelds in the two principal cereals are, on an average, threetimes the improved average yield levels of oilseed crops, aparrfrom the fact that the cultivation risks in the case of the laiter ciopaare far greater than those in the case of the former.

It is against this background that measures like the inclusion ofthe_ promotion of oilseed production in the 2Gpoint programme,and the free distribution of mini-kits of seeds and fertilisers amongthe small and marginal farmers for the cultivation of oilseed cropiare to be viewed. These meagures, however, failed to produce thedesired results.

This led the govemment to adopt a crash programme to boost

52llxornN Acnicur-rune

. The programme took theMission on oilseed production.on 30 April 1986. It has been

:-reliant in vegetable oils as earlyitself the task of raising oilseed

1990 and 26 million tonnes bytask force of all the concemed

of oilseed productiori (name-inptrt supply, price suPPort,

Committe has been set upmonth to month. Measures

of its existence are reported7 per cent in production and 10

harif 1986 over Kharif 1985 inspite of the fact. that area has down by 3 per cent due to

Some results been achieved on the techno-logicalon the

front. Adcordins to a by the Agricultural Ministrykey role of technology

erated Production'technologies , 'under real farm situation, yields fromgroundnut, , and castor be stepped up by 73 per cent,247 pr cent 32 per cent and above that realised fromtraditional 'practices adoption of recommended

the potential, the existence ofof it is actuallv realised is

first year of the working of thepfomrslng.

The case of sugarcane falls in a <i

irrigated crop ahd one should e

growth of outpult for this crop,,brsugar. Bgt cont{ary to expectati(th€ country ha$ developed a c'

output rvas 153 million tonnes.tonnes in 197748 but fell to l5l128.53 million honnes in 197

million tonnes itr 1980-81 and

'India's March Towards Accel-(1987) as a result of improved

category. Sugarcane is an

therefore, a steady yearlythe growth of demand for

, the production of sugarcane incal character. ln 1976-77 therose sharply to 175.97 millionmillion tonnes in 197&'79 and

. It went up again to L54.25

up to 186.36 million tonnes in

Current Problems and Challenges | 53

l98L-82 and 189.5 million tonnes in 1982-83. In 198H4 it fell to174 million tonnes and in 1985-86 to 172 million tonnes. Onecannot explain these wide fluctuations in sugarcane productionexcept in terms of the irrational and uncoordinated price policyfollowed by the Centre and the major sugarcane-producing stateswith respect to this crop.

These regional and inter-crop imbalances underscore the pointthat agricultural policy has so far been concerned entirely with theoverall growth of agricultural output, to the neglect of achieving abalanced growth in this vital sector of the economy and obtaining aplanned cropping pattern. It is only now that this basic weakness inthe agricultural growth strategy has begun to receive official re-cognition and attention. Commenting on agricultural productionduring the year, the Economlc Survey lor 1984{5 stated:

The strategy followed so far has been amply rewarded. How-ever, imbalances persist, region-wise and crop-wise. It is, there-fore, necessary to have a region-specific strategy. Some areasshow very substantial increase in yield rates while others havelagged behind. Efforts for raising yields in the latter regionscommand priority. Apart from increasing overall production,this would also help to reduce regional imbalances. Similarly,yield rates of small and marginal farmers continue to lag be-hind. Since the bulk of the total cultivated area is operated bysmalUmarginal farmers, improvement in the productivity of thesmall holdings is crucial for further increases in overall pro-duction.rs

The 1985-86 Economic Sarvey went further and anaiysed thecauses behind the emergence of imbalances in the cropping pat-tern. It stated:

A number of factors influence the changing cropping pattern,including differential rates of technological change amongcrops, the spread of irrigation leading to area shrinkage of drycrops, market intervention and support by the government incertain crops but not in other crops and perhaps most significantof all, the changing relative prices between different crops (em-phasis added). ''

After refening to the phenomenonedible oilseeds afd sugarcane nec

edible oils and sular, while at the sa

jute rise above thb desired levels,'

54/ Ixorln AcRTdULTURE

the obvious point that 'clearly it isimports of edible oils over a longbe made to encourage domestic

The policy forrhulation in thisThe policy forrhulation in this Ia single crop. Thg problem of inte

ties in the cropplng pattern is cr

long period. It has its origin inevolved in the pdst by each statetion and raw material needs.

between different parts of theed. with the resrllt that the rewould accord with the principletage did not materialise.A largesubsistence varidtv andIndependence, this patternhad the advantage of ample irriearlier, the compulsions of acqtfoodgrains at the earliest led toture Strategy which broughttogether with the concentratictogether with the concentration ofproduction in a limited area in thr

the unanticipated (though perfeccommercialisatiotr of foodgraincourse, the food policy (whichment prices, the conduct ofsector and the ofganisation of a

svstem on the basis of acontributed to this result. But.rice--were affected by this(including coarso grains, pulsesjute, cotton, sugarcane and oproduction on a regional basis

small, albeit ex{remelyeconomy amidst its otherwiseresponsible for theimbalances that have come inlast few years.

a sood deal of comment in the

'shortfall in the production ofsubstantial imports of

time stocks of wheat, rice and

Suruey went on to underlinefeasible to continue sizeable

' and that 'efforts need toof oilseeds.'

must not be on the basis ofional and inter-crop dispari-

and has emersed over a

traditional cropping patternresponse to rts own consump-

trade in agricultural producehas remained rather limit-

specialisation of crops thatmaximum comparative advan-of agriculture remained of the

ial in nature. Even after(except in those states which

facilities). As mentionednational self-sufficiency in

adoption of the New Agricul-the green revolution. This,major part of the increase in

north-west of the country, hadlogical) effect of much gteater

than ever before. Ofthe fixation of procure-

t operation in the public-wide public distribution

Pnce torice for the consumer) partly, two crops-wheat and

In the case of other cropsthe commercial crops like), the old stratification of

It is this change in asegment of the agricultural

character that wasof regional and inter-crop

Current Problems and .Challenges I 55

A study undertaken by the National Council of Applied Econ-omic Research, New Delhi, indicates that at least with respect toyields per hectare, the cropping pattern in various states does notmatch the comparative advantage in yields practically in every

state.'Crops for which climatic and agronomic conditions arem6st suitable are under-groduced while there is over-productionof crops which yield-wise are less advantageous to produce. Thismay not be entirely due to the farmers' inertia, the force oftradition and custom, and the lack of awareness of the choicesopen to the cultivator in the use of his land-holding. There may be

solid economic reasons behind this phenomenon. Among these

are the national agricultural price policy, the availability of a

marketing infrastructure and facilities, and the attention paid indifferent regions to the development of crop production potential(including the provision of irrigation, extension services and creditfacilities).

Further, there is the questlon of overall barancing of demand

and supply with respect to each crop. The comparative advantage

in yields cannot, therefore, be made the sole criterion for deter-

mining the cropping pattern in different regions and states at the

national lev'el. However, the basic points raised by the NCAERstudy remain: a national agricultural policy focused on maximisingoutput from the available resources of land has yet to be formu-lated, and the existing policies have tended to sharpen rather than

reduce the inter-regional disparities in agricultural output, incomes

and employment.

Agricultural Growth and PovertY

This brings us to the third feature of performance of the agricul-tural sector of the economy, that is, the high growth rate of the

farm sector in some parts of the country'has not helped the

solution of the basic problerns of rural Poverty and undernourish-

ment of a vast section of the rural population. In an agrarian

society like India, agricultural development is basic to the well.being of the people. In such a society, agriculture is the base of alleconbmic activity. It is the state of the agiicultural sector which

determines the state of the economy as a whole. This is so because

not only is the vast majority of .the labour force of the country

merchandise for domestic trade exports. we do not requireany sophisticated gconomic theory understand this patent andobvious fact.

That there is a dlrect relation betand the reduction of poverty has,The view put forlvard during therevolution (that thb type of growththe existing instituiional structure irbe accompanied by a steady detetdistributional ternls, of the smatl :

agricultural development

first few years of the greencould be expected within

Indian agriculture is bound to

brs involving not only anincrease in relative inequality but also an increase in absolute

by actual experience.impoverishment) now standS

suggests that not only is theand Haryana (agriculturally

tes) the lowest in the countryand Haryana shows a

ity in the period (1957-58

population below the poverty lineconsiderable portion of thethese states are immisrantwho were attracted to the

opportunities andto their native states. On an

all-India basis, alsd, the available r

thesis that 'the indidence of ruralcorroborates the hypo-is inversely related to

56/INprex Aonrculrunn

engaged in agriculiural productionit but also becausf the other secl(transport, commerlce, construction,culture for the sup$ly of raw materildemand for their products and sen

agricultural NDP per rural person''faster agricultural growth, by raisperson might have lBd to a redrwas written in 1976'and, hence,

derives its livelihood fromof the economy-industry.

services--{epend on agri-wage goods for the workers,

and. hence. revenues and

late, come to be conceded.

ration in the conditions, in

that. in the case of India.agricultural NDP per rural

incidence of poverty.'z Thisguarded tone. The National

for 1977J8 andcase. Agricultural growth

bring down the incidence ofto the data.z3 A part of this

launched durins theof agricultural growth overbe ignored.

Current Problems and Challenges 157

The 'trickle-down' effect of the green revolution, at least in the

northern states like Bihar and east U.P., as also the spread effectof agricultural improvement in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, have made a difference to theincidence of poverty in these states as also to the average for thecountry as a whole. Ai the same time, it cannot be denied thatbecause of the 'bimodal' pattern of agricultural growth that we

have had, the realised growth has failed to make as much impacton the poverty problem as it would have made had the growth

been geographically evenly spread over the country.Poverty is measured in India in terms of consumption expendi-

ture of the household. Those households which have a level ofincome that is insufficient to purchase the amount of food thatwbuld give to every member of the household the prescribed levelof daily calorie intake are classed as poor or living below thepoverty line. Thus, the essential criterion in the calculation is the

availability of sufficient food to the concerned households. Wehave around 30 million tonnes of foodgrain as buffer stock with thepublic sector. A computer analysis has shown that if 16 milliontonnes of this stock could be evenly distributed among those atpresent below the poverty line nobody would be left below thepoverty line in the country.

Poverty. and undernourishment exist not because we do notproduce enough food but because the food produced and thepurchasing power thereby earned are not evenly distributedamong the rural households. Suppose we had a pattern of produc-

tion which provided for the growth of agriculture and increase inproduction at the level of small and marginal farm cultivators inthe drought-prone and arid areas and the landless agriculturallabour, the present imbalances between production and consump-tion at the macro-level would disappear. The problem of hungeramidst plenty would be solved. A dynamic equilibrium would be

the simultaneous increase in dernand and supply, consumption andpioduction at the level of the poor among the farming community.This would correct the existing imbalances between productionand consumption. At the same time. within the existing institu-tional framework and at the same level of growth, it would takecare of the larger part of the problem of rural poverty. Of course,supplies for feeding the urban population would be needed butthese can continue to be obtained from the surplus-producing

changed in such a way that the

been left behin{ in the growthproductivity in the country. The

se regions and states which haveof agricultural production and

should turn from a 'bi-modal' to a 'unirhodal' growth palpolicy changes which would steer

in agriculture . This involvescourse of future agricultural

not only the desired ratealso secures the socio-economic

58/INoreN Acnlculrune

areas as at presrint. The point isonly the nation's annual food reqliving conditions of the poor infuture agriculturAl growth has tomaximum attention is given to tt

for aericulture to m€et notement but also to improve the

rural areas, the pattern of

t alleviation in the rural

resulting in 'not only

objectives of poverty andsector of the economy.

farm sector' over the last tworegional disparities but also inter

Seventh Plan Perspective

As stated earlieri to prepare a

to be includbd in the Seventfi , a Working Group was appoin-development programmes

ted by the Union Ministry ofranging changes in the progra and approach to agricultural

which suggested wide-

growth during the Seventh Plan

Working Report

The Group identrified the followinthe Seventh Pla4 period: rain-fed

as the key areas of concern infarming; low crop yields in the

eastern region; increasing ity of wheat; increasingcropping intensity and irrigation ciency; toning up of agricul-tural administratrion; and, development of the tribalareas. These issutes arose out of lopsided development of the

the Group. 'since the greendisparities'. According toabout 94 per cent of the

increase in foodlgrain producti came only froni two crops-wheat and rice-and that too a very small geographical base.The entire eastdrn region, theproducing areas have remained

tral belt and coarse srain-ected (bv the seed-fertiliser

technology).' At the same time the Group felt, instability inagricultural groWth had been This was not entirelv

Current Problems and Challenges I 59

due to the natural factor but was, at least in part, attributable to

'gaps and weaknesses' in thb overall management of agriculture

a"nd porcy action' It was the relative neglect by planners of rain-

fed and dry-land agriculture and their devoting their entire atten-

tion to irrilated agiiculture which was responsible for, the lopsided

developme'nt of tie sector and the emergence of problems identi-

fied as the key issues for the Seventh Plan'

A major poiicy change recommended by the Group pertained to

the discontinuance of the present practice of preparing a uniform

scheme for the entire country. The Centre' the Group suggested'

should only announce broad programmes and the states should be

given the initiative and r€sponsibility .

of preparing their own pro-

i".tr to suit their own individual conditions, needs and resources'

*ithin thut framework. 'Only such an approach,' said the Group'

'will take care of the diversity of the farming situations in the

country.?A basic policy measure suggested by the Group was that the

gou.rn*"ni should switch onJif.o*'the present-subsidy-oriented

ipproach to a service-oriented approach in the- off.icial policy'' Key

."*i"", (like power and irrigation) and facilities for credit'

martetlng, research.and extension, the Group held, needed to be

strengthened.Ari important point made in the Group's report was that the

'lopsided,' or the unbalanced, developmen! of llre. faT sector is

due to the neglect of, what is euphemisticatly called' the'software

component oiagricultural management.' namely' extension inputs'

qu"tity "onttol

inputs, distribution, etc'' as against 'hardware'

ii"*.iit" irrigation. To illustrate, this strategy has resulted in the

wastage of resources and weak cost-effectiveness: the Group

point& out that five states-Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat' Madhya'Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka-in 1983-84 accounted for

45 per cent of the irrigation porential created but their share in the

incieasing foodgrain -outpui in the post-green

. revolution period

has been-less tian 22.8 per cent. 'There are,' according to the

Group, 'less capital intensive alternatives to agricultural growth

whictr stroutO Lre explored.' It added that'heavy investment is no

substitute for better management.'As is to be expected from a Working Group appointed by the

Ministry of Agriiulture specially to suggest improvements in the

plannin! and lxecution of production programmes relating to

60/INorrx A

agricultural gro in the Seventh lan period, its recommenda-the nature of administrativetions for the were mostlv i

reform. ly, the refrained from discussingbasic policy Its approachtechnocrat or a

the subject was similar to aseeking to get the best out of

the given allocation for a task. The wholeapproach of the was and not developmental.It contented itself suggesung in the administra-tion of Programmes, of these programmesso as to provide balanced production, and the correc-tion of I and regional imbalances thathad appeared as a of past However, it said nothingahout the change in the broad framework on agriculture

demanded a thoroushagricultural growth and the

over the last thirty-fivedevelopment rnodel that had; the opportunities that had

and the mitigation ofon development

of the country which had thesystem of irrigation; and theof planning priorities and

, the inefficient use of avail-the agricultural sector andities in rural incomes andof planniug of agriculture

much diversity in agronomicrequiring attention and the

to these. But this was onlydone. The need was to give

the role of agriculture inonly increased agricultural

impulses in the economythe benefits of develop-

among all classes of peopleelite and middle classes.

officials of the Agriculturematters. The decisions in

Current Problems and Challengesl 6l

these matters had to be political and only a body competent totake hard political decisions and put them through, at the policy-making level, could take these. Obviously, this was a task for the

Planning Commission and the National Deveiopment Council toundertake. Of iourse, the Prime Minister or the Commission as a

whole with the Prime Minister presiding could have ordered a

small group of experts to prepare the Plan framework for the

Seventh Plan, something similar to Mahalanobis' plan-frame forthe Second Plan, with the difference that instead of heavy andbasic industries. the new plan-frame would give the centre-stage toagriculture in the future development effort. The emerging econ-

omic scene in the country with the deteriorating balance of tradeposition, growing national indebtedness and fast-rising debt-service

charges, the protracted sluggishness of the industrial growth rate,

and the continued intractability of the basic problems of ruralpovefty and unemployment after thirty-five years of planning

should have occasioned a deep introspection on the developmentstrategy and direction of planning in the country before launchingof the Seventh Plan. This was not done. The result was that this

Plan also treads the beaten path and is cast in the same mould as itspredecessors.

Plan Provisions

The Seventh Plan document Presents a wide gap between promise

and performance, intentions and action on the part of the Planning

Commission in regard to treatment of the agricultural sector in the

Plan. The opening paras iind statements in the chapter on Strategy

in the first volume and the chapter on Agriculture in the second

volume of the Plan document give the impression that the Com-

mission had drawn the right conclusions on the subject of agricul-

tural development and policy and gone all out to make the needed

changes in the field. Horvever, as one pursues the docrrment

further, a sense of disillusionment begins to take over. In essence,

the development model of the &venth Plan remains the same as

that of its predecessors. The only departure in this_Plan is that a

few thrust areas have been identified for action in the agriculture

and allied activities sector during the Plan period. This does not

amount to a new approach to planning or a new policy line on

agriculture in the overall development of the economy.

62llxorax Acnldulrunn

In the chapter qn Development

adequate and baldnced attentionpulses, fruits and vegetable andmeat and fish.' [n the chapterPattern of Growth, we are told:emphasise policies and prograngrowth in foodgrains production,

these three more immediate objment of long term goals put forment perspective.'15

It may be mentloned in this

ture of the Seventh and subsequentity' was placed alongside an increar

, the Plan document

the Indian economv. the in-process of growth, the favour-

tions of more intensive

ments constraints requireseverity of balance of pay.continued fast agricultural

growth and self-sufficiency in must remain a top priorityconcern of plahning in India./

At the same time; however, 'in for food self-sufficienry,ng for food self-sufficiency,be paid to cereals, pilseeds,ctive foods like mifk, eggs,Objectives, Strate$ies ande Seventh Plan seeks... towhich will accelehati the

ities and raise productivity. AtLcrease employment opportun-present stage of development,ves are central to the achieve-d in the [chapter on] develop-

that at the discussion ofthe preliminary dfaft of the to the Seventh Plan paper,

the Commission to build thebjectives of 'food; work and

with meaning. It impliedd be sought along the lines

an increase in food produc-

growth rate of theto cope with the high

country, and improvement ofof production, both in terms

operations. The directive

agriculture wouldstrategy in which

building the whole superstruc-rlans. The fact that 'productiv-in foodgrains production andities as a basic goal, showedin productivity in the agricul-productivity in general in the

The importan(e of agriculturecreasing demand for food in thable income and employmentagricultural ddvelopment and

expansion of employment

ers and high technology. The

Current Problems and Challenges 163

planners failed completely to perceive and understand the deepermeaning of the three-point directive given to them. They inter-preted it literally and confined their action in the matter to writinga few theoretical paragraphs on the importance of agriculture inthe Indian economy and the impact of growth of the sector on thesolution of socio-economic problems (like unemployment andpoverty)- The entire spirit of the directive was lost on them.Compliance was with the letter of the directive, which took theform of incorporation of some 'thrust programming' in the plan forthe agricultural sector.

These programmes are: (i) Special Rice Production Progranmein the Eastern Region; (li) National Oilseeds Development Pro-ject; (iii) National Watershed Development Programme for Rain-fed Agriculture; (iv) Development of Small and Marginal Farmers;and (v) Social Forestry.2u

These are disparate programmes, each addressed to a specificproblem or the achievement of a specific object. Therefore, theycannot be said to constitute a well-rounded policy thrust for theaccelerated growth of the agricultural sector, which would providenot only a faster growth rate of agriculture and expanding em-ployment opportunities to the rural population but will also takecare of the problems that the unbalanced growth of the farm sectorin the past has given rise to.

Apart from this, the emphasis on agriculture in the developmentprocess henceforth suggested by the 'food, work and productivity'directive was meant to resolve some of the major problems whichthe type of planning adopted since the beginning of the SecondPlan had brought in its train and which were now assumingthreatening proportions. The mounting trade and budgetary defi-cits; the growing resource crunch that the planners had startedexperiencing in the formulation of development plans; the growingburden of foreign debt and debt-service chargbs amidst shrinkingforeign aid availability at least in real terms; the constant threat ofincitrient inflationary pressures in the economy bursting out at anytime; the sluggish industrial growth rate which, in spite of allincentives given by the government and the deregulation of pro-duction and enterprise in the private sector, shows no sign ofacceleration; and several other similar problems should have madethe planners sit up and take a closer look at the earlier devel-opment model and policies to see if the model itself was not

responsible for fnost of the protalso have analyged whether thedid not lie in al radical change

64lINor,c,N Acdrculrune

that had arisen. They shouldion to most of these problems

the development strategy thatthey had so far. If they done so, they would inexor-ably have been driven to the that the growth strategywould have to be changed the development of a modernindustrial base dnd the connected therewith to buil-ding a sound Ll base on which the superstruc-ture of modern industry couldthrust would be needed to revi

raised. A strong technologicalise agriculture, improve produc-

rates of crop production andlevels of the rural population.

of 'food, work and produc-productive forces in the economy

the trap of the 'Hindu growthit more self-reliant with respectinvestments, and balancing its

has agriculture as the baseand multiplication of economic

activitv in the different from the familiarWestern models. Exceptis no historical toture-based modbl of . But this need not deter us fromapproaching thd uniqueIn fact, forand China)

economiestheir vast sector which, apart from

being the sole of food for their peoples, contributesa major portion of their GNP employs more than two-thirds of

model of this kind makes sense.India would have done better iffrom the very start as China did

after her break the USSR the fifties. The lure of foreignaid made us op]t for the growth which had the effect of

industrial economies foron the,eq

dividing thethe modern,

received all the attention in the

the recent case of China, therefor the adoption of an agricul-

confronting us in a unique way.icularly the large ones like India

, machinery and technology, ononomy, in terms of growth, into

urban sector which

the supply ofthe one hand,

plans in respect ofallocation of and, the , traditional sector consisting

Current Problems and Challenges 165

of agriculture and allied productive activities which virtually re-mained neglected except in the highly irrigated enclaves of cropproduction and, therefore, practically stagnant in respect of growth.The former came to be desctibed by some as'India,'the latter as'Bharat'. This dichotomy in the approach to development, which isnever openly acknowledged but has always remained the domi-nant part of the mental outfit of the planners as well as of theruling elite in the country, has been primarily responsible for theimbalances and distortions in the economy that are getting sharperevery day.

The compulsions of the situation, if not the directive of the latePrime Minister, Indira Gandhi, should have made the plannerscast the Seventh Plan into an altogether new mould in which thedevelopment of agriculture and the rural sector was put in the leadin the growth process and the eradication of rural poverty andunemployment was made the primary objective of planning. It isindeed a pity that this has not happened.

4AgDe

Apart from achirving aoutput, rapid aglicultural develthe two seemiigly intractablepoverty and unemployment. Thving massive investments in theany p.erceptible lmPact on thetarget group approach rePrestopment programine (IRDP), n:

(NREP), nationdl rural labourand the rural lahdless labour(RLEGP) for the landlessshown much promise of success-

effects, by whidh much stor€ wi

a capital-intenilve industry devfailed to materi{lise. According

The economic developmentenabled a perceptible increfrom Rs. 466 in 1950-51 to Iprices. In spife of this increascountry is still very high . ...will not be realistic to relysolution to thlis problem. Inot only to ififluence con

ricultuvelop

higher growth rate of farmholds the promise of solving

problems of rural-five years of planning, invol-

sector, has failed to makeof these problems. The

by the integrated rural devel-rural employment programme

programme (NRLEP),guarantee programme

labourers has also notthat direction.'Trickle-down'laid at the time of opting for

-oriented strategy, has

the Sixth Plan document:

the last three decades has

in average per capita income730 in 1978-79, both at 19?0-71

, the incidence of poverty in thethe light of past experience, it

on the growth process to find apolicy measures will be needed

of output in favour of mass

Agric ulrure - bas ed Dev elo p mcnt | 6l

consumption goods but also to ensure a tnore even regional andclass dbtribution of ouEw paying special attention to stimulainggrowth in more backward regdons (emphasis added).,

This would imply a reorientation of the entire developmentstrategy from the present capital-intensive heavy industry g;owthmodel to an employment-oriented growth model, frorn putting thedevelopment of the heavy capital-goods producing industry in thelead to putting the agricultural sector's growth in that position. Wewould have had an entirely different Sixth Plan frame if the plannershad followed the logic of their own statement on past failures andthe need for new policy directions in planning, to solve the tw.inproblems of poverty and unemployment. But the planners did notdo that. They continued to stick to the well-trodden path. Theunderlying strategy of the Sixth Plan was the same as of the earlierfour plans (beginning with the Second Plan),

The principal failure of planning in India is on ihr! qnemploy-ment and poverty fronts. At the dawn of the planning era, it was afirmly-held belief that if we took care of growth, employmentwould take care of itself and so would the problem of poverty.Actual experience has shown this to be an illusion. The growth ofemploynent has not kept pace even with the sluggish growth rateof the GNP (of around 3.5 per cent, and lately 4 per cent). Thehope for increase in omploynent was pinned on the industrialsector, which was given the lead position in the developmentplans. The data available from the annual surveys of industriesshow that betwe en l97t-74 and 1982+3, employment increas€d atno more that 3.7 per cent pet annum while industrial output wentup at the annual average rate of 5.1 p€r cent, and fixed capitalemployed in industry at a whopping 28.8 per cent. Within theindustrial sector, factory employment since the beginning of theseventies is estimated to have grown at the rate of 3.5 per cent perannum as against a growth rate of 1.3.5 per cent per annum of fixedcapital. Obviously, even if it were theoretically possible to absorball the available surplus labour in industry, India does not have thecapital resources to afford it. The Seventh Plan docu'ment franklyadmits this when it says: 'The polential of direct employmentgeneration in large scale industries and in much of the infrastruc-tural sectors is not high because industries are fairly capitalintensive .'a

The unemployment problem, instead of fading, has grown in

three-and-a-half decades. Theto stand as high as 100 million.ides a very misleading estimate

as being only 9.2 million for therelated to the labour forceby NSS data, this gives an

The Plan document, on themonths' data, also gives the

3.04 per cent for the totalunemployment rates. With

low rates of unemployment areadvanced countries.

The live-register of the emplolunemployed by 1985 (as against

exchange listed 26.2 million6.2 million by the end of 1980),

of iob seekers during thePlan document would, on the

number of unemployed wentof the Sixth Plan to 9.2 million

on NSS 38th round resultsperiod and do not cover the

rtvhole year. These results arebased on lncorpplete data.

suspect because they are

several definitiofral changes thatnumber ofdrastically

in the Survev which had the overall effect ofthe of classificatory grounds only.

estimate is of the usual status unemploy-to chronic only. It excludes two

more relevant estimating theand daily status-which are far

of the problem in theIndian case. because of seasonal nature of employment

of conditions of severe under-in agriculture apd the exiemployment, on account of the small size of holdings which

farmer's family throughout thedisguised unemployment in the

of the unemployment problemfrom the total. amounts to

to the simple expedient of refu-at least its gravity.

not give hope of reducing thewhen viewed in the severelY

, experts have pointed tobeen made in estimating the

Further. the

cannot provide employment tocannot provide employment toyear. .It is underl-employment a

rural areas that flrovide the hardin India. Excluding such unempsolving the problem by resortirsing to recognisN its existence or

The Seventh plan projections

Agriculure-based Developrnent | 69

limited sense in which the Planning Commission employs the term.According to these projections, the net addition to the labourforce in the 5lplus group during the Plan period would be 39.38million. The backing of unemployment at the outset of the Plan, as

stated earlier, has been put at 9.2 million. This gives a.total of ,18.58

million, which indicates the overall magnitude of employment tobe generated in the Seventh Plan, Against this, the Plan envrsagesthe generation of additional employment of 2O.36 million standardpersons, which means that at the beginning of the Eighth Plan,there would still be a backlog of 8,2 million unemployed remaining(which is only 1 million less than the backlog at the beginning ofthe Sixth Plan). Is this not in itself an admission that the problemof unemployment cannot be solved in this country with the presentsyst€m of planning and the strategy of growth?

The total employment generation during the Seventh Plan hasbeen put at 40.4 million standard-person-year (SPY). Of this, agn-culture alone is to generate around 18 million SPY employment, as

against 6.68 million SPY by the manufactaing,2.2 million by theconstruction and 2.5 million by the transport (including railways)secton. Within agriculture, the IRDP is expected to generate 3million SPY and the NREP and RLEGP together 2.26 million SPYemployment. The additional employment generated in the cropsector would be 6.97 million SPY end non-crop sector of agriculture,11 million SPY.

The planners find themselves caught up in a net of their ownmaking. Their belief that economic growth based on industrialisa-tion would provide a complete ahswer to the unemployment prob-lem, stands completely shattered, Yet they .would not admit thefailure of the growth model. Nothing could be more revealing ofthe doubts and hesitations that have come to characterise thinkingon the subject in Yojna Bhawan, than the following statement inthe Seventh Plan document:

In formulating the employment strategy, a key role has to beassigned to the growth of the agricultural sector. A steadygrowth in agricultural production through the expansion ofirrigation, increases in cropping intensity and the extension ofnew agricultural technologies to low productivity regions couldcreate a large volume of additional employment because thesemeans have high potential for labour absorption. However, the

70/Ixonx AcnrNulrune

agricultural sector alone be expected to eliminate theabsorb the additions to the

in the form of constructionwould also help raise the rateit would increase the incomes

backlog of uilemploymentlabour force. The rate of growth must be accelerated.However, as dxperience has strial growth would not be able

even a high rate of indus-create additional employment

to absorb more than a fractiemployed labour,force in the

of the unemployed and under-industrial s€ctor. There-

fore, programmes of ruralmassive rural capital formi

and, in particular,

becomes nece$sary. ThiSof growth of agriculture .

Arthur Lewis, nQw frankly admitsIndia 'the only I way to avoid

and purchasing power of the segments of the populationand thereby provide demand to the growth process.P

Mark the use of the 'however' in two consecutivesentences, one qlralifying the support for an agriculturaldevelopment-baded growth , and the other for an indus-trialisation-led gfowth strategy.between their dogged adherence

planners appear to be tornthe latter and the logic of the

present situation which demands a mrnpletd change over to theformer. Tlleir arhbivalence is for the future of planned

as it is to the realisation of theunemployment. There is only

is the adoption of a growthof labour without

compromising productivity. means much greater labourabsorption in agticulture with raising substantiallythe productivity levels in the with the help of the applicationof modern scienlific knowledee

The need for a reorientatiJnbio-technology.

case of developihg countries hasthe development model in the

now oome to be widely recog-nised. The earlier belief that transfer of labour from agn-culture to industfy fwhere theaverage produclivity is relatiincomes and output' in develop

of capital per worker, andhigh) is the key to raising

countries, now generally standscompletely shaken. One of the exponents of this model,

in q developing country likeunemployment is to

persuade more pBople to remain the country-side.'r 'This is onestudy of nineteenth century hasarea,' lre goes on to say, 'where

development in tfie country as mrsocio-economic goal of eliminatirone way to achidve this goal andstrategy which will increase the

development in the country as

A gr iculure-bas ed D ev elo pment I 7 |

handicapped us. Our agricultural economics is based on. theassumption that numbers in agriculture will decline as economicdevelopment proceeds; our policies are therefore set towardshelping to reduce the number of men per acre. Instead, we shallneed for the next three or four decades agricultural policies aimedad absorbing mor€. mer per acre. The experience of the pasteconomic development cannot therefore serve as a lesson to thecontemporary developing countries.'3'

The problem in Indian economic development is that duie toheavy population pressure, we cannot look to industrialisation totake over the backlog of labour unemployment, absorbing af thesame time current increase ln the labour force over the next fewdecades. If the problem of growing unemployment is therefore tobe effectively met, it is necessary that conditions are createdwhereby agriculture, instead of releasing surplus labour, keeps

within itself not only its existing labour force but also absorbs thelarger part of the annual increase in the labour force due to anincrease in population, at a rising level of productivity, at least overthe next one or tlvo decades.t'As K.N. Raj puts it:

There is little prospect that expansion of manufacturing indus-tries and productive services will be high enough to absorb thegrowing labour force. There is, therefore, general recognitionnow that a large part of the additional employment opportunitiesneeded has to be generated within agriculture itself, at any ratein the next one or two decades.3s

However, it is not enough that agriculture should absorb morelabour; it is equally important that it does so with a rising level oflabour productivity in the s€ctor. Agricultural incomes musf risesimultaneously with increasing employment opportunities in agri-culture. That itself would raise the demand for food in the coun-tryside because a part of the additional income is bound to be

spent on purchase of food by those who are at present living belowthe poverty line. This means they have access to less food thanwhat they need, due to'their lack of sufficient purchasing power.At the same time, agricultute will have to continue supplying thefood needs of the non-agrictrltural population in the urban areas as

at present. The total demand for food and other agriculturalproduce in the economy would thus go on rising as development

the upgrading o[ farm technolrather than an employment-cprocess? Will not the use of impr,of modernisation call for inore ctHow is the need for more capital'

be employment-destroyingand labour-absorbing

technology and the processinvestment in agriculture?

be met? Will a higher rate ofwith a rising level of

Will agriculture be able to

will it have to callwill it have to call on the non-farmits capital needs, dt least in the eat phase of its development? If

:he growth of the agriculturalthe rest of the non-agriculturaltheoretical issues, answe$ to

which can be fotrnd in the literature on the subject.afar from being contradictoryand the increase in employ-

Briefly, it has beeh demonstratedto the overall groivth of thement opportunitips, a dynamic a1

like what exists in India today, can

met? The answer is througha substantial increase of

Would not modernisation and

h process from within orof the economy to supply

sector in a situationa positive contribution to

achieving higher growth rates, ir

ties, raising the fate of capitalemployment opportuni-

. and securing a morebalanced sectoral growth of the i

the lead in the lrowth process j

circumstances, to achieve growththe primary aim Qf planning from

. Putting agriculture inthe only way, in the present

social justice which, thoughvery start. has so far eluded

realisatiop.illustrates the point. The

in Punjab, Haryanaand increased crop production

in the concerned areas but also added to the em-. Wage rates of agriculturalin the country and the level of

the state has to depend on eastthe needed labour supply for

jab stotid at the top of thetwenty-one states in the country inlation below the poverty line in

978. The percentage of popu-state was 21.7 in 1977-:78

Agriculture-based Development | 73

compared to 58.5 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 56.1 per cent inAssam, 52.9 per cent in Bihar, 65.4 per cent in Gujarat and 62.3per cent in Kerala. In Haryana, the percentage-of people belowthe poverty line in the same year was 24.1 per cent and in UttarPradesh 38.2 per cent.35 The per capita average daily calorie intakein northeru Punjab at 3,534 and in southern Punjab at 3,442 wasthe highest in the country.$ Other indicators of relative development and standard of living of the people in various states alsopoint to the sarne conclusion; the states with higher growth rates ofagriculture have fared better than otherc in improving the livingconditions of the people in the last three decades.3T This confirmsthe view that has now widely come to be held that the key to iheproblem of development and improving the living conditions ofthe people in agrarian economies like India lies in the rapid growthof the agricultural sector and raising agricultural productivity.According to a U.S. Presidontial Commission Report:

Low agricultural productivity is an especially important cause ofpoverty and hunger in the least developed or food prioritycountries. A rough idea of the difference between such coun-tries, where 92 per cent of the worlds riee-isgrown, averageof output per hectare and per worker. In the developing coun-tries where 92 per cent of the world's rice is grown, averageyields per hectare barely exceed 1.5 tons per year. By contrast,in the developed nations, rice yields average 5.5 tons per hectareper year. The output of individual agricultural workers in thetwo sectors differs even more markedly: the average farmworker in the industrialised countries is 12 tirires more pro-ductive.s

Therg are, of course, important differences in the.conditions ofagricultural production in the developed ahd underdevelopedcountries. The land-man ratio in developed countries is high, thesize'of holding relatively large, the amount of capital used perhectare mulch larger, and the amount of labour employed muchsmaller than in lqss developed countries. As a result, productivitycomparisons between the two sets of the countries are strictly notcorrect. But this do€s not, in any way, detract from the importanceof the proposition that the first and foremost requirement forachieving high growth rates in economies of the less developed

74l lNprex AGRTCULTURE

countries today is the pursuit of a agricultural policy bythe governments of those 'If one were asked to pick a

single factor as thp most common e for a low rate of economichave to be the absence of agrowth,' wrote Atthur Lewi6, 'it

vigorous agricultriral policy.'Policy on agriqulture has to two maior tasks. The

first is to secure increased agricutural output by setting into motion

productivity and agricul-forces that make for

a sustained rapid growth of the sector of the economy.The growth rate of agricultural in the earlier phases ofdevelopment has to be kept well above the population growthrate. The second {and even more ) policy goal in the case

of labour surplus countries like India has to beagricultural production. Thethe more intensive use of labour

is to go side-by-side with theagriculture at a rising level

is not sufficient to incieaseof the agricultural sector in

terms of total prqduction. Thatof poverty and unemployment,

not resolve the problems

development efforts andsolution of which is basic toin India. Agricultural policy

must directly airn at increasing employment of labour inagriculture along with raising levels of productivity of land

The policy has to be compre-and labour in tho farming sector.hensive enough tro combine meas to boost crop productionwith those aimed at increasine the level of employment of labourin the farm sector.

The conventiolal programmes in the five year plans forthe growth of the agriculturalsion of irrigation and area co

of the economy are: expan-under high-yield varieties of

seeds; increase irt consumption fertilisers and pesticides; andat the laboratory level and

through extension services.in the country, the larger

from an expansion ofthe area under cultivationr Th€ of large irrigationworks, reclamatipn of wastelandoperations (such as those carried

through massive reclamationoperations (such as those carrU.P.), and bringing under cuearlier had remdined unculti'

in the Terai region of wests()me marginal lands that

at the commodity

increase in agricdltural productrincreased-employfnent of labourof incomes. Thonrgh necessaryoI rncomes. Inoflrgh necessary,yields and impr4ve performanr

encouragement of agricultural resextension of its rebults to the fieldBefore the onset bf the green rev(part of increased production was

because,

A gricuhure -bas ed D ev elo pment I 7 5

prices then prevailing, it had not been found economical by thefarmer to cultivate them, were the main contributors to the growthof agricultural production till the mid-sixties. After 1967, thepicture changed completely. Emphasis has since been almostentirely on the use of modern technology and raising crop yields as

the policy tool for achieving production targets. In fact, the policy'tilt in favour of modern technology has been carried to such

lengths that the need for a supportive socio-economic policypackage required to make modern technology produce optimumresults has ceased to get the necessary recognition. Land reform isnow virtually a forgotten .policy measure. It continues to beritualistically mentioned in the successive five year plan documentsbut without the planners putting much store by the reform,s formaking any material contribrution to raising the rate of agriculturalgrowth in the country. Agricultural credit is another measurewhich has not received the attention it deserves in our agriculturalpolicy-making.

Even more important is the agricultural price policy. This policyis dictated in India by the compulsions of the public distributionsystem which we have now come to regard as an integral part ofthe strategy for the management of the national economy.e Thelinking of the agricultural price policy with the needs of the publicdistribution system has been responsible for discouraging agricul-tural growth and fixing our sights regarding agricultural develop-ment on national self-sufficiency rather than on the production ofagricultural surpluses for export purposes.

Increased Inbour Absorption in Agriculture

An additional set of measures is required to secure a greateramount of labour absorption and increased labour employment inagriculture. Some of the more important measures in this categoryare: land reforms, the promotion of appropriate technology foragricultural growth, iarger capital investments in the agriculturalsector, and an active intervention by the state in the labour andproduct markets. All these measures are to be seen as parts of asingle whole and not as separate entities. However, for purposes

of analysis, it may be useful to consider them separately.

times regarded as an obstacle in tlraising crop yields. It is, therefore,of land (that would not only put abut also fix a floor for the minimumessential for turning agriculture frorbusiness like any other. This would

76lINonN Acnrcqilrune

Small-size holding$ thattimes regarded as an obstacle in

lndian agriculture are some-way farming efficiency and

that a redistributionon individual holdings

size of holdings) isa way of life into a profitable

fixing a ceiling in eachcultivable area available in

and the area covered byoperating holdings below a

cultivated by them. Ceilingssurplus land made available

. to provide additional land tothan floor size. This would be

distribution of landalso make farming econ-help in reducing the inci-

rationality, there isof land and re-

above lines through legis-polity being what it is, it is

would come about soon, ifplans have emphasise$ the

by the state legislatures.even to implement the

them; and, the nqmber of farmerstipulated floor si|e and the area

dence of- rural povbrty.On grounds of dquity as well as

everything to be said in favour ofstructuring operatibnal holdings onlative action. But the structure of Inextremely that such a

fiveneed for landprogrammes forenforcement of thp ceiling lawsSufficient

and given measure high priority arhonghas been made in strict

existing ceiling lalws, not to of enacting more radical

, it need not hold up policygrowth in the country. Ttat

without land reforms is, a keen observer of the

of reform to development is

would be fixed in duch a way that tby the fixation of cpilings is sufficieevery farmer havin! a holding of leran ideal solution td the problem ofwhich prevails at present. This w,omically a more viable occupation

ugh it seems wrong and

Agriculture -based Development I 77

unwise that so much legislation should have been enactedwithout being implemented, yet in the present political situa-tion, the ceiling legislation cannot be implemented and in thepresent economic situation it is difficult to believe that theienancy posiii,on can be improved.... Agrarian reforms reallydo liberate.... But no conclusion emerges that agrarian reformis necessary to development. It is unfortunately customary toprove that reform is a condition of development by usingHumpty-Dumpty definitions.. .. It can only be regarded as suchif all other things needed for growth will [can?] not be under-taken without it.'r

So we have to proceed to formulate an appropt'iate agriculturalpolicy, taking the existing distribution of land holdings as a givenpremise. The existing situation may not, after all, be all thatdisadvantageous. On the contrary, it may turn out to be an ad-vantage to have small size holdings so far as labour absorption inagriculture and the productivity of land are concerned. This is so'because small holdings systematically employ more labour perhectare than large holdings. And there need be no loss of produc-tivity per hectare because, given access to credit and materialinputs, small farms yield mone output per hectare than large farms.'n'Farm management studies in lndia show that the intensity ofcropping decreases and lakiur employed in terms of mandays usedper hectare goes down as the size of farm increases.or In Ferozpur(Punjab), for instance, data on the intensity of cropping andmandays used in cultivation from l%8-69 to 1969-70 showed thatthe intensity of cropping was 143.7 per cent and mandays used perhectare were 103.9 for farms below 6 hectares (compared to 135per cent and 84.6 days respectively on farms of 6-9 hectares), 134per cent and 83.9 days respectively on farms of 9-14 hectares insize, and 109.6 per cent and 53.9 mandays respectively on farmsabove 24 hectares. Similar evidence is available with respect todistricts in U.P., Tamil Nadu and Assam.{

The inverse labour-input farm-size relationship phenomenonholds good almost universally in Asian agriculture. In Taiwan, forexample, where agriculture is no more of the traditional type andis passing through a transitidnal phase, labour input in farms below0:5 hectare in size in 1977 was on an average 503.7 mandays perhectare of cultivated area, compared to 203.7 mandays on farms of

78/horax Acnrculrune

over 2 hectares in size.nt Labour i data of farming from Japan,while confirming [he inverse between labour input

piece of information:and farm. size, provides anotherlabour input per ihectare decreaseconomy develops, incomes outsagricultural emplofment expands.'hectare per year oh farms between

over time as the countrv'sagriculture rise and non-

labour input in Japan per.5 to t hectare in size was. on

an average, 924 dandays in 1922, 15 mandavs in 1952 and 353mandays in 1975. The figures for farms of over 2

mandays, while the averagehectares in size wdre 510. 465 andfor farms of all sizes was 656, 672 267 mandays respectively for1922, L952 and 19?5.{

As the Indian e@nomy developsoutside agriculturp expand, thereabsorption in agrioulture for the co

and incomes and gmploymentmay b€ less need of labour

farms may fall as in large farms.and labour input in small

the invers* labourrinput farm-sizeas Japan's example shows,:ionship is likely to persist.

Several explanqtions are for this phenomenon. Oneobvious explanatiqn for the higherings is that these holdings consist

labour inputs in smaller hold-better quality land which is

more profitable to cultivate i " Hanumantha Rao founda part of the explanation, albeit . in the fact that smallfarms are better ifrigated. Accordsettle down orignqny on small holdhave been making improvements otions through the application of fanin an inverse corfelation between

to him. 'those who had tobecause of lower immes.

the land over several genera-labour and this has resulted

farm size and the productivecapacity of the lan{.'{ Another ation of the inverse relation-ship is that in the smaller farms, intensity is greater andmulticropping is tlp normal prrctiefar more careful tpnding are raised

More valuable crops requiringIntensive land use which is a

characteristic feahrre of China's has, together withexcellent fi eld management,over large areas, producing

per hectare and in .somequadrupling has been re-

is possible only on small farmsPakistan, Bangladesh and

falls as the farm's size

Agricularre-based Development I 79

Another explanation of the inverse labour-input farm-size rela-tionship put forward by Khusro is that as farm size increases, the'land taken in on lease and cultivated on the basis of tenatrcyincreases as a percentage ol total land' and since 'farmers applythemselves and other inputs qualitatively better on their own landsthan on lands leased in,'s' labour input declines as the farm sizeincreases. Yet another explanation for greater labour input onsmaller farms than on larger ones is that labour applied on smallfarms is usually family labour, which is priced much lower than thegoing market rate of wages. As the farm size increases, the size offamily members does not increase proportionately and, therefore,'labour input decreases with an increase in farm size.52 Some otherexplanations put forward are: (i) apart from various factors in-ducing the farmer to use more labour per unit of cultivated area,there are forces which compel him to do so, and (i;) that theproportion of hired labour declines as the farm size increases.

It is not necessary to go into the details of these explanationsand their validity. What is important for us to note in the presentcontext is that the existing state of affairs with regard to land distri-bution and the preponderance of small size holdings in India'sagriculture is conducive rather than inimical to the achievement ofpolicy goals of greater absorption of labour in land cultivation andraising the level of agricultural productivity in the country. Moreegalitarian distribution of land through land reform measures willbe useful but is not an indispensable condition for securing in-creased labour employment and increasing land productivity in thepresent stage of development of the Indian economy. After fifteenor twenty years when the non-agriculture sector expands suffi-ciently to draw out surplus labour from the agricultural sector foremployment in the manufacturing and services sectors, it may bepossible to organise farming on a larger scale. In that case, it willbecome prudent to frame rules for the sale, purchase and registra-.tion of land deals in such a way that market forces gradually bringabout chartge towards larger-scate farming.

Technological Progess

Technological advance is necessary to achieve the desired break-through in accelerating the rates of growth of agriorltural prodrrctiv-ity and agricultural production. The fertiliser-HW seed revolution

it may bein the cormtry

and west U.P.. the use

advanced the On the

could be achieved by way of anthroush the use of modern

to note that the inci-the lowest in Punjab, HaryanaHYV-fertiliser technology has

hand, states in eastern India,

of poverty oi reduction in thedata on the incidence of ruralto twenty-five Year Period is

In thisdence of

of agricultural196912 to 198

to theculture withincidence ofpoverty foi

eastern, southerh and Himalaytural growth and the incidence

Assam. Bihar. -and West show very high levels ofpoverty. In a analysis of sectional evidence from fiveagro-climatic NSS regions, Bardhan found that the per-

the poverty line in a region incentage of rural1972--73 was and related to the average

annual rate offound 'that the

of crop in that region. Further. he

wage rate positively associated with pro-

ductivity factors, such use of fertilizers, soil qualityindex, lowerrainfall . '53

in actual compared to the normal...

Some idea of the relationshiP the incidence of ruralpoverty and. prdBress a state in recent years may be

had from Table 4.1 which identi the growth rates of agriculturalproduction durifg the period 1'

states along witltr the incidence72 to 1982-84 in the major

rural poverty in each $tate lntn7-:78.

interpreting Table 4.1. Growthbelow thi poverty line are

case. But within a state, therethese respects. The mostU.P. is far ahead of the

regions of the state in agricul-poverty there is far below the

national averagd. Yet, for the as a whole, the percentage ofticallv the liame as the nationalpeople below poverty line is

average (see T 4.1). Secondly Table 4.1 gives the growth ratesthree year average basis fromon poverty is for a single year

(namely, 1977- ). If the growth rate is to be relatedto compare growth in agri-of poverty, we

but the

in the. The time

There are obvfous difficulties irates and the perbentage of ruralgiven for the state as a whole in e

are great regio{al variations inglaring 'case is {hat of U.P. W

state over a

A g ric u I rure - b as ed D ev el opme nt I El

Table 4.IStatc-visc Gmwth Rote of Agrbultuml Prduction orrd

Parcentage ol Popubtion Below the Poverty Linc

State Annual Growth Rate Percentage of Ruralof Agricuhural P<tpulaiion below

Production (1969172- Poverty Line in1981184) 1977-78

Andhra Pradesh

AssamBiharGujaratHaryanaKarnatakaKeralaMadhya Prad€shMaharashtraOrissaPunjabTamil NaduUttar PradeshWest Bengal

All-India

3.61

1.78

t.172.532.34i.87

-1.581.67

1.873.590.572.66

-o-253.05

43.89

52.62

58.61

43.2023.2549.58,16.00

59.82

55.8568.9?11.87

55.6tt

50.23

58.94

50.82

not readily available. Third, agricultural growth is a mbjor, butadmittedly not the only, factor contributing to the lessening ofpoverty. Agricultural growth rate in a state may remain low andyet there may be a decline in the ilcidence of poverty over timebecause of other factors. This is the case. for instance. in Kerala.

With all these limitations in mind, one can still argue that,broadly, the states which have shown significant growth in agricul-ture have succeeded in reducing the percentage of rural populationliving below the poverty line and that the incidence of rural poverty islower in agriculturally advanced states compared to those whichhave lagged behind in agricultural growth. On one side of thespectrum of rural poverty stand the agriculturally highly advancedstates of Punjab and Haryana which have the lowest ratio of ruralpeople living below the pov€rty line; on the other, are Orissa,Bihar, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu where the aver-age growth rate of agricultural production is much lower and thepercentage of people below the poverty line in rural areas is muchhigher than the national average.

This result is important because of the policy implications it

carries. Agricultural growth inhas been more the result of anthan of an expan$ion in the dreaof poverty has gdne down with

biological field and the expansionthe imprbved delivery of needer

in these states (patrticularly in punjBihar. By reducing the numberopbrations-like ploughing, har

of extension service as well asinputs (like fertilisers, high-

mechanisation of farm work.

) is drawn from east U.P. anddays required for farming

E2llxorax Aonrculrune

country since the mid-sixtiesof farm technology

cultivation. If the incidencegrowth of agricultural

production wrought by transformation, this showsthat technologicall progress inresolving the problems of ruralthan aggravate thbm, as was fe:

has a positive effect onand unemployment rather

in some quarters at the start ofthe green revolu(ion.

Technological progreqs can.begories-biological and mechanica In the first category fall tech-

divided into two cate-

nological advances pertaining to ing more produce per unit ofland. This is land-saving, in to mechanical technologicaladvances that are labour-saving. of research in the

yielding variety seeds and ); subsidisation of input salesto small and marginal farmers;facilities for purchase of costly

the provision of liberal creditto the weaker sections of

farmers are all obviously unobj policy measures. Thesewill raise agricultural growth and income levels and. at thesame time, provide more on-farm

Difficulties arise when one talksfor agricultural labour.

the advance of mechanisationunemployment because

appea$ to be plausiblemuch of its strength. Therelevant to agriculture is

enhancing rather thanproduction and employment

technology. Even the use ofdestroying and wage reducingand threshers has, in practice,

been found to be associated with increased demand for labourand Haryana illustrates

been found to be insufficientthe green revolution.

, for transplantation of seed-of the labour force employed

to cope with incrcased farm workFor harvesting opbrations and, oflings in paddy culdivation, a large p

and threshing of the

Agriculure -bas ed Devela p ment I t3

crop-tractors and harvesters make multicropping on an op€r-ationi{ holding possible and thereby add to production as well asto the employment potential of the farm.

However, as shall be seen in Chapter 5, HYV-fertiliser tech-nology is rapidly becoming obsolete in the face of the revolution-ary advances made by bio-technologies like genetic engineeringand bio-fertilisers. It is to the latter type of farm technology thatwe have to look to in this aountry for raising the productivity levels inregions of unirrigated agriculture, which are also the areas of thehighest incidence of poverty. The emerging bio-technologies openup revolutionary possibilities for India, as indeed for other devel-oping agricultural countries, to achieve simultaneously the twingoals of a fast growth rate of agricultural production and rapidadvance towards elimination of rural poverty. Technologicaladvance is the key link in both agricultural and social transforma-tion in India today.

Capital Investment

In the colonial economy, the agricultural sector suffered neglect inthe matter of capital investlnents. The general view was thatagriculture. being the major sector of material production, was toserve as the main snurce for capital accumulation in the economy,But the economic surplus produced by it was to be taken out forinvestment in the capitalist industrial sector and for providing aninfrastructure for the urban sector of the economy. This viewcontinued to hold ground for some time even after the end ofcolonial rule. However, the difference was that large public sectoroutlays on irrigation, power and various other programmes aimedat improving the performance of the agrictltural sector came to bemade a part of planned development effort, from the beginning ofthe planning era.

With the introduction of new farm technology and the increas-ing commercialisation of agriculture, the picture regarding the roleof capital in the agricultural sector from the point of view of theindividual producer has undefgone a radical change. Agriculturehas come to be regarded, at least by all those with holdings above 2acres of irrigated land, as a business enterprise like any otherbusiness. A farmer needs funds to meet both his working capitaland long-term investment needs (like installing a tuhewell

&{/Ixprex Aon[culrune

on his farm, coqstructing drairand improvemelrt works and brshort-term crop loans as well

need for rapid expansion ofparts of the couhtry from finence of opiniont. A consensus

nationalised corilmercial banksity, by the Union Finance Mir

and Rural Deviflopment, hasfacilities to regional rural ba(including land rportgage banks

people. Of this 34 per cent, 16

agriculture. An apex institution,

their advances to the 'prioritysmall scale industry, and the

,' which included agriculture.income weaker sections of the

credit needs of dhe farmer). ittedly, the present credit facilities are still inadequate and, byand marginal fatmer. They need

large. do not reach the smallbe strengthened. At the same

to recoveries in the agriculturallat6, has shown considerable

of serious. concern not onlythe policy-makers as well. A

in the repayment of debts byThis needs to be stopped bytbat an uninterrupted flow of

loans for the pufchase of inputs,construction of various on-farn facilities. He may be able to

, animal stock and the

generate a part of the capital himself from his own farmoperations, though {or small and farmers even that is notconceivable. Fop the larger part r

credit from ouiside agencies. Imodernised and agricultural pr,increased, agricullture in India hasin character, in the sense that, as

to play an increilsing role in agrifactor of production, capital has

conceivable. Fop the larger part his needs. he will have to seek

This raises two policy issues.tural credit, andl the second on

rral production in future.first is the policy on agricul-

ial encouragement to deepen-ing and widening the capital

credit facilities {o the farmer stgrammes of mopernisation and

get high priority in the pro-of agriculture. The

and other water management/storage godowns). He needs

medium-term and long-period

any if farming is to beto be substantially

to become 'capitalisf

in Indian agriculture. On thefacilities to the farmer in all

institutions, there is no differ-emerged in the country that

charged with the responsibil-, to apportion 34 per cent of

cent is to be exclusively forNational Bank of Agriculturestarted to provide refinanceand cooperative institutionstake care of the medium-term

time. more attemtiorihas to besector. The recoverv situatiosector. The recqvery situation, I

deterioration. This should be a cr

to the financial institutions but 1

considerable part of the- defaultfanners is repo$ed to be wilful.impressing uporl the agriculturisl

Agriculwre-based Development I tS

credit to the sector can be maintained only by recycling theavailable bank finance. Politicians have an important role to playin creating the needed consciousness among the farmers.

Giving a cairitalist orientation to agricultural production in thecountry by encouraging the extensive mechanisation of farmingoperations is, however, a policy option that requires closer ex-amination. Apart from ideological underpinnings, opposition tothe policy of increasing capital intensity in Indian agriculture arisesfrom a genuine fear of machinery displacing labour and adding tothe gravity of an already bad employment situation in the agricul-tural sector. This fear is based on the view that sinc€ the op.portun-ity cost of labour to the big land holders is almost always higherthan the cost of employment of machinery by him for doing thesame quantity of work, they would prefer employing labour-savingmachinery to employing mote labour as agricultural operatioilrexpand and production increases. The apprehension in the Indiancase, at least, is more imaginary than real. For, in the first place,the category of landlords that will employ machinery in place oflabour on any significant scale does not exist in this country. Iq anycase, the ceiling laws, however weakly enforced, rule out theexistence of very large farms which easily lend themselves to themechanisation process. Secondly, the apprehension assumes thatthere is a fixed amount of farm work available and that th€cropping intensity cannot b€ changed. Where new shortdurationcrops become available and multicropping becomes possible , theuse of machinery for harvesting, ploughing, and other similaroperations becomes not only desirable but also somewhat of anecessity. Saving of time in agricultural op€rations (like ploughingand harvesting) is the ess€nce of the matter in multiple croppingand only the use of machinory can do this. Machinery, in thiscontext, becomes land-saving rather than labour-saving, Its useadds both to crop production and labour employment in the coun-try. This has been amply demonstrated by the experience of areasunder the green revolution. The increasing use of electric motors,tractors and, on a limited scale, harvester combines in the wheatbelt in the north has been accompanied by an increase in thedemand for labour. In Punjab alone, about 4lakh migrant labourcrsfrom east U.P., Bihar, Orissa and Nepal are reportedly employedannually in wheat harvesting operations. One need not, therefore,be distrustful of the policy of encouraging the growth of capital-

86/Ixorex Acruculrune

intensive produotion ining operations. 1[his is a part ofseen as such.

Planning does not imply mereinvestments into difterent sectothe adoption of appropriate poliinto the working of market forcefactor prices, to achieve the ac(weakness of Indian planning has

or the mechanisation of farm-growth process and has to be

by the State

the.allocation and direction ofof the economv: it also calls fories of intervention by the state, both in respect of product and

plan objectives. A majorthe lack of effective policy

support for resonrrce allocation five year plans for the achieve-allocation to agriculture andment of the set goals.

irrigation has ndt been by the adoption of an appro-priate agricultural price policy; necessary restructuring of agri-cultural organisation and the ruour vast reservoir of manpower

economy; the exploitation ofcapital construction in agri-

output; and the bridging of theincomes. .If anything, incomeinter-regional) have increased

rather than'decreased in the lastThe agricultur.al price policy, j

the agriculturist ftras got since the

irty-five years of planning.by the terms of trade that

of planning, has beeninirnical to the gfowth of . Table 4.2 eives the index ofwholesale prices of agricultural , relative to manufacturedproducts, from tr950-51 to

It will be seen from Table 4.2 baning 1967-68 and 1X9-70,and excluding ln0-71., the basealways had adverse terms of tra( relative to manufacturins. The

of parity prices, agriculture

agricultural prico policy, thus, in sharp contrast to the risingpublic investments for agri development over the last threedecades. It has been asserted in quarterc that 'in contrast tothe accumulated evidence for theof acreage to relative crop prices,

of intercrop allocationis very little hard evidence

that agricultural Output as a is significantly responsive to therelative price of 4gri@lture to '55 Or that, 'while thechoice of crop is much influencedsupply of foodstrtrffs is not very sr

relative prices, the aggregateto changes in prices.'$

Agahst this, it may be out that what is required is the

. Agriculure-based DevelopmentlST

Table 4.2Indcx of Ratio of Wholesale Price of Agricultumlto Manufactared Mucts (tuse: 1970-71 = 100)

Index

1950-511951-521952-531953_54

1954-551955-56195G571957-58195E-59195H0196H11961-621962-431963-{/.r9{/-{5l 5-66'tw1196'-48

9&l92.387.186.680.980.383.784.087.6

.'l82.981.881.281.091.894.798.4

100.3

97.0103.4

lm.091.790.599.8

100.691.990.597 .r95.687 .681.987 .491.2

95.694.990.490.493.1

1968-{91969-70197u_'71

1971-721972-',73

1973-'74197+7519'15-761976-771977181978_791979-801980-811981-821982-831983_84

1984-85198t861986-87

(December 1986)

Source: Pranab Bardhan, The Politkal Economy of Development in lwlia; Delhi,OUP, and Economit Sunev, 1986-87.

data of production trend over a sufficiently long period in a devel-oping country which had deliberately followed a favourable agri-cultural price policy to prove the point that such a policy wouldpromote agricultural growth. Such instances are difficult to comeby because, under the influence of the Western growth models;most of the developing countries which got freedom from colonialrule after World War II, equated economic growth with indus-trialisation in their development plans. Their price andfiscal policies favoured industrial rather than agricultural growth.China is the single example of a developing country in the lastthree decades that has systematically sought to promote agricul-ture and rural development through, among other things, afavourable agricultural price policy. The terms of trade betweenagricultural produce and factory products were deliberately kepttilted in favour of the former. The result has been the achievement

, E8/Ixolex Acnlculrunr

of a respectable 4 per cent compound growth rate inagriculture by tlat country over ato 1982-83. In the last six year

thirty-year period from 1952-53

system which gafe the farmerbecause of the responsibilitybetter prices, there has been a

growth rate in the countrythere is a basic flaw in the

view that the growth of agri-to public investments in

irrigation and other agriculturalable price policy.s?

than to a .favour-

The question is not of a choice two policy alternativesfor securing a given rate of agri gowth. Rather, it is of

rate to make the country self-; raise the living standards of

poverty. hunger and unem-ploymenf in the rural areas; and, ide an ever-expanding mar-ket for industrial goods in the areas in a dynamic setting. Thiswould require increased in the agricultural sector aswell as incentive prices to the that would induce him to

inputs to get higher yields.is advocated in this larger

make capital investments and useA favourable agficultural priceperspective of thie country adop a strategy of economic devel-opment that giveb primacy to agrirtrial growth. Once the superiority

ultural development over indus-of that development strategy in

India's case is acoepted, the casetural price policy as a compleme

adopting a favourable agricul-of that strategy would need no

further arguing.l A favour-able ice policy is not to be pittedagainst larger cdpital the state in agriculture as

development. The two'Ihe point being made here is

not produce the desired growththe policy of paying incentive

further improvelnent in the agto 6 per cent per annum. 1argument of thdse who holdcultural production is more r

achieving the fastest possible grovsufficient in agricultural productithe agricultural population; allev

An allied question of price policyof agricultural iirputs and out;assumed serious irroportions foron fertilisers paifl from the Ce

the subsidisation, by the state,The subsidies have, of late,public exchequer. The subsidy

government exchequer now

Agriculnre-b as ed Development I E9

comes roughly to Rs. 2,000 crore a year while losses incurred bystate governments on the supply of irrigation water and power tothe farmers, which is a hidden subsidy, come to another Rs. 5fi)crore. Thus, around Rs. 2,500 irore is being spent annually by theCentral and state governm@nts on subsidising agricultural inputswhile another Rs. 2,000 crore is being spent by the Central gov-ernment to subsidise the maintenance of buffer stocks as well as tosubsidise the food consumption of the urban population (which isthe main beneficiary of the.public distribution system). The subsi-dies on inputs are aimed at keeping down the cost of cultivationand encouraging crop production without, in any way, ensuringthat the benefits of lower costs and increased production will bepassed on to the consumer; those on the supply of foodgrains areaimed at keeping down prices for the consumer. Insofar as theeffect on agricultural production is concerned, the latter countersthat of the former category so that the overall effect of all thesubsidies on agricultural production is hardly any, or perhaps evennegative, if we take into account the fact that in order to keepdown prices at th€ ration shop and the cost of food subsidies to it,the Central government's constant endeavour is to keep procure-ment prices as low as is economically and politically feasible.

The burden of the subsidies on the exchequer continues to grow.Table 4.3 shows the growth in subsidies on food and fertilisers

' from the national exchequer since 1970-71.From a mere Rs. 250 crore in 197176, the total subsidies under

the two heads rose to Rs. 3,893 crore in 198ffi7 according to therevised budget estimates. The final figure is likely to be more thanRs. 4,000 crore, which is sixteen times the amount spent in1975-76.

There was a sudden spurt from'Rs. l,(X8 crore in 1.983-84 to Rs.1,832 crore in 198,1-85 in the amount of fertilisers subsidy. Thiswas accounted for by a 7.5 per cent reduction in the administeredprice of fertiliser given thal year by the government. This reduc-tion, together with a 10 per cent discount given on the sales fromthe accumulated stock of fertilisers with the Food Corporation ofIndia, was an important contributory factor to the welcome spurtin grain production in the country from 129.5 million tonnes in1982-83 to 152.4 million tonnes in 198!84. This shows that theprice of fertilisers has a direct bearing on agricultural output andthat subsidisation of fertilisor consumption from the exchequer is a

90/Ixoh.x Acnrcur-rune

Centml Govemment on Fod ard Fertilisen

Fe ilker Totcl

18

50117

251295250)tro746913

1,2441,1161,0861,3581,8833,?m

1,893 3,8931,910 3,910

(Ru'fes )

lglii_7lt97 t-72r97?-73t973-74197+-751975-76t9'16-77t977-781978_791979-801980-81l98l-821982-831983*84198G87 (Budget)19{t6-87 (Revi$ed

Budget Estimates)

18

50117

2512952505064805706fi)650

7007r0835

1,750

2.Un2,000

6026v3&4466386648

1,0481,950

1987-88 (Budget Esrimates)

part of public i0vestment in thegrammes of the plans. As can be s

agricultural production pro-from Table 4.3, subsidisa-

tion began in 197647 . It was the of OPEC's action in 1n3-74of hiking the price of crude oil. Theup the pric€ of fertflisen in the worl<

rise in the cost of naphtha sentmarket. The price of imported

fertilisers as well as the cost of ion of the domesticallvproduced fertilisers increased. pool price of fertilisers had,therefore, to be raised. However, is made the use of fertilisers inadequate quantities uneconomicto them for their droduce, whic

the farmers at the prices givento them for their Sroduce, whichcontrol of the fodd sector thror procrlrement and the public

kept down by government

distribution of gr4in. Hence, the to subsidise fertilisersupply to the farmer.

But the subsidy now costs the over Rs. L.9(X) crore ayear. This high cost, however, rai the question of how far andhow long the country can go on fertiliser ionsumption.The fertiliser needb of Indian acri have been estimated at 20million tonnes bv n.p. 2000. The level of consumption is8-9 million tonneS. The subsidies, that the present rate

Agriculnre-based Developmentl9l,,

of subsidy continues, would amount to Rs. 5,000 crore in e.o. 2000at the 1984-85 prices. Can the country afford it? If not, is there analternative policy choice available? The country has to think ofalternative, preferably renewable, sources of energy for agricul-ture, in place of chemical fertilisers. There is, of course, a consi-derable potential available for the development and exploitationof the traditional kind of manure. An all out effort should be madeas a part of the manure policy to put to effective use the availableresources. But that will not significantly reduce the demand forchemical fertilisers.

There are two solutions to the problem of financial burden thatthe subsidisation of fertiliser consumption is going to impose in-creasingly on the Central exchequer in the years to come. The firstis that the fertiliser consumption by marginal and small farmersonly should be subsidised. Other farmers should be asked to paythe competitive market price for the supplies that they want. This,however, would be possible onty if they are allowed to sell theirproduce, foodgrains and commercial crops, at competitive pricesin the market and there is no markOt intervention by the state inthe commodity market on behalf of the c,rnsumer. Second, themanagement of public sector fertiliser plants should be improVedand the working of the fertiliser industry should be made far moreefficient than at present to make it competitive with the worldfertiliser industry.

The issue of food subsidy also raises similar questions and reme-dies should be sought along the same lines as well. The wholequestion of continuing with the public distribution system (whichhas long since outlived its utility) needs to be re-examined in thelight of the new situation that has arisen in the food sector of theeconomy. The larger part of subsidy expenditure on foodgrains isnow accounted for by the cost of maintaining buffer stocks by theFood Corporation of India and not by the benefit received by theconsumer on this account. trn the circumstances, the whole systemof public distribution, and carrying buffer stocks of the order ofthe present size, has become an item of colossal waste of publicfunds. The expenditure under this head has ceased to serve anysocial purpose. Contrary to the general belief, food subsidies, atpresent, are not of so much help to the poor as they are to thearmy of 5,000 officers and t10,000 subordinate administrative staffemployed in the Food Corporation of India.

92l INorer Acnlcrjlrune

,Seventh Plnn

The Approach PapFr of thechange in the deveilopment

Plan raised hopes of a majorwhen it stated that the 'Plan

which will accelerate thein employment op.por-

raise productivity.' Thepaper emphasised that henceforth:economic growth for raising emplany special effort to give employme

Instead of relying on general

orientation to this growth, itis necessary to treat employment as a bcal point of policy' (empha-sis added).$ To achieve a sustainedtunities, it was deemed necessary

of employment oppor-focus on the expansion of

must emphasize policies and proggrowlh of foodgrailn production,tunities and what ls equally iml

agricultural produqtion anding to the Approadh Paper:

The strategy of fire Seventh Planemployment through increase i

be to generate productivecropping intensity and the

extension of the new agricultural ies to low productiv-ity regions and tmall farmers, measures to make the

construction actlvities for housing, urban amenities,road and social infrastrrrcture, through change in the leveland pattern of i{rdustrial growth.

In effect, the plan lvas promised to an employment rather thana purely growth plan as such. and policies,' it wasaffirmed, thave to be oriented toductive employment to everyone

objective of providing pro-it and, in every sector,

priority has to be given totively to this purpqse.'

The special rurnl employment earlier put intoin the Seventh Plan, these

and rural development as

infrastructure such as

gfowth of small-scble industries.'infrastructure required forpoint that 'in rural areas

rural developmdnt programmesof productive as$ets, through the

ion of the sector. Accord-

effective in the creationion of labour-intensive

which contribute most effec-

operation would be continued bulwould be 'integratdd with agricultufar as possible by finoving them totar as possible by finoving them tdrainage and field thannels, roads

employment has to be promotedthe expansion of off-farm emplt

h agricultural and throughin agro-based rural indus-

Agriculture-based Development I 93

tries and services'was underlined by the Approach Paper, whichwent further to stress the importance of securing a perceptibleimprovement in the performance of the agricultural sector and theacceleration of the growth of foodgrain production if non-infla-tionary growth in employment was desired.

There were other indications in the Approach Paper suggestingthat the planners were giving up the earlier growth model in favourof one that would make agricultural development the key elementin the total development process. The biggest potential for growthexisted in the agricultural sector, inasmuch as looking at 'thecomposition of agricultural growth (in the past) crop-wise andregion-wise there was a niajor gap... between potential and actualachievement.' This difference was 'far too wide, particularly inareas where poverty is most endemic'.e For both the removal ofpoverty and securing accelerated growth of the economy, there-fore, the obvious thrust had to be towards a rapid increase inproductivity in low productivity areas and in crops such as rain-fedrice, coarse grains, oilseeds and pulses.

The earlier growth model which sought economic growth andthe removal of poverty in rapid industrialisation was now declaredto be only a partial success in achieving its objectives. Even indus-trial growth in the Indian context has been found to be contingenton the existence of a strong agricultural base in the economy. Theremarks of the Planning Commission on this point are so pertinentthat these deserve reproduction in lolo:

Though the impetus for a large expansion in employment has tocome from agriculture, ,the potential of the industrial sectorcannot be minimised. The tendencv has been to see industrial-isation as a means of building economic strength and promotingself-reliance, but in the ultimate analysis it is indispensablylinked with the removal of poverty. At present a major con-straint on industrial growth is the unsatisfactory rate of. agricul-tural growth, which limits the possibilities of non-inflationaryindustrial expansion in a variety of ways. Shortfalls in foodavailability lead to price rises which erode investible surpluses;the slow growth in agricu,ltgral inputs used in industry limits thepace of advance ih certaln key sectors; most important, a slowrise in agricultural productivity can lead to a deficiency indemand for industrial goods (emphasis added)..

94l INpreN Acnrculrunr

It is only after the 'agricultural is loosened that itgrowth rates.'becomes possible tO plan for higher

With the basic priorities set as work and productivity' forthe Plan. the strategy of the Plan was promised to be

techniques and a shift in priorities towards massthe quality of life.u'consumption and measures to

Implicit in opting for the new was the admission thatwhat suited the Indian situation was agricultural-development-

built around higher agriculturalployment, improvement in effici,tion and technological upgradationthe use of less

led-industrialisaltion (ADLI)industry led growth modelSecond Plan. The latter model wasvelopment model which, with the gby the planners, had become unworlby a leqs capital-intensive andmodel. The proposed strategycapital-output ratio' and through itresource-crunch that the planners

wouto nave staneo a new cnaprcr lralas, this has not happened. If one gc

Paper. there is perhaps nothing muthe final Plan document not living up

and creation of em-and in quality of produc-

in industry and infrastructure,and more labour-intensive

model rather than the heavywith the beginning of thehighly capital-intensive de-

ins resource crunch faced. It needed to be replacedlabour-intensive srowth

would help 'in lowering themeeting the challenge of the

facing.If the Seventh Plhn had all this in letter and spirit, we

would have started a new chapter in rr development history. But,by the letter of the Approachto complain about regardingthe promise contained in that

paper. So far as the growth and model are concerned.be cast in the moulds of itshowever. the latest plan continues

predecessors, which makes it indi from them.The planners themselves admit

they state in the objectives andmuch, albeit implicitly, when

chapter of the finaldocument:

policies and pro-growth in foodgrains produc-

ities and raise productivity.these three more immediate

of lgng term goals....62

Agriculture-based Development | 95-

- Two points stand out clearly: first the change envisaged underth-e accepted 'food, work and productivity' appioach is merely onegf,a.shift in e.mphasis on programmes and poiicies bearing on thesesubJects and not in the basic development strategy or growthmodel; and, second, the -contemplated change is iie result ofexpediency and not of realisation on the part;f the planners, ofthe shortcomings of the existing strategy and the need io reform it.They seem to.be.suffering from a mental block, which preventsthem _from thinking on new lines and adopting an altirnativegrowth model or a strategy for development tiat would makeprannlng tn the country mbre meaningful and, in socio-economicterms, more fruitful.

The development design suggested by the Approach paper was:

(a) Economic growth would be sought through acceleratedgrowth and newly acquired dynamism of the asriculturalsector which serves as a catalyst or trigger for the-growth ofthe economy as a whole;

(b) the solution of the endemic problems of poverty andunemployment would be found in modernisation oi agri-culture, raising productivity levels in it and widenine thescope of economic activity in the rural areas, with a viJw toprovidin-g.expanding employment opportunities at risinglevels of incomes to all sections of ihe rural population,particularly the poor;

(c) goals in planning, henceforth, would be set in terms of thegeneration of a certain volume of employment and increasein labour earnings in the_time-frame of iiu" years of a planrather than in terms of GNp of a particular order;

(d) to impart dynamism to the agricuitural sector, a vigoroustechnological thrust would be provided to develop rainfedand. dry-land agriculture (which covers 70 per cent of thecultivated area but accounts for only 42 pir cent of cropproduction in the country) ;

(e) low-cost high-yielding technologies suitable for small andmarginal farmers would- be developed and made easilyavailable to the small and marginal firmer in a bid to raisehis productivity and income levels;

(/) poverty alleviation and employment generation programmeswould be integrated into capital construction and growth

of the sector. leave a strategy for triggering the

96/ Ixonn Acmctn rune

processes rather thanmeasures; bhd

to continue as social relief

(g) in general, b Policy would be effected to favour

fhe growth of production, , and employment in the

rural sector of the econonnY that a sound base is laid forgrowth of the economy as athe equitable and sound

whole.

design which, if ProPerlY im-in resolving the Problems ofincome and wealth disParities

among the people and differentrising social tensibns, but would

of the country, and the

remove rnany hurdles (likedeficits, inadequacy of

needs, and the ever-presentspiral in the economy).

absence in the Seventh Plan as

The Plan document does

,acknowledge the preeminentIndian economy:

ion agriculture occuPies in the

Agriculture oscupies a keY

because of its contribution to economic growth throughin the Indian economy

supplies of food, raw materiallivelihood for & majority of the

and exports. It is a source ofand provides a largelrvelrhood tor & maJonty or

market for noh-agricultural and services.t

note, the chapter onthe Plan document has

thrusts, such as:

(i) Special ltice Production in the eastern region;

(ii) National(iii) National

Project;Programme for Rainfed

(tv) of Small Marginal Farmers; and(v) Social

This does not make an plan for the develoPment

Agriculture-b ased D ev elopment I Vl

growth of the economy as a whole through the development ofagriculture. The chapter in the Plan document on agriculture*tands in complete isolation from the other chapters, with littleevidence of any thought having been devoted in Yojana Bhawanto lilting agricultural development growth to other sectors of theeoonomy or to the solution of the problems of poverty and un-employment. All we have in the Plan docurnent, in this connec-tion, are generalities such as: agricultural growth will stimulateindustrial growth by raising income levels in the reral sector irndthereby the demand for industrial products; increase in employ-ment opportunities and labour absorption in the agricultural se.ctorwould be obtained 'through increase in cropping intensity madepossible by increased availability of irrigation facilities,' extensionof new agricultural technologies to low productivity regions and tosmall farmers and, 'by the close of this century, the process oftransformation implicit in the perspective plan should take agri-culture to a level where it will be far more science-based andindustry-linked than it is now.'s Even these generalities arescattered over different parts of the Plan document and do notform a single unified body of policy measures and action pro-grammes aimed at imparting far greater vigour to agriculturalgrowth than in the past, and reaping the promised results in termsof increased employment opportunities, alleviation of poverty andactivation of other sectors ol the economy towards faster growth.

To find increased employment opportunities for the rapidlygrowing labour force in the country, the Plan does look to theagriculture sector for affording a major share of the increase. Thetarget increase in employment over the Plan period is 40.4 millionstandard person year (SPY). Of this, 17.984 million Spy (or 45 percent of the total) is envisaged to be in agriculture alone. Againstthis, manufacturing is shown to provide 6.7 million SPY jobs andthe construction industry another 2.2 million.6 On the face of it,this would suggest acceptance by the planners of the agriculture-based growth-cum-employment development model.

However, once we go behind the total figure of employmentunder agriculture and look at the broad break-up, the storyassumes an altogether different complexion. Of the total of 18million SPY jobs envisaged to be generated under agriculture,.a

- little under 7 million would be in the crop sector and the rest (11million) in the non-crop sector. The increase in the crop sector is

98/Ixor,c,N Acnrf ulrune

to be obtainedconeumption oftonnes a year toThis means theic still on the.Eryen theincluded in thenologiesand west U.P.Orissa and eastApproach Paperpush to drylandapplication ofculture onclaim that bv

In the fratteragriculturalto be reliedeffectiveplated growthnot bepoverty claimedwas, accordingprocess ofprogress in theno mention inthe lowcountrv thedo not s€em toimplied in the$uggested in the

Thus, indevelopmentPap€r that thefrom thegrowth strategygrowth strategythe eatlierfacade, rather reality. of any change of.substance in

14 million by the end of the Plan period.reliance for intensification of agriculture

and HYV-fertiliser technology.Rice Programme in eastern India

rests on extension of agricultural tech-revolution in Punjab, Haryanaof Bihar, West Bengal, Assam,the claim sound hollow in the

for the

.P. Thiswell as in lhe- plan document of giving a big

rainfed through the evolution andfaftn I that are appropriate to agri-

lands. also makes a mockerv of theclose of the agriculture will become 'far

and i than it is now'.of poverty

the extension offertilisers from

the eastern

and theas the '

too literally.have been

Plan document

and the increase in thepresent leVel of 8 million

also, it is not so muchof rural economy that aregrowth pattern and more

reduction in the incidence of

along the same lines. There ismaking agricultural growth in

alleviation . The phrase 'contem-' in the -mentioned statement should

in the Sixth Plan periodthe Planning ission, the result of 'theand the programmes'. Further

is to be

itv and regions of theinstrurnent of alleviation. The planners

any faith the alternative growth model, work and approach to planning

Papeiof the keenly need for a change in India's

and raised by the Approachchange is least on the cards with effect

of the Plan, the desiied change in themodel has materialised. ln essence. the

ying the. Plan is the same as that inWhat the plan ended up with was a

A gricultur e - b ased D ev elo pment I I

the basic approach to the development problem of the country andthe strategy adopted at the beginning of the Second Plan.

Towurds the Eighth Plan

As far as poverty alleviation and the mitigation of unemployrnentare concerned, the Seventh Plan is going the way of the earlierPlans because it failed to effect the much needed change in thedevelopment strategy, although high hopes about this happeninghad been earlier raised by the Approach Paper. This experience isbound to be repeated in the Eighth Plan unless a serious dctiatg atthe expert level is started and a decision taken by the PlanningCommission well in advance of the launching of the next plan in1990 about the basic development strategy that the country shouldadopt to realise the chief developmental objectives of eliminatingpoverty and unemployment.

The Commission, on I May 1987, issued a notp on'Major IssuesRelating to the Eighth Plan'. The note listed the followi*g. seves ----'basic objectives to be attained by.r.o. 2000: (i) to bring down theproportion of population below the poverty line to less than 5 percent; (ii) to attain, for this purpose, near full.employment; (iii)India should be 'among the major modern industrial nations' witha high degree of technological self-reliance; (iv) we should alsoachieve health for all; (v) also, universal elementary education forall children up to the age of 14 should be attained; (vi) regionaldisparities in development should be reduced; and (vl'i) thecountry must have achieved self-reliance in terms of externaleconomic relations. The immediate source of inspiration for theissue paper was the Budget Speech of the Prime Minister whilepresenting the 1987-88 Union Budget to Parliament. 'The objec-tive of planning in this country is to build socialism,' he said, 'butthis should tte the kind of socialism which fits in with our geniusbut, nevertheless, socialism in its basic meaning of removingdisparities and promoting equality of opportunity.' For this pur-pose, he went on to add,

we have to giow fast, and we can grow faster only if we usemodern technology. This is the only way to deal with theproblems of unemployment and poverty.... This then is our

lllO/horlN AomQulrune

basic strategy-a framework ofrapid of lndia's

This was the policydevelopment was to guidewas left to theaqrdance with developm€nt

There is new in theCommission in its 'issue' paper.there in successiv0 five year planplanning in the coirntry. In fact, thplan included in the First Plan do{ment of all these Qbjectives by l9?:20fi) for the achidvement of these

alleviation of povprty and eliminrthe peculiarities o[ the Indian sitr:

respects from that in West Europe

growth on the basis ofand industrv.

the philosophy offormulations in the future. Itto do the actual planning in

stipulation.objectives spelt out by thethese objectives have been

ever since the beginning ofperspective twenty-five year

rment envisaged the achieve-. That we are now fixing l.o.very objectives is in itself an

to be discussed in connection

of unemployment. Givenwhich differs in material

in India insofar as thewhich planning was started, ls

lies in the developmentstrategy-top priqrity to investn

,building up of an infrastructuralin heavy industry and the

for industrialisadon-.underlying planni4g in the past.

The Conrmissioi's note evades tmajor ma0ro-level issues that needwith the formulatiQn of the Eighth Irate to 6 p€r cent per annum; (ii) r

and in public secfor savings; (iri)capital-output ratip; and (iu) maki

issue altogether. To it, the

are: (i) a rise in the growthincrease in the savings rate

a reduction in the aggregateemployment a central con-

cern in the Plan. These are ic' issues which neither-making on the part of those

exercise lies in takingbase on which the planningplans with the sole object of

and in the shortest possidevelopment objectives.to be shirking the res-prepared to retbink the

pursued for nearly fourtwo basic social objectives of

admission of the failure of 1

achievement of ba$ic objectivesconcerned. The dause of this

require political debate nor decisi<

wielding power. Tle essence of thethe available resolrrces as the givtbody has to build lrp its developmerbalising, to the mpximum level poble time horizon, lhe nationally act

The Planning Cofilmission still a;ponsibtlity of doiqg so. It is not mdevelopment strategy that we h

decadds and its failure to achieve

the early nineteenth century

Agriculturc-based Developme nt I l0l

at the start of industrialisation there, this country needs a differenttype of growth strategy than the one focusing on the output growthrate, savings rate and capital-output ratio. Only a developmentstrategy that would make a reduction in poverty and an increase inemployment an integral part of the growth process could meetsatisfactorily the needs of the Indian case. fhis. in turn. wouldbecome possible only when planning comes to be based on thernassive development of agriculture and the rural economy. Anagricultural revolution, not like the green revolution but of a kindthat would transform agriculture in unirrigated lands with the helpof emerging biotechnologies, must precede the further progress ofindustrialisation in the country.

The Planning Commission must realise this and, beginning withthe Eighth Plan, get out of the rut of the.development model thathas failed the country in meeting those social goals which formedthe raison d'etre for launching itself on the course of planneddevelopment.

Speffi Sectoml

Because of the dorfiinant position'Indian economy as a source ofcountry should ndw change over

agriculture occupies in theand employment, the

pattern of agriculfural debut widespread incfeases in

a broad-based'unimodal', characterised by gradual

by small farmers adopting-abundant, capital-scarce

of target-oriented productionshould be to secure the. The current dualistic or

was adopted underIn the circumstances in

which the country lvas placed in the mid-sixties, the adoption of abiomodal strategy based on thesector of capital-inpensive agricu

modernisation of a sub-in areas which, because ofof irrigation, offered the

overdue.

results in food output, wasonce the crisis situatiirn was

the availability of assured supplirprospects of the best and quickeslperhaps the wisest thing to do. But

Stilategy fo AgriculturalDelvelopme

ln vicw of what hab been said , reforms of specific sectoralpolicies in agricultlre as well as ofat the macro-level, appear to be I

t policies as a whole

Reforms

Strategy for Agricultural Dev elopment I lO3

over, thoughts should have turned from the immediate problem ofgetting a given increase in farm output to meet the growing domes'

iic demand for food, to the long-term goal of modernising the farmsecior as a whole, covering all geographical regions of the country

and all farm sizes. From food self-sufficiency, the attention ofpolicy-makers and planners should have shifted to improving- the

iot of ttre small and marginal farmer and landless agricultural

labourers, who constitute the core of the rural poor aild the

unemployed. By the end of 'sixties and early seventies' it had

become clear, as evidenced by the launching of special 'ganbihatao' programmes, that the bimodal strategy of development had

failed to produce the 'trickle-down' effect assumed in the Mahala'nobis growth model. However, instead of changing the growth

strategy from capital-intensive industrialisation (begun with the

launching of the Second Five Year Plan) and giving precedence'

instead, to agricultural development in planning, the ruling elite

started appending populist poverty alleviation proglammes to the

main plani. In the very nature of things, these programmes could

only bring political dividends to the ruling party but not contribute

much to the solution of the basic economic problems of poverty

and unemployment. As Dantwala has pointed out: 'A direct attack

on povefty without an equally direct attack on the structure, which

has bred poverty and continues to do so, is an illusion at best, a

fraud at wotst.'6The authors of the Draft Five Year Plan, i978-83' were able to

perceive this. They thought that if the problems of poverty and

unemployment were to be tackled effectively, this was to be made

the principal object of planning. The Plan document stated:

In the next phase of development it will no longer be appro-

priate in the light of our past experience' to formulate the

principal objectives of a particular plan period merely in rela-

iion tb u specified target of growth for the dconomy' What

matters is not the precise rate of increase in the national

product that is achieved in five or ten years, but whether we can

insure within a specified time frame a measurable increase in

the welfare of million of the poor.ut

'fhey went on to suggest that the principal objective of planning

should now be defined as achieving, within a period of ten yeam'

1(X/ INor,qN AcnrcuI-rune

'(0 the removal of unen

employment; (ri) {n appreci

and, significantly, under-employment; (ri) {n appreciable rispoorest sections of the population;of some of the baqic needs of the pr

in the standard of living of the(rii) provision by the Statein these income groupa.4

To achieve these Objectives, it wasgive highest priorlity, to agricultur

, the planners felt, to

ment objective ddpends cruciallyin agriculture and allied activities. Considering this, the plannerspromised that:

in planning for 'the employ-increased labour absorption

scheduled tnbe families. Theto increase the undercropping and ensure

This sector wilf receive the hibeing paid to ttle uplift of the srlandless laboulers, especially

priority, special attentionand marginal farmer and the

scheduled caste and thefor crop production will begross cropped area and theapplication of inputs. This

;h the pursuit of appropriatereforms, land use and inte-

will be backedenc] through

improved practices for higher effici-propagation of better seeds,

strengthened system, availability of credit andimproved for marketing, and processing. il

agricultural production was

policies relating to land anda watershed basis, mixed

approach for areasunder cultivation of oilseeds,of the policy of giving price

noted that in a vast country

rcgion to region add even fromo-climatic conditions fromto district within the same

region, there could be no unifonn plan for the countryas a whole. It was necessary , that

and sub-regions, basedin ommand areas of

of water conservationwhich would enable us to

trend rate of growth of

Strategy for Agriadnral Development I IOS

are drawn up and implemented.The Draft Plan attempted a welcome break from the past with

respect to the policy towards agriculture but not ihat of policy onagnculture. The Plan accorded the highest priority to agriculturein the allocation of Plan outlays in the public sector. It alsoaffirmed the view that the achievement of employment objectivedepends crucially on increased labour absorption in agriiultureand allied activities. But having stated this, the plan did not pursuethe matter to its logical conclusion of building the whole develop-ment process of the economy around growth of the agriculturalsector. There was no attempt on the part of the plannerslo give upthe 'bimodal' strategy of the earlier plans and adopt the ,unimodal'strategy of development based on agricultural growth. The de-velopment of agriculture, in their scheme of things, was art instru-ment for increased labour absorption to mitigate the incidence ofrural unemployment, and not a catalyst for growth of the economy$tarting from below at the level of small and marginal farmer andgoing up to heavy and high technology use industry.

The growth model used by the planners was no different frornthat of the earlier plans. They themselves admitted this. The plandocument stated: 'The quantitative framework upon which thisplan is based is a consistency model, i.e., a descripion of theeconomy in terms of a set of relationships betrveen differentsectors, between income and consumption, between productionand employment, etc. Such models have also .been tfie basis ofearlier plans.'z Where then did the difference between this andearlier plans lie? The answer given was: ,The special features ofthe present planning model are related to the proposed objectivesand development strategy. In building the model, particular atten-tion was paid to the analysis of production possibilities and inputrequirements in agriculture.'a This, however, amounts to makinga distinction without a difference. Agricultural production targetiin every plan have always been worked out on the basis of theprojbcted increase, during the plan period, in irrigation potential,lrrcreas€ in the oonsumption of chemical fertilisers and extensiono{.the area under high-yielding varieties of seeds. Doing the samething more elaborately or in much greater detail did not make theDraft Plan different from the earlier five year plans, its stress onagricultural development notwithstanding. In iny case, the plan

1(5/ IHorlr.l Acnrtulrunn

proved a short-livled affair and ufollowed, the coufrtry reverted ttbeginning with th( unimodal deveplanning remains lto be made.

Within the agrifultural sector :acterised the devdlopment of thesixties, has to bQ dropped andagricultural econdmy all along ti

strategy in the country's

proved a short affair and the Sixth Plan 198{H5 thatfollowed. the reverted to old model of planning. Abeginning with th( unimodalplanning remains lto be made.

, the 'dualism' that has char-

, especially since the mid-total development of thp

asricultural line at varying size levels ofholdings and coqditions of crop ion has to be sought.

Target-oriented gfowth has in the development of highlYall the needed marketable

region of the country,of traditional, low produc'

other. The 'tricklP-down' effectthree states of tho north to theIndian agriculture remains

output) and the Poor,(comprising 70 per cent of the

for 42 per cent of the totalagricultural proddce in the countf)the agricultural growth profile of

. This dichotornous division inthe country has to end. Agri-

culture in the raihfed and arid Pathe past suffered neglect, has to

of the countrv, which had in

improving produ4tivity andgiven greater attention fol

those areas to catch uP withuse of modern inputs andagriculture in irrligated areas in

of effecting this changethe followins.

scientists should be madeseeds of crops grown in the

of the country. R&D efforts-

should be intensified to evolve ing technologies that would

increase yields aid minimise the2. Small and marginal farmers I

to farmers in those regions.receive special attention in

the supply of fatrm inPuts. The :ial programmes under theto Small and Marginal

Target-oriented gfowth has resulttcapital-intensive ffrming, that pro<

surplus of food in a limited, highfYon the one hand, and the continu:tivity labour-intehsive cultivation

capital-intensive ffrming, thatsurplus of food in a limited, hj

Centrally Sponsdred Scheme ofFarmers launchdd in 198H4extended and durther strengt

in the rainfed areas, on thethe green revolution frorn theof India has not materialised.into a prosperous capitalistic

the area under irrigation that

be pursued vigorously,The Union Agriculture

Strategy for Agricultural Developmentl M

Ministry Annual Report for 1984-85 showed that the scheme hadyet not caught on. The outlay sanctioned originally for the scheme

for 1983-84 was Rs. 250 crore, of which Rs. 125 crore was to be theshare of the Union and the rest (Rs. 125 crore) that of the stategovernments. The outlay of the Central government had to berevised downward to Rs. 85 crore because of the lack of sufficiententhusiasm shown by the state governments for the scheme. For1984-85, the outlay earmarked for the purpose was Rs. 100 crore.trn the Seventh Plan, provision has been made to give financialassistance of Rs. 5 lakh to every development block in the countryunder this scheme.

[Jnder the scheme , small and marginal farmeni are helped in theprovision of irrigation facilities (construction, improvement andmaintenance of minor irrigation works) and the supply of inputs(like improved seeds and fertilisers).

An extensive programme of free distribution of mini-kits ofseeds and fertilisers for the pfoduction of oilseeds and pulses has

been in operation under the scheme, which is intended to cover allthe 5,600 blocks in the country. The total number of mini-kits ofseeds and fertilisers distributed in 1984-85 till the end ofDecember 1984 was 2.93 million and in 1985-86, 3.93 million. Forf98ffi7, however, the anticipated figure was only a little over 2

million, which means a sharpl decline in the enthusiasrn for theprogramme on the part of the'government. Considering the factthat 73 per cent of the total land holdings in the country comeunder the category of holdings of small and marginal farmers, thetotal distribution of mini-kits (even at the peak 1985-86 level) was

woefully inadequate to make any perceptible impact on the pro-duction of oilseeds and pulses or on improving the lot of the smalland marginal farmers. The scheme is, at present, confined toencouraging the production of oilseeds and pulses under the new2O-Point Programme. It should be made general and extended tocover cereal crops as well. Besides. the present purpose of thescheme of free distribution of seed and fertiliser mini-kits is to'increase the production of pulses and oilseeds.' The purposeshould be redefined to make the prograrnme an instrument toincrease the income and production levels of the small andmarginal farmer as well as to increase food production by him forhis own domestic consumption. lhis could be done by making the

programme of frpe distribution ofpart of the Integ[ated Rural Dev

Under other [eadings, the Sngramme has, for the present, littleThis is clear froh the fact that a'the scheme has already made a gr

3. The entire scheme withbesides the free distribution of

108/ Ixprlw Acdrculrunnl

of fertiliser and seeds a

Programme QRDP).and Marginal Farmers Pro-

to show by way of achievement.from the laconic statement

impact,' the annual report ofthe Agriculture Department forway of achievement under the s

has nothing to report by

various other programmes,of seed and fertiliser.

under it. should be made an part of the IRDP. The IRDPitself needs to be turned into a pinstead of a poverty alleviationtion of grants and loans to select,cas€ at present. The focus of thesmall and margihal farmer toplot of land by ilcreasing crop p

programme of the poorthrough the distribu-

families in each block, as is theshould be to help the

more from his tiny or smallon it and to earn more

by ongaging himoelf in mixed4. The subsidy on fertilisers from the Central exchequer

and on irrigation water frorn the major and mediumzurface irrigatiorl works and onpumpsets paid from the exchetshould tre replacdd by subsidisatir

supplied for runningof the state governments

of the supply of needed inputsonly to the small and marginalsupport for the construction of n

and providing financialirrigation works, and water-arid regions.oonservation measures in the dry

'fhe whole philosophy of pron and subsidisation of agri-cultural growth lfrom the public funds has to change. The de-

be left to its own resources forentirely to the growth of

ld areas. on the one hand. and

in the long run, on the other.sector should ndw be devoted

to become self-supportingoutlays in the agricultural

to building an infra-structure in the backward regions to increase agri-

there, and to supportingsections of the farming

cultural productivity and crop

since the mid-sixties has

SErategy for Agricultural Developmcnt I lA9

caused and is primarily responsible for the division of Indianagriculture into two mutually exclusive segments of surplus pro-duction and supply deficit. The former has come to support thelatter in the matter of food sr,rpply through the public distributionsystem. Procurement of the needed supplies for the system is mademostly from the surplus areas. Procurement and support prices areaccordingly set with a view to getting sufficient procurement tomeet the requirements of the public distribution system. Amutually supporting system of procurement and production offood surpluses has, thus, come to be built in the country. Thissystem prevents agriculture in the deficit areas to grow or itsgrowth potential to be fully realised. This may be the most oppor-tune time to have a fresh look at the desirability of continuing withthe public distribution of foodgrains in its present form, as it isbecoming untenable on account of the inner contradictions thesystem has developed. The government itself seems to be anxiousto review 'the policies and programmes (in the firod sector) whichwe have been following for long' as the then Minister for Food andCivil Supplies, Rao Birendra Singh, declared at a seminar on FoodSecurity in Asia held in April 1985 in Delhi. The Minister said:''The time is now opportune to consider basic questions relating tothe optimum stock levels for security, the direction of publicdistribution system, commodity composition in distribution includ-ing coarse grains, pricing policies, subsidy levels.'?3 Advantageshould have been taken of this conclusion at the highest policy-making level and action initiated to reforn the public distributionsystem in two directions: (r) the government should stop procuringfoodgrains at stipulated prices to run the public distribution systemin a generalised form that caters mostly to the needs of the urbanpopulation, and (r'l) the system, if it is to be continued, shouldmake available subsidised supplies of food to the poor only byfixing a certain income ceiling for a household to become eligibleto draw ration from public distribution outlets. All those above theceiling should be made to buy their supplies from the open marketat prevailing prices. This reform, besides affecting the €conomy inpublic expenditure (as a much less amount of food subsidy wouldbe required to be paid when the public distribution of foodgrains isrestricted to the poor only), will have three other important bene-fits: (i) it will end the artificial division of the country into areas of

I

110/Inonn Ac TURE

progresslve and those backward agriculture. It is the

public system, and procurement compulsions thatabout and has since continuedgo with it, originally

to prop up that ; (fi) the of govemment, as thesurplus, will put agriculture in

the green revolPrtion region on a competitive basis, add to itsefficiencv and Once the monopsonichold of the on in the relatively advanced

will besin to assert them-areas is put to end, marketselves. This not only in a reduction of the unit cost ofproduction inthe domestic

long-run and cheapen the food supply inbut also an efficient, internationally

competitive sector of in Indian agriculture; (iii)it will help inregions, fromcoarse grainsand improveespecially the

in the rainfed, dry and arid, promote the production of

in agricultural growth and

present stagnrpulses whichincome and

traditional crops of these areas,

and mareinalpower of the farmers,

there. This will have theeffect ofincomes.

6. A basic in the price policy is needed. Thepresent policy pays llp ice to providing remunerativeprices to the and, at the time protecting the interests

itself to serving the interestsof consu-mers, in practiceof a particular of , namely, those in the surplusproduction , and the in the urban areas. mostlvbelonging to and powerful middle and uppermiddle classes. the past. the prices were fixed at auniform rate : an eye on unstated object of getting suffi-

. cient to run the ic distribution system. ThisI gone slnce sr

ver, there is n

the politically

ient procurement is no more aanother development. Of late,

pressure from farmer lobby that hasemerged in northern and regions of the country hasstarted exerti its influence on pricing of foodgrains and somecommercial by the

policy-making on agriculturalThis gives aprices. If theyear to year

system of hocism in fixing crop prices from

ins out

regional

not so on the merit of the case in

Stategy for Agricultural Development I lll

economic terms as on the political pressure that an interest groupof farmers may be able to bring to bear upon the policy-makers inrespect of a crop in a particular year is allowed to continue, we aregoing to face ever-growing distortions in the cropping pattern andfar rnore demand-supply irnbalances in individual crops as timegoes on. The recent decision to add to the Agricultural Prices andCosts Commission three more members who would look after theagriculturists' interests, is a pointbr to what is going to happen toagricultural price policy-and through it to the planning of cropproduction-if steps are not taken immediately to put this policyon a rational and scientific footing. Indeed, it can be argued that aswing in the price policy, in favour of producers, from theconsumer-biased policy followed so far would only mean doingbelated justice to the former. But that will be going to the otherextieme, and that too at a heavy cost to the nation in terms ofproducing below the optinnal level and a waste of productiveresouices. There can be no two opinions about the need to ensurethat the farmer gets remuqerative prices: the high rate of agri-cultural growth desired to be achieved would not be possiblewithout that, But to have a favourable price policy at the sectorallevel as a whole is one thing; to fix high prices in respect ofinividual crops in response to political pressure exerdised on theirrespective behalf, is quite another. The former type of policy mustbe seen as a tonic for the healthy growth of the sector; the latter asa distorter of growth and, therefore, inimical to the long-terminterests ofthe sector and the nation. The present policy serves theshort-term political interests of the ruling elite but is inimical to thelong-term interests of agricultural growth in the country. It is ashort-sighted policy which has already done immense harm toagricultural growth, distorted the cropping pattern and producedregional and crop pattern imbalances throughout. India needs apositive agricultural price poliry that would promote the balancedgrowth of agriculture in all parts of the country and of the variouscrops. This could be achieved through a policy that favours theproduetion of crops that are normally raised on rainfed, dry andarid lands.

The object of the future agricultural price policy should betwofold: (i) to proVide sufficient incentive to the farmer to opti-mis€ his production by puning the resources of land, water, labour

poverty alleviati0n are combineprogramme for ttle development c

backward areas and the improveoin those areas. Thus, the Speciformulated for the eastern statesBengal and eastprn U.P.; the c

pulses and oilsereds dgramme; the- celltrally

to tullest use; and (n) with-price policy, special

of the growth of thoseleft behind in the surge in crop

because of the existingto such grofih.

technological thrust for growthis needed. The seed-fertiliser

and rural development andinto a single comprehensive

agriculture in the agriculturallyof income levels of the poor

Rice Production ProgrammeAssam, Bihar, Orissa, West

sponsored schemes onthe Dryland Farming Pro-

programme for Assisting the

I l2l IxoLq,N AcRIcULTURE

yi,elds and the us$ of new farm teprice structure hdling been unfat

7. A special effort atprovidingin the rainfed and dry farming ar,

in these areas. with theto be of the traditional kind

New high-yielding varieties ofespecially miliet, pulses,

The problems of drylandtechnology

in the past.in agriculture for the next

Plan) should be orientedclosing, the develop-

ment level'gaps Orop-wise and . ise that have emerged inthe country. The pajor task for policy over this periodshould be the reduaion of ineqefforts on selectpd target gr(farmers) and on pgriculturally

by concentrating development(namely, small and marginal

areas. Instead of a gen-agricultural growth and an

now become area, crop andCommission has long been

thinking in termq of having level planning for agriculturalis a long oveldue move that

. This would make growth, andand crop specific.

' vllrJ'gjl rr{J

programmesClosely connedted with it isogrammes relalted to agrict

suggestion that various special

need to be given a closer look thIn short, the development strt

fifteen years (beginning with thetowards greatly riarrowing, if not

growth and crop production. 'Ineeds to be impldmented forthwwith it plan resoqrce allocation,

Strategy for Agriculural Development I ll3

Small and Marginal Farmers; Social and Farm ForestryProgramme; the poverty alleviation Integrated Rural Development Programme; and a host of other similar schemes should bemerged into a single comprehensive area and crop specific pro-gramme for district-wise agricultural and rural developmentaiming at the fullest utilisation of the available resources of land,water and labour in crop production and allied agricultural acti-vities. This will make for efficiency in the administration ofdevelopment programmes; economise developmcnf expend,itureby reducing wastage that results from a multiplicity of departmentsand agencies working towards the same end; increase the effec-tiveness of Plan and development efforts aimed at the increase ofagricultural productivity, the creation of more employment andreduction in the incidence of poverty; and, provide cohesiveness tothe whole approach to agricultural and rural development, on theone hand, and the alleviation of poverty and unemployment, onthe other. Low productivity agriculture and endemic rural povertyare two sides of the same coin. What is needed to solve theseproblems is a holistic rather than a compartmentalised approach toagricultural development.

A change in the development strategy of the country is longoverdue. The 'bimodal' development strategy has given an annual3.6 per cent GDP growth rate and increased food production tomake the country self-sufficient in food supply. However, it hasfailed to make any impression on.the endemic problems of mal-nutrition, unemployment, low productivity and poverty whichcontinue to confront the country with practically the same inten-sity today as at the time of Independence. It is increasinglybecoming clear now that the growth stratbgy adopted from thebeginning of the Second. Plan was not suitable to the Indian situ-ation and that, if the basic economic problems of the country areto be solved, a new strategy should be evolved to take its place.The focus in the new strategy should be on the three majorobjectives of food, employment and productivity enunciated bythe late Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. The strategy shouldcombine growth with a reduction in malnutrition, unemploymentapd other manifestations of poverty. This would obviate the needfor running poverty alleviation programmes separately from tltegrowth process. It would seek to mobilise idle manpower for theproduction of food, thereby increasing incomes, purchasing power

i

I 14/ IHoLq.N Ac+rcul-ruirE

and, therefore, the demand forthe one hand, alnd the supply oduction at the base level. on 1

development strNtegy will be thein a dynamic codtext, with a foctinvestment in foM production arproductive employment. The virtural countries llke India,.a hightion and emplolment is not onl'equity grounds but it also re

achieving faster bverall growth owide credence. But this remains

ment source fori a large majrsignificant propbrtion of theand undernouri$hment-that

requires a sdt of interactinggeneration of effective demar

on th€ part of the poor, onfood through its increased pro-

other. At the centre of theod anpplydemand equation set

on tha level and productivity of

suffering from povertydynamics of growth is provided

and food productionand related manifestations

that of India. as Mellor and

that link nutritional need,for food on the part of the poor,

and increased employmentstructures dennand towards I

strategy of development thatand services that have a high

employment content, prcphasis on growth in agricl

of wage goods and an em-

The increase in employment tnot remain confined to the agricpattern of growth starting from

such growth dynamics will

will have a multipliereffect through forward andsectors of the economy. Fur

linkages with non-farm

on the mobilisation of labour inthat in predominantly agricul-

equilibrium of food produc-desirable on social welfare and

a strategy capable ofthe economy,Tr has begun to getthe conceptual stage and a wellwith agricultural growth as theis vet to be evolved. In Indian

and Fel'dman-Mahalanobisto be treated as a function of

investment in the economy. Inthis applies to all

ies with a predominance ofnational income and employ-

of the labour force and with a

sector alone. Th€ [nimodal

by steadily rising levels of foodat the base. Reduction of malnof poverty in Nn economy liJohnston rightly point out.

the increase in rural incomes

Strategy for Agrkultural Development I ll5

generated by increased agricultural production and employmentwould foster the more rapid growth of output and employment inmanufacturing and other non-farm sectors. The total increase inemployment rinder the unimodal pattern of growth is likely to farexceed the increase under the bimodal pattern, with the same rateof growth in the two cases. An unpublished Ph.D thesis fromDelhi University estimates that a 5 per cent rate of growth ofagricultural output would lead to an additional employmentequivalent to 5 million person-years in the agricultural sectorits€lf.

In addition, agricultural growth as compared to industrialgrowth has a large indirect effect on employment as 1 per centgrowth in agricultural output causes 1.29 per cent increase inemployment in the manufacturing sector and L per cent in thetertiary sector.... 5 per cent growth in agricultural output wouldlead to the increase in employment for 4.58 million person inboth the manufacturing and tertiary s€ctors, or a total increaseof 9.58 million jobs in all the three sectors.T

' This conclusion should be taken as illustrative of the positiveeffect dn employment of growth in agriculture in the Indian situ-ation rather than as an exact measure of the magnitude of thateffect. For one thing, the sarnple taken by the author comprisingnine districts-Ferozepur (Punjab), Muzaffarnagar (U.P.),Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) and six districts in West Bengal (namely,24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Hooghly, Burdwan andBirbhum)-is too small and unrepresentative of the agriculturalsector of the country as whole. For another, the methodology usedto work out the effect, on employment in the farm and non-farmsectors, of the growth of agricultural output is too simplistic toserve as a guide for the exact measurement of that effect. But thepolicy conclusion reached by the author that, on considerations ofemployment creation and poverty mitigation,'agriculture ought tobe assigned a high priority in the strategy of development to bepursued in India,' is valid. In fact if agricultural growth is led by ademand drive at the level of the rural poor (comprising small andmarginal farmers and landless labourers), the employment creat-ing potential of such growth is likely to be far greater than envilsaged in the research study under reference. As Mellor has

116/Impnx Ach.rculrunp

pertinently poiFted out, in sr

provide a dem{nd drive for ddepicted for forrpign markets in

situation'agriculturesimilar to that

-led growth.'?8

Planning

based on agricultural growth

, be as sophisticated as onebalance and inter-sectoral input-

work in data collection fromto be done before a detailed five

and the dynamics of the food, can be worked out. At leastI be needed for purposes of

out inter-sectoral linkages andgrowth targets. are: (a) distribution of income by factorshares and distribution of income; (b)the income groups; and (c) theproduction sectors on which additional

of this data, linkages betweenagricultural industrial will have to be worked out and

made . The guiding policy objective

mayoften

plan

rncome ls

that to interpatterns of

. On the

the wide

considerable

tertiaryeconomy (other economrc itv in the rural areas). Thispattern of will be far capital-intensive and, therefore,far more in terms of and employment growth inthe existingtion would

. The of industrial produc-in favour of production of goods of mass

oonsumption. a'ppreciable ing of the capital-output ratioin the expected from change in the growth pattern

will be toreducemodern, whichagriculture and

would releaseoutlav trom thesectors fordevelopment

and incomes of the poor anddisparities existing between theindustry, advanced segment of

, and, the traditional part of theagriculture, rural industry and

of the public sector plan

, transport and constructionThis could be used for the

In the earlier st6ges, a five yearat the C-€ntre cafrnot, by its verybased on the sayings-investmenloutput tables. d, lot of preparathe village level upward will havyear plan with bgricultural grordemand-supply equation as its tdemand-supply equation as itsthree types of Ntatistical datasound policy analysis and wor

market places,, roads, electricity, schools,

Strategy for Agricultural Development I ll7

The Central Plan will, under the new strategy, become an indi-cative plan and be of a much smaller size than at present. Detailedplanning will ppss on to the district level. Each district will have itsown planning machinery, which will draw up the district development plan, keeping in view its resources, immediate and long-termneeds and development potential. The district plan will be drawnup within the broad framework of the stated policies and prioritiesof the Central and state,plans but detailed development and input-output planning will have to be done by the district itself. The stateplan will coordinate the district plans, provide the unifying linkbetween them, and pr€sent a consolidated picture of the development effort envisaged in the time-frame of the five year nationalplan for the state as a whot The Central Plan, likewise, willcoordinate the state plans, provide the unifying link between themand consolidate them into a unified national plan.

The whole set up of the district administration will have to ixradically changed. The District Collector or Deputy Commissionerwill, under the new.dispensation, become Development Commis-sioner of the district assuming overall charge of developmentadministration-in place of being .responsible for the maintenanceof law and order and the collection of land revenue, which is thecase at present. While it should be ideal for every district to haveits own government responsible both for development and the civiladministration of the district with the District Masistrate orCollector assuming the role of Chief Secretary in that go=vernment,on political grounds it does not seem to be a practical propositionin the near future. The recently launched Karnataka experiment indistrict government wili be watched with keen interest by the restof the country. In other states, it will be enough for the present if aDistrict Development Council with representatives of the peopleon it as members could be created and given charge of formulatingand implementing the district plan. This should be a statutory andnot an informal or advisory body.

Decentralised planning along these lines is a necessary part ofplanning based on an employment-cum-agricultural growthoriented strategy of economic development. Conditions of agri-cultural production-soil properties and availability of waterresources for irrigation, agro+limatic conditions and croppingpattern, distribution of land and social composition of the farmingcommunity-differ from district to district and even within different

ture-based growth strategy,with a centralised svstem of

plan would operate at thegrowth of the gross domestic

, prices and price siructure,macrolevel and comprehend thtproduct, fiscal and monetary poliexternal trade {nd foreign exch

national transpo[t a4d communicathe country's economic relations v

industrial sector will also remainmedium and smdll-scale industry 'and rural industry to the distrresources betwedn the Centre, str

will be made inl accordance witlassigred to them in the planned eccpresent state of dependency of thtof development projects and Prowill be assigned their respectiveand income. Grdnts-in-aid from tthe states to the districts will be onot the primary gource of financrFor the most paft, these bodies traising theii owin resources. Grtand backwardnebs index. The otinter-regional difparities in devepeople by helping the weaker

not the primary gource of finance

forglng technolopical advance allth€ contrary, what is being propotraditional s€gmpnt of agriculturrrace for moderdisation and technological advanqe is'central to ar

cultural developfnent. lt is the ntechnology rathPr than on largtincreased annual national produmarks the supediority of the recthe alternative growth modelsfunction of the rate of capital

, science and technology,svstems. and th6 conduPt of

other nations. The corPoratepart of the Central Plan while

go to the state plans' sPhereplan. Division of financialand district plan authorities

the respective responsibilitiesgrowth of the country. The

states on the Centre for fundingwill cease and the two

sources of revenueCentre to the state and fromsupplementary in nature andthe district and state bodies.

be respectively responsible forts will be based on the poverty

of srants would be to reduceand income levels of the

to catch up with the

strategy and pattern of growthPrime Minister's oft-declared

of the economv andthe line. This is not so. 0n

is rapid modernisation of thethat has been left behind in the

advance. In fact. tech-growth strategy based on agri-

on net product-increasingcapital investments to get anthat distinsuishes it from and

growth strategy overthat make growth €ntirely aaccumulation and investments.

Struegy for Agricultural Development I ll9

Adoption of this strategy for growth over the next fifteen-yearperiod would, thus, not only. be consistent with the Prime

Minister's ideas of technological advance of the country when itenters the twenty-first century, but would also impart a practical

content and significance to those ideas.

Macro-Level Develapment Policies :Fiscal, Manetary and Trade

State in Relation to Agriculture: Historicsl Perspective

A corollary to change in the development strategy is the reorienta-tion of macro-emnomic policies in a way that they no longerdiscriminate against agriculture. Instead of hindering agriculturaldevelopment, which has often been the case in the past, theeconomy-wide policies should be so formulated that they do notdirectly or indirectly depress profitability in agriculture. It is

necessary to ensure that the outflow of investment resources fromagriculture to other sectors of the economy is prevented and,instead, capital accumulation in agriculture is promoted throughdeliberate policy measures.

A key objective of macro-level economic policies has to be tosecure the rising.trend of farm incomes in real terms' This is

possible only if in a period of inflation brought about either by

deficit financing of public expenditure at home or by develop-ments in the international econorny, farm prices are not artificiallydepressed through control measures in the name of containinginflation and securing price stability. On the other hand, if onaccount of technological' improvements, the unit costs of agri-cultural produce begin showing a falling trend, the advantage ofthat development should be allowed to be shared by other sectors

of the economy but prices should not be allowed to fall so low thatthe farmer is completely deprived of productivity gains in the

sector. This means that market iorces are allowed to operate freelyin the pricing and markering of agricultural produce, except insituations where market intervention by the state is indicated inthe interests of protecting farm incomes against erosion caused by

factors beyond the farmer's control. This intbrvention is needed as

much in the interest of the farming community as of the economy

I

incomes would reducegoods and services used by thedepression in the non-farm

as well. A jor example in history of thisstate is President Roosevelt's

New Deal in the [.J.S. introduced the early thirties to save theDepression. The present-pursued in the U.S. and

, belong to an altogether

Protection of dbmestichowever, goes back in historyprotected farmers for centuries.

1931. Invariably, the rates of

aBainst foreign competition,longer. Governments havethe beginning of industrial-

of free-trade in agri-abolition of the Com Laws bv1860, had spread throughout

lasted less than twoonly Denmark, the Nether-

the drift back to protec-levels imposed dudng the

agricultural protectionismduring the Depression

instance, the import duty onvalorem in 1913 and Tl .4 oer

cent in 1931. In France, thea,ent in 1927 to 53 per cent inper cent to 66 per cent duringof duty on foodstuffs stood atand in Poland 110 per cent in

duty on foodstuffs wereand factory manu-far higher than

factured goodson

all the countries. This means thatagricultural received attention from the gov-ernments than

In Asia, Japan practically sarne story to tell with respectto agricultural Japan imposed tariff restric-tions on rice Deliberate action was taken in the1920s and 1930s keep the price of foodstuffs higherthan the price in to encourage the achievement

Strategy for Agricultural Development I l2lof national self-sufficiency in food supply. A measure of thedegree of protection afforded to the clomestic producer is thedifference in rice prices between Japan and Thaiftr;d. In the 1g&the price in Japan was three times higher than in Thailand. This istoo great a gap to be explained by the quality difference betweenthe rice of the two countries. The level of protection in Japan inthe late 1950s was over 40 per cent. This iose to 76 per cent by1965. In Korea, the domestic producer prices exceeded the bordeiprices by 166 per cent between 1990 a;d 19g2.?,

Policy in India: Tllris historical evidence amply proves that aprosperous agricultural base is a precondition for industrial growthin an economy and that agricultural incornes are to be protectedagainst erosion when threatened by cheaper imports of farmproduce from abroad. The evidence runs counter to the view thatgrowth in a developing country means industrialisation, which hasto.be at the cost of agriculture. All our macro-economic policies inthe. past have been guided by that view. Instead of protectingagriculture against income losses from adverse economii policieslwe have deliberately pursued policies causing a drain of incomesand wealth from the agricultural sector.

A recent study by Swami and Gulati has shown that, over the1970s decade, Indian farmers in twelve selecterl states suffered acumulative collective loss of Rs. 45,000 crore at current prices (orRs. 12,479.89 crore at constant 1970-71 prices) relative to theirl97l-:72level of incomes.* According to their estimates, Gujaratwas the leading sufferer in the twelve states. its loss in terms ofconstant (197l-12 level) prices being Rs. 3,404.45 crore, whileTamil Nadu was the lone state in the country showing a net gain inagricultural incomes during the period (amounting to Rs. g,16.67crore).8' Table 5.1 sums up the results of their study,

The data is for twelve states only. Among the major states, datais missing for Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka.Kerala and Rajasthan. If these and other states and Union Terri-tories, which have been left out of the calculation bv the authorsbecause of the absence of adequate data, were included, the wealthdrain frorn the farm to thri non-farm sectors would woik out to beat least 50 per cent more than the computed figure (which means atotal of Rs. 18,720 crore ar 197}-]-1 prices). This is practicallyequal to the gross domestic product at the factor cost of the

122l lNorar Acmtulrunp

Andhra PradeshAssamBiharGujaratHaryanaMadhya Pradesh

MaharashtraOrissaPunjabTamil NaduUttar PradeshW€st Bengal

Total

in the form of

in Selccted States

)

Loss (-) in Ten Years Relative ao

l97l-72 l*vel (Rs. Crore)

- |,&6.14- 212.76

- 1,334.17

- 3,404.45

- 854.73

- |,n4.22- 211.83

- 524.2',1

- 381.75+ 846.67

- 3,142.11

- 510.13

-.'t2,479.W

crore in 1979-80 at constantthe farm sector. because of

policy on administeredcent of its annual income tothe 1970s. This is in spite ofgovernment which rose, ac-

crore in l970_7l to Rs. 1.312

other benefits like exemp-

tion of incomes from tax and the lew of almostnominal land tax (i.e., revenue) and concessionalinterest rates to the farmers on credit. The material benefits

concessions that the farmerto compensate him fully for

andsot from the exchequerthe indirect to which he was subjected. The result was

that there was a and amount of transfer ofincomes from thle agriculture to sectors of the economy,

which is generally con-prosperity in the country.two leading states in the

qrowe$ of wheat in the

even in the post-green revolution

point. According to the two

Str'ategy for Agricultural D evelopment I l2l

authors, the per hectare income of land under wheat cultivation inPunjab declined from Rs. 328 in 1970-71 to Rs' 193 in 1978-79,

while in Haryana the corresponding figures were Rs' 611 and Rs.

-46. One cannot be too sure about the negative figure of Rs. 46 inthe case of Haryana fot 197U'19. There might be some computa-

tional error. But that is a different matter altogether. What we are

concerned with here is the declining trend of income per hectare

from the cultivation of wheat over the period in the two states'

which is unmistakable.The principal source of erosion of farmers' incomes and trans-

fer of resources from the agricultural sector is the fiscal and

monetary policies followed to finance the plan expenditure.

Financing of five year plans invariably involved some amount ofdeficit financing and an increase in money supply which was not

matched by an equivalent rate of GDP growth. This generated

inflationary pressures in the economy which were sought to be

curbed by the exercise of administrative controls over the prices ofconsumer goods, especially food articles like foodgrains, sugar and

edible oils. Inflation, in itself, means indirect taxation of the

people. This taxation is of a very regressive nature for it falls more

he"uily on the poor than on the rich. In the case of India, the

regressive effects of inflation were compounded by the govern-

ment deliberately attempting to curb the rise in prices of agricul-

tural commodities and agro-based manufactures. The agriculturistwas prevented from protecting himself against the adverse effect

of inflation on his income by government intervention' on behalf

of the consumer, in the market for agricultural produce.

The professed aim of the policy was to control inflation, which

was wrongly attributed to the existence of shortages of essential

consumer goods in the economy. The real source of inflation lay in

the heavy doses of deficit financing administered to the economy

by the government to finance its unproductive expenditure'

Cbmmodlty shortages were rnore often the product and not the

cause of inflation. But in the debate on prices and price stabilisa-

tion measures in the country, the effect was often confused with

the cause which, in turn, led to wrong pohcy mnclusions and

prescriptions. For many years the government was allowed to get

away with its inflationary finance policy in the belief (which was

sedulously created by the official machinery) that a certain

measure of deficit financing in a developing economy was not only

124l lNorar Acrrctit-ru ne

interest of planned develop-. The process has continueding has got institutionalised

and has become a p€rma-s annual budget. Today,

what is discussed iC not the evil of deficit financingbut its supposed lsafe limits'-as there were safe limits to

to be a serious healthfinancing do not fall from

of one section of thesector that bears the brunt

poorer sections of the agri-landless labourer. Inflationtribute from the peripheral

and growth of thesector industrial enterprises

. The macro-economice for obtaining resources

indulgence in somdthing which is I

hazard. Resources taised through deheaven. They are a form of indirect

for the developmeht of industrywhich was continudus and. of cormake it less real and pernicious in

International trade policies pursrto agricultural produce were similindustrial field, an lmportaht elernwas to set up those [ndustries that

this indirect taxation, invisible. But that did notconsequences.by the country with respect

in design and effect. In thein our development policyld provide import substitu-

other way round. Under the, was bound to remain

a free-trade policy in food-beginning but concessional

almost the start of theconclusively demonstrated

a little encouragement,country needed and even

not only self-sufficientto accumulate which

. Food controls were with-had to come out

a further downward slide

society or other. In the Indian case,of this taxation is a]griculture and thcultural populationl the cultivator atwas used as an instrument to exactagricultural and rurhl sectors for the

supplies under PL

Syategy for Agricultural Developmen |125

480 from the U.S. in 1955, which culminated in the signing of thefirst PL 480 agreement in April the following year, proved sotempting to our planners and policy-makers that they accepted theoffer lvith alacrity. Not the least thought was given to the interestsof the Indian farmers or to the effect that cheap imports wouldhave on the growth of agriculture in this country. Domesticproduction of wheat and other grains in the country were de-pressed by the PL 480 imports.e The country was renderedpermanently short in food supply. It was made dependent onimports till the U.S. in August 1965, when the existing agreementexpired, refused to sign another long-term aid agreement andadopted a 'short-tether' policy of doling out to this country stockssufficient to meet a few months' requirements at a time, andexplicitly tying the aid to India to the adoption of. policies by Indiaaimed at increasing domestic agricultural production and curbingpopulation growth. The green revolution followed in the wake ofthe policy challenge posed to the government by the action ofPresident Johnson's administration.

Since the early seventies, concessional imports of foodgrains tothe country have practically stopped and Indian agriculture hasbeen spared the disincentive to the growth of production thatthose imports constituted. However, the government has a mono-poly of foreign trade in foodgrains and imports are undertakenonly in the event of a perceived need for supplies by the govern-ment to replenish the public sector buffer stocks for running thepublic distribution system. There are no custom duti€s imposed onthe import of foodgrains. The object of the policy is price stabilisa-tion at, in practice, levels which are below the border price ofimports. Together with the public distribution system, of which ithas come to be used as a supportive adjunct, the foreign tradepolicy in foodgrains has throughout the post-green revolutionperiod worked as a depressive influence on the price of foodgrainsin the domestic market and, therefore, against the interest of theagricultural sector.

Apart from the cost of maintaining buffer stocks and the in-efficiencies of the public sector handling of marketing operations(compared to private trade) which the nation has to bear, theagricultural sector is also called upon to bear the heavy cost ofrestrictions imposed by the government assuming monopolisticcontrol of import trade and the domestic marketing of foodgrains.

AcpJCuL126lInonx

An important the Agricultural Prices Com-mission (APC) in the price of cereals in the

early years of the revolution providing curbs on inflationthrough the tion of food The APC wrote in itsReport on Rabi for lW

In an srtuatron an in procurement prices

has the effect pushing up the market prices.... Competitivepressures for i tn prices thus tend to gen-

erate a vrcrous without actual procurement. Thethe single most importanttion.

situation and the need forgovemment had allowed a

wheat in 1973-74 thhn whatCommission in its Report on

or the year 197 +-75 reactedwarned that if the demands

prices were accepted

increase of 85 per cent in theRs. 54 to Rs. l0G-within a

fires of inflation can well bethe very discipline in the

for managing it.

sharply to the government actionof the farmers for higher procuft

The following yealr, the Commissiprimary consider:ition in $etting al

of inflationary pr{ssures in the er

deal to the farmers, or even provi,the domestic pro{uction of foodgtPolicy for Wheat lfor the lV7l76

Furthermore, fn the present siof consolidatin]g the stabilisinganti-inflationaiv measures whitaken since lasi yeai, has to I

tance. When the size of the cula softening effdct on market pr

make the administered price p

went on record to sav that itsprices was the control

y rather than giving a fairincentives for an increase in

In the Report on the Price

, the Commission wrote:

tion the overriding objectiveect on the price level of thethe Government has under-accorded the highest impor-t crop is promising to produce, it would be most uhwise to

rise in foodgrains prices has l

element in stolding the fires of

a counter effect.

Strategy for Agricultural Development I 127

It may be added that this was the year of the Emergency and7.54 million tonnes of foodgrains had been imported mostly oncommercial terms in Lfzt-75 to keep down food prices and run thepublic distribution system. It was the Emergency and the highestever import of foodgrains since the beginning of the green revol-ution in a single year, that were responsible for the softening effecton prices during the year and not the increase in the domesticproduction of foodgrains. The behaviour of the wholesale priceindices of two commodity groups during the year provides aninteresting, if not sad, comment on the working of the agriculturalprice polrcy. The general index of wholesale prices (base 197O-71 =100) after touching a peak of l7 4.9 in 197 4J 5 fell slightly to 173 in197176. Against this, the index-for manufactured products rosefrom 168.8 to 171.2 while that for agricultural products declinedfrom 168.8 to 157.3 during the same period. Control of inflationwas sought and obtained at the cost of the agricultural sectorthrough the repression of agricultural prices.

In the light of all this, it is nothing less than a travesty of facts onthe part of Kahlon, a former Chairman of the APC, and Tyagi toclaim that 'the main objective of agricultural price policy since l!b5[when the APC was established] has been to ensure an incentiveprice to farmers for maximising their production through optimumutilisation of resources withou unduly affecting the levels of wagesand industrial costs.'a They contradict themselves by stating else-where in their book that 'the APC has been conscious of thenecessity of keeping inflation in check.'' The two objectivescannot go together. It is the latter objective that had a greatinfluence on the APC in the formulation of its recommendationson agricultural prices, at least till the end of the Fifth Plan.

Looking now to the policy bn agricultural exports, we find thepolicy displaying the same anti-agriculture bias at the macro-levelof policy-making. Whenever the question is raised of export ofwheat and rice on any significant scale to reduce the financialburden.on the exchequer and the waste that mounting food stockshave come to impose, it has been vehemently opposed by theconsumer lobby, the media and even by noted economists of thecountry on the ground that it is immoral to export foodgrains whena significant section of the country's population remains under-nourished and lives below the poverty line. That is the argument atthe populist level. At the more sophisticated level, the argument is

128/ INpt,lN Acntcurrunn

that exports would cause a rise inand thereby advedsely affec't the p(plantation crops ilso, similar mngrounds, exports are opposed, sot

in the domestic rdarket of the concases like onions pnd potatoes. Induties have been raised in the pawith a view to keeping down thmarket.

The conclusiotl is irresistable:culture has been given some ensector investments in irrigationand extension sedvices, and themacro-level of pOlicy-making thedirection. Witti(gly or not, ouindustrial, fiscal and monetary-drawing resourcgs from agriof non-farm sectdrs of the ecoThough agricult4re is exemptland revenue rates levied by theonly notional, in 6onetary and nfiscal, monetary and trade polic'pursued over thd past three decaheavy charge on the farm sector.made to pay for the plannedbalance-sheet of the interfarm anddrawn, the r

exceeding theAn exercise

Bhanu Prataprelations withincome annually to other sectorsplan outlays on the sector.8sln5-76 to Iagriculture onRs. 38,220.4over the period Was Rs. 23,655the break-up of

There could bd a difference of over the methodology

sectors over

domestic price of foodgrains. ln the case of commercial and

prevail. On the sameeven in the face of a glutconcerned at the time. in

cases (such as, tea), exportat times to discourage export,product price in the domestic

at the sectoral level aeri-in the form of public

the oromotion of researchof farm inputs, at the

has been in the oppositedevelopment policies-trade.

all been directed towardsfor financing the developmentthroughout the planning eraCentral income tax and the

sovernments have becomeso in real terms, macro-levelof the Central governmenthave all combined to put a

It is the latter which has beenof the economy. If a

flow of income between thelast thirtv-five vears were to be

from would be found to be farto it from sectors.by a forrner nion Minister of Agriculture,has shown on account of adverse price

was losing far morethe economv than the total

r the eight year period (from), according Singh's estimate, the loss to

adverse price parity wasolan outlavs on the sector

. Table 5,2 gives, at a glance,estimates.

t.ii>,IJIDlo.i

= !.1

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8tora

'o '0c0Efr:<Ea8.99

tgo(!'ico -E

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g.=l!t

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5lJ9a)()=EEOR:E:i tud€

T=

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8€sb8E:EF!UEh66.9.o=

ex-Yuo..E:6=od

F€€sqoscr 9N6FERSf E €-: -.t.i 6id t.;+ tf R

elnqa.qaq..,t oe:.F.;$.$.s.$. eTTTTTT?Y g

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fi s.eq5.s"s"fi5R88Ffi8t

a:l a.l ct 'rt ao (.t \o FFFRR=hii

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s;R;F5Sg9,i vt 'd d ct .j ci -.i ..i- a! a] aa .a ..r ri <! <t

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********* F-:Fi< F

at

$s$iE$igE

^=FEirls+:is3$ise

FsfSiqsb:4

5€Ee5

si:€$ssigs

ssFgs$

sis$s$s$

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a

ttE

130/Irpm Acfrculrure

the figures in Column 5 ofat the figure of income for

to multiply first the aggregatethe base year 190-71- which

index of agricultural produc.which value added is to be

bv the index of wholesaleColumn 4) to arrive at the figure

but simple and straightforwardask for the use of a more

for arriving at the figure of whatamount of the agriculture sector

of assumptions made. Forthe parity ratio between agn-

as given by their respectivethe figure of value-added in

multiplied by the correspondingto find the values given in

This exercise was done by me and it was found to make somedifference to the estimates giventhe difference *as small. For anr

Column 5. But, for one thing,, the point at issue is not the

public sector plbn outlays andtion and flood oontrol, put togr . It is the fact of overall loss of

on agriculture, irriga-

a part of its annual earnings the agricultuial sector to othersectors of the ebonomy through , fiscal, trade and pricecontrol policies pursued at theour purpose hdre. And this f comes out so glaringly that it

, that is important for

magnitude but the fact that thewealth from the agricultural srpolicies followed in the name of r

more than the return of resour

amount of drain of income andcaused by macro-economic

has throughout beento the sector in the form of

drain of a part of the annualresponsible for keeping down

private investments in the agri-production in the non-

perpetuation of socio-economicand growing income

would require heavy

becomes irrefutable.It is the protess of

income of the sector that hasthe rate of capiltal formationcultural sector, stagnation ofcultural sector, stagnauon oI al

irrigated areas of the country andproblems of ruhal poverty, un(disparities. Mddernisation of

Strategy for Agricultural Developrnent I L3l

capital investments. It is a measure of the seriousness with whichwe take planning in this country that the Planning Commission hasnot so far thought it fit even to estimate, in quantitative terms, thecapital requirepents for modernisation of the agricultural sector(which contribdtes around 40 per cent of the national income anddirectly supports around 70 per cent of the country's population).There will have to be a radical change in our economic thinkinsand the whole attitude of planners and policy-makers towardiagriculture if the economy is to be extricated from the bog intowhich it has been pushed by past policies and planning.

This is what lies at the root of most of our present troubles inplanning and development. The resource crunch that the plannershave come to face; the growing adverse trade and external pay-ments balhnce; the menacingly growing level of annual buigetdeficits which contain inflationary poidntials of serious propor-tions; and the continued sluggishness of the industrial growth iatesince the mid-sixties are all the culmination of the unbalancedgrowth of the farm and non-farm sectors of the economy. In fact,the experience of the country with respect to development of theeconomy as a whole is not very dissimilar to that of developmentof the agricultural sector separately. In both cases, growih hasbeen bimodal---one part showing vitality and advancing rapidly inthe initial stages, leaving the other part behind in the race forgrowth, leading ultimately to a situation where the latter comes toconstitutd a drag,on the development of the former and halts itsgrowth. In the case of agriculture,.it is the dryland rainfed agri-culture that covers 70 per cent of the cultivated area in the countrvthat has been left behind in the race for development. This patte;of growth has given rise to imbalances in crop production anddisparities in regional income levels in ,agriculture. For theeconomy as a whole, imbalances have arisen from the unequalgrowth of the industry and services sector, on the one hand. andthe agricultural sector, on the other. The sluggish growth of thelatter has mme to constitute. a drag on the development of theformer.

The remedy for the present situation lies in redressing thebalance in the growth of the farm and non-farm sectors. Thii canbe done only by undertaking a thorough review of the frameworkof macro-economic policies with respect to their impact on thefortunes of agriculture. At least some of them would

-be fouird to

132/ lnotltt AcRIcULTURE

be requiring drdstic revision ifand challenges currentlY facing

met. As noted bY a veteran of1974. 'a basic identitY now exis

achieve adequate and sustained 6

substantial Prolgress towards a

structure.'b Thb World Bank' i,1986, is more forthright on this

The experience of decades

sector is critical to national

resources to industrY willdomestic fobd and raw rreduce demand for indust

intimate conlnections with g

that the cost of discriminatiby farming dlone.*'

It is time lndian Planners

growth is to be achievedplanning are to be

iian planning, Tarlok Singh' in

between measures required toand those needed to secure

more efficient rutal economtc

its World DeveloPment 'RePort

that a healthy agricultural. Taxing agriculture to force

agricultural growth, lower

supplies to industrY andproducts . , Agriculture's

and the wider economy mean

against agriculture are not borne

TechnologicalBreakthrough andPolicy Choices

If agriculture is to meet new challenges, which it is now called uponto do, it will have to be given a new scientific and technologicalbase. The further growth of the farm sector to any appreciabledegree, with the help of the old HYV-fertiliser technology, isneither feasible nor desirable. It is not feasible because the keyelement in the successful application of that technology is irriga-tion water. It is not possible to cover the entire country withirrigational facilities in the foreseeable future, not only because ofthe cost factor but also because of the existence of physical andneeded water supply constraints in parts of the country.

It is not desirable because of two reasons: first, it is high-costtechnology that is already making Indian agriculture an uneco-nomic business because of the constantly rising unit cost of pro-duction; second, it is wasteful of resources inasmuch as in ricecultivation, for example, only 2O-30 per cent of the applied nitrogen,according to the Seventh Plan document, is actually utilisedin the plant's growth, the balance being lost due to a variety ofreasons (such as, denitrification, ammonia volatisation and leach-ing). The country has to go in for an alternative. more suitable.technology for the transformation of its agricultural economy.

N ew Agricultural Technologt

It is, perhaps, a fortunate conjuncture that just when the need foralternative technology has come to be most keenly felt, a veritable

powedul in its impact than theJethro Tull, Tqrnip Townsen<

started by the inventions ofJethro Tull, Tqrnip Townsend,Georgian England. The emergir

Arthur Youne and others inhi-tech biotechnology scores

over the twenty year old HYVrespects. The rlos't important ar

country get out Of the high-cost,which we find ornrselves caught a

technology in severalthem is that it helps the

food economy trap inpresent..

There are two important consview when making the choice technology in agriculture for

which should be kept in

future use: (a) a reduction in cost of production withoutthe economic benefits fromsacrificing yield, and (b)

the available regources of land,family through rlrultiple croppinp(including livestock and agricuThe aim has to be to make (a)

economically viable and sustainalincome levels of the weaker sec

and labour to a farmingmixed cropping, mixed farming

systems).and dryland agriculture

, and (b) raise substantially theof the. farming community,farmers. so that thev are

134/Ixorex Ac{rculrune

revolution in biotechnology andpromise of another agricultural r

?articularly the small and ma

brought above the poverty lineThe key elemdnts in hi-tech

DNA or genetic engineering,fixation in plant$ and soil directintroduction of bacterial procemay be added(iii) improved farconservation and optimal utiliwater resources through, amonl

first, not only because of thegrowth of agricultural outputof the immense opportunitiestechnology by blg business and

sciences hold out thein the world, even more

rendered free from want.are: (i) recombinant

(ii) biofertiliser or nitrogenthe atmosphere through the

or chemical action. To thesemanagement practices,.and ( iv)ion of the available land and

the use of newly emerging. world interest focuses on the

possibilities in theit throws open, but also because

commercial exirloitation of thecorporations in thetechnology by blg business ar

advanced countfies for corpsupply industry firas already bdialogue on rqform of theOrder.' For India, however,and biofertiliser technologies

profits. In fact, the genettcan issue in the North-South

rainfed and drylland agriculture

International Economicin both genetic engineering

more in the transformation ofwhich these can help to bring

about.

Technological Br'eakthrough and Policy Chobes ll35

Genetic Engineering

Recombinant DNA involves transferring genes from one livingorganism to another, producing, in turn, a new kind of living cell.Since such cells can reproduce at a rapid rate, their application formanufacturing a large variety of substances has become feasible.The rapid development of molecular and cellular biology in theseventies laid the scientific base of this new technoiogy: Geneticengineers have proved disappointingly slow in delivering theirpromises ofrew drugs, foods or plastics. In transforming plants,however, they have astonished everyone by the speed with whrchtheir wildest predictions are coming true.

It, is just five years since a gene was put into a tobacco plant.Yet, the technology for doing this has almost become routine.sTobacco is a dicot plant. There were doubts that the technologymight not succeed with monocots (to which category the threeprincipal cereal crops-wheat, rice and maize-belong). Thesedoubts were removed when Prof. Robert Schilpcroot and hiscolleagues at l,eiden University in Netherlands discovered, in1984, that the agro-bacterium code worked in monocots just as

well as in dicots." Now that the tool has been perfected and theapplicability of the technology to the major cereal crops estab-lished, one may expect to achieve, in the not-too-distant future,spectacular gains in the yields of grain crops all over the world.Progress in this direction has yet to be made. Meanwhile, toma-toes have stolen the show. They are in the vanguard of the tech-nology that makes it possible now for man 'to go beyond theconfines of nature and tailor the chaiacteristics of micro-organisms to productivp requirements'.e Genetic engineering'sfirst impact may be on the protection of crops against pests, withincrease in yields getting attention later. But this should notdiscourage us or diminish in any way the importance of the newtechnology for the future. Alo'ng with micro-chips in electronics, itstands in the frontline of the world's technological advance thatpromises to transform the international economy by the tum of thepresent century. While the application of micro-electronics has afar-reaching impilct on industry and services, biotechnology isexpected to have similar consequinces in the fields of agricultureand raw materials. Fortunately, the Government of Indiarecognises this. 'It was coal and steampower,' said the former

136/ Ixonr Aonrcur,rune

Union Minister for Buta Singh, 'which fuelled thefirst industrial revolution. Thethe chemical and electrical inc

revolution was sparked byies. The third industrial revol-

ution is [being] bred by comprfrontier areas of development

and bio-technology, which areIndia.'ts

Some idea of th'e promise of yields that gene technologyholds may be had from Table

IntWvWYkfuvb CulnreTdutirya

Crop Polential Yield(tonlhec. )

YieM?c.)

The potential shown in Table 6. for each crop is not imaginary. Itis based on field experiments observed scientific data. Still, itwould be highly unrealistic toimmediately an$ everywhere l

im that the shown potential is. All that is intended to be

SugarcaneCussavaTomatoOil PalmPeanuts

conveyed is thd range of possitioqfease in crop production frolcountry like India with so muchlation to be supported on it, itsIt may not be out of place tomentioned, three are of direct rrproblem of the country: oil palnoil-bearing cfops group and sugsugar industry, in ?ll of which

150-200G100G100r0-l2lo-72

ities that have come to exist forthe same amount of land. For a

scarcity relative to the popu-cannot be exaggerated.

out that of the five cropsto the present agricultural

and peanuts are in the vegetableis the raw material for the

deficient compdred to the needsWhile the potential for increas,

re present production levels areof the economy.

land areas may take a few yearscrop production from the samebe realised, another advantage

of gene technology of consi significance to a country likeIndia in search of cost-savings€eds .that malte the plants

, is the development ofto fungal, bacterial and

would save the farmer money.nematode (worln) diseases. 'eliminate the ri$k of pesticide

i

and reduce the burden on

Technological Breakthrough and policy Choicesl l4lgreen algae a.nd 15,000 tonnes of rhizobium culture. The tech-nology for production of rhizobilrm culture has already beenstandardised and it has already come to be produced on anindustrial scale in the U.S., Australia, U.K. and New Zealand.There are problems involved in the safe storage of the products fora long period and, therefore, in distribution over.a wide area. Forthe moment, at least, with the given state of knowledge, produc-tion in a vast country like India has to be regionally dispersed andbe on a small scale. It may not be viable for the corporate sector toenter the manufacturing of. rhizobium culture but small scaleprivate units and farmers' cooperatives should be encouraged todo so.

Scientific Farm Management

There is considerable scope for increase in crop production,.reduction in.production costs and raising of incomelevels of farmfamilies through the application of multiple-cropping and mixed-cropping technologies, using integrated nutrient supply methods,improved biomass utilisation for crop growth and other cropmanagement practices and technologies.

These technologies are relevant to the land-scarce surplus labouragrarian economies of Asia, particularly China and lndia. Japanand some newly industrialising countries. of the Far East and SouthEast Asia (like Taiwan and South Korea) have already demon-strated.what can be achieved if small farmem adopt simple buthighly effective farm management rechnologies. By adoptingintegrated farming systems, China increased single paddy cropyields from 1.5 tons per hectare to 8 tons per hectare in twenty-fiviyears.rr' In some of the more advanced communes. an annualoutput of 20 tonnes of grain per hectare has been achieved in Chinathrough multiple cropping.,6

- The rationale for adopting multi-cropping is not merely toincrease land-use intensity ,which, in a land-scarce economy-iikeChina, in itself is an extremely important object. Other reasons fordoing so include taking full advantage of the wide variations intemperature and agro-climatic conditions from one part of theyear to the other, and the immense manpower available for farm-ing; and the existence of demand for a wide variety of agriculturalproducts. China's experience can become a model for India as wellas for other developing countries. In China, by growing three.crop6 per unit area p€r vear. vields of up to 18/.20 tonnes per hectare

with good managdment byfollowed by a pulse crop inidentified crop seqPences in

142l INptaN Acnrdulrunr

vegetable growing areas,year are common.rs This gives

over the next fifteen yearsother farm manasement

for evolving multiplelocal climatic. soil and water

availability conditions in different of the country. Accordingto the Department of Agricultural tr

it was found possible to harvest up, 'with optimum inputs

9.5 tonnes of grain/ha/year2 cereal crops in sequence

parts of the countfy that can give

.'ro5 The IAR scientists havecropping systems in differentannual income of up to Rs.

38,000 per hectare a year. For , in Kalyani (West Bengal)in field experiment verification rice-potato-rice rotatien has

Rs. 38.289 and a rice-potato-hectare. ln Bhubaneshwar-

been found to yield a gross incomejute rotation Rs. E7,634 a yearrice-potato-rice rotation yielded35,943 per hectarel In Bichpuri (

a qross income of Rs.

) maize-mustard-green gramper hectare per year.t6 A

cropping. It was f in Bijapurland effected through inter-one hectare of land sown in

pea yielded 25.3 quintalsTo raise the same

quantity of produce would require 88 hectare of land if the cropsrpping thus,meant saving 0.88had been raised seirarately. Inter

hectare of land for everv 1.88 hec . In Sholapur, the saving was-pea and sunflower sownlse that the development

-cropping systems hold in thecountry.

This is just parf of the whole of crop and land man-agement techniquos that are ing the frontiers of attainableproductivity levels and cost saving in farmine. There is b whole

management waiting to besystem,_ besides improve-future. Only two examplesient supply and integrated

both savins of cost and

techniques.A beginning hag been made in

and inter-cropping systems specific

variety of similar irhprovements in

noted, as much as 80 per cent

Technological Breakthrough and policy Choices t I43

of the applied nitrogen to the rice crop could be lost due to avariety of reasons such as: (a) loss of ammonia volatisation; (D)nitrification followed by denitrification; (c) biological immobil_isation, especially by algae; (d) fixation of ammortirim nitrogen byc.lays; (e) leaching; (fl run-off; and (g) seepage.Afrer idenlifyin;the precise cause for the loss, suitable methods for minimising, i-fnot alto€ether eliminating, the loss could be introduced. In longterm trials, the fRRI (Manila) and the philippine Ministry ofAgriculture and Food at m&ny sites in the philippines have identi_fied an optimum soil carbon content of around Cper cent. Resultsof 125 field experiments in the dry season in l9g4 indicated that onsoils containing more than 2 per cent earbon (= 4 per cent organicmatter) grain yields up to 5 tiha. could be achieved without appli_cation of nitrogen fertilisers. The maximum yields on these fertilesoils have been found to be 3.7 Vha. without nitroqen fertiliserapplication. Achieving 5 tonnes and above has beerifound to befeasible only_with an integrated nutrient supply system involvingan optimum blend of biofertilisers, organic manures and mineralfertilisers.rG

The second case of efficient farm management is the intro_duction of integrated pest management (IpM) and improved post-harvest technology. This would mean combining biological controlmeasures with the use of appropriate quantities of chemical pesti_cides, along with control of conditions that give rise to specificcrop disease and pests. Plastic covers and nets are coming inlo usefor-plant protection in supplementing the action of fungicides aswell as to protect plants against hail and mildew in vine nurseriesand grape culture.r0

Soil and Water MAnagement and Conservation

Finally, there is vast potential for increasing production, em-ployment and income waiting to be tapped through improvementsin soil and water management and icology preservation. Tillr€cently, this subject did not receive in India the attention ofpolicy-makers and planners that it deserved. In March l9g0 theUnion Ministry of Agriculture estimated that as much as 175million hectares (of the country's total area of 305 million hectaresfor which records exist) are subject to environmental problems.The break up is shown in Table 6.2.

|44llnprex Acntctlrune

LaM Arm with

Serious water and erosionShifting cultivationWaterloggingSaline soilsAlkaline soilsDiara landOther culturable waste fit for reclamation

Area (million hectarcst

150.003.006.004.502.507.N6.60

175.00

, of the neglect of scientificof staggering proportions.was losing annually about

account of wind and water

and reservoirs and theich could have been retained

The cost, to the national econormanagement of thle soil resourcesAccording to a lWZ estimate,6,fiX) million tonnles of top soil r

erosion. In terms of major NPK nu at 1972 prices, the valueof the annual loss of top soil to Rs. 700 crore. The figuretoday. must be arorlrnd Rs. 1,000

of water resouroes isThe neglect of tfre scientific mar

the same story. Erosion of the top I

an average dnnual loss (in terms ofthree year period from 1976 to 19

caused by floods resulted inof Rs. tr.060 crore in the

. according to the estimatesmade bv National Floods 1980. According to same

source; the total area in the muntry to periodic floods was

20 million hectares in 1971 and 40 hectares in 1980, whichmeans the alarming increase of 100

There are other losses which canlper cent rn ten years.

be easily quantified. Theseinclude the premalture siltation ofwastage of rain water, in run-offs, rin the form of grorpnd water had '

Himalavas and othbr forest areas.been no denudation in the

is also the additional factto remember in this connection,a significant role ln moderating

fully recharged aquifers playflows. They contribute to

river discharges dirring the lean and thus alleviate, to adegree, the effect of dryness in and drought in the droughtyears. Aggravatiod of the twin of flood and drought is,thus, another price that thewater management.

has to pay for poor land and

Technological Breakthrough and Policy Choices ll45

There are two aspects of soil and water management problems.The first is conservation of the available resources and environ-ment; the second, optimum utilisation of the available resourcesthrough scientific management. The obvious policy measurerequired for the first is a massive programme of afforestation overthe next fifteen years along with effective steps against unauthor-ised felling of trees. Some iniitiatives, like the creation of a sepa-rate Department of Forests and Wildlife at the Centre and theintroduction of Social Forestry and Producti,on Forestry Pro-grammes, have recently been taken. These mark only a beginningin the desired direction. A far more vigorous thrust is needed if therequirements of the case are to be met. Meanwhile, some tech-nological issues have emerged even here. So far, heavy reliance hasbeqe placed on the plantation of seedlings of exotic species. Theneed, as the Planning Commission points out, is now to identifysultable indigenous species for specific climatic and edaphic con-ditions.'ro The species chosen should have a fast growth rate and becapable of bringing atrout an irnprovement in the environment,including improving the soil and moisture regime.

The second aspect of the land and water manhgement problemrelates to soil research, dryJand and wasteland farming and effi-cient water use. The record of research and use of modern tech-nology in these fields is slightly better than in the field ofafforestationr" but is still not very satisfactory. Soil research hasstarted concerning itself witlr 'developing technology for the re-clamation and management of saline soils, lining of acid salinesoils, arid lands management, correlation of soil tests with cropresponse, micro-nutrient research in improvement of soil'sphysical conditions, and developing crop varieties for salttolerance."'2 AII this is a weilcome development and, if pursuedvigorously, it should be able to s€cure to the country at least 45

million hectares of land now lying waste for one reason or theother. Also, it can contribute magnificiently towards an increase inagricultural production over the next fifteen years.

Technological Challenge in India

The latest advances in biotechnology present India's planners with .

both an opportunity and a challenge. There is now the opportunity

.

145/ Ixurax AcRIculrune

available, as ne{er before, to agriculture and through itthe entire charafter of thescientific knowfedge and

economy, with the help of newbiotechnologies. The

importance of the promise that I

and cellular biology hold for revofed and dryland areas, cannot bestagnation in thcse areas in thtductivity and oqtput levels in the

growth of the agricultural sectorheresy in development economirlong as the late sixties.

new discoveries in molecularagriculture in the rain-

. It is the virtualmidst of rapidly growing pro-

regions over the last 20years that is re$ponsible for not only disparities and imbalances

. that have arisen in crop prodrsluggishness of the industrial

but also, at least in part, for therate, intractability shown by

the socio-econqmic problems poverty and unemploymentaaivities), and the

economy presents today afterthe agricultural base

electrify the growth processand revitalise the entire . The new agricultural techno-logies, thereforel gve a newthe Indian ecorlomy. Thedevelopments in agricultural

of hope for the development ofthrown up by the recent

and technolo$/ for acceleratingthe growth rate of the economy solving seemingly intrrctable

and unemployment is too greatand policy-maken.

well. Now is the time to recastplanning .and reformulate the

context of growth possinow arisen, a development

strategy based bn agriculturebility. The earlier scepticism

new meanings and credi-agriculture being able to

rest of the economy cannot bewere modernised and the

raised by the introduction ofices, this would benefit, along

the economy through linkagessectors of the economv

on both the. demand and sides. To argue in favour of a'development sttategy that will modernisation and the rapio

the starting point is no more a

socioemnomic problems of povto be inissed by the country's plr

This becomes their challengethe developme4t process, refodevelopment stf€tegy. In thebilities in the fbrm sector that

which it was thought to be till as

Technological Brealahrough and Policy Choicesl l{l

Indian planners do not seem to have fully grasped the sigri-ficance, to the prospects of the country's future economic devel-opment, of the new developments in agricultural sciences.Nevertheless, the Seventh Plan is said to mark thp beginning of theprocess of transformation whlch 'by the close of this century . . .

should take agriculture to a level where it lvill be far more science-based and industry-linked than it is now.' Furthir, 'emerging areaslike biotechnology, genetic engineering, photo-synthesis, tissueculture, bio-insecticides and pheromones.would bd the new fieldsof research for aiding the growth of agricultural productivity."'3The list is repetitive in respect of some items while it leaves outsome of the most important areas, like biofertilisers. This simplyshows that the entire approach to the subject is casual if not ill-informed. It is unfortunate that we have such a palpable degree ofignbrance and casualness prevailing at the highest levels ofplanning in a subject which holds the key to the future growth ofthe economy and well-being of the people.

In the section on Agricultural Research and Education, the Plandocument lists the following as the priodty areas for the SeventhPlan Period: (a) reducing the gap between potential and actualyields by evolving new varietieVstrains of crops, incorporatingmultiple resistance against pests and diseases, saline and alkalinesoils, drought and flood; (b) evolving technology acceptable to thefarmers in the lowland and upland areas for increasing rice pro-duction and productivity; (c) evolving suitable dryland technologyfor each block, or group of blocks, in the predominantly rainfedstates, taking risk factors into consideration; (d) varietal break-through in pulses and oilseeds; (e) conservation and planned exploit-ation of germplasm resources of plants, animals and fisheries tobroaden the genetic base for improvements; (fl human resourcesdevelopment, with special reference to weaker sections of thecommunity; (g) strengthening the activities in respect of biotech-nology; and (lt) greater research support to agro-meteorology.tt'

The list reads like a cure-all mixture, lacking intent and a pro-perly defined purpose. The contents individually are vague andcollectively lack internal cohe$iveness. The list seems to have beendrawn up with an amazing degree of casualness. Otherwise, howdoes one explain the inclusion of item (f) in the list of priorityareas of research in agricultural science and technology? And whatexactly is meant by 'strengthening the activjties in respect ol5io-

148/IronN AcRrculrunr.

hensive term lvhich wouldtechnology'-it4m (g) in the list'hensive term lvhich would c<

technology' (itgm c), 'reducingactual yields by evolving new varing multiple resistance against pe

'varietal breaklhrough in pulser

discussing the working of variousimprovement of dry-land farminl

'evolving $uitable drylandtechnology'-it4m (g) in the list Is biotechnology not a compre-

technology' (it$m c), 'reducing the gap between potential andof crops, incorporat-

s and diseases . . .' (item a) andand oilseeds' (item d)? While

and programmes for theduring the Sixth Plan period the'. . . these programmes function

on an area developmentimpact.' Can the same not

of agricultural develop-

Ecology and AgriculturalDevelopment

Past Record

In any perspetive planning of agricultural development, land andwater resource development should occupy the top place. But,.inIndia, this is one of the most neglected aspects of policy planningin the agricultural sector. Projections of the future supply Potentialand possibilities of foodgrains and other commercial crop's do takeinto consideration the addition of production from the expansionof irrigation but ignore completely the gains that might be made

through reclamation of waste, barren and waterlogged land forproductive use.

There has been much talk and numerous schemes, Programmesand projects of soil conservation and land reclamation over the lastthirty years but there is little actual progress which can be seen inthose directions. The situation with regard to the preservation ofthe ecological balance and the maintenance of even the existinglow level of soil fertility is getting increasingly rvorse every day, nbtto speak of any positive improvement having been made with alithe Plan outlays and investments.

As far back as in the Second Plan period' besides a programmeof soil conservation and dry farming in several states. an integratedAll-India Soil Conservation and Land Use Survey was iiritiated.Forty-five dry farming projecto, each covering 400 hectares, wereurtdertaken for popularising dry farming techniques. A beginning

programmes in the catch-During the Third Plan, in

(such as, Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley and tlirakud) a survey programme was taken

up. The prograrhme of on dry-farming was further

sector for a large number of (such as, the treatment ofof twenty-one river valleybadly eroded areas in the

projects, pilot projects for the of riverine lands, the

setting up of a nesource i centre, and so on). Ernphasts

was laid on soil conservation in the Integrated Dryland, the Drought Prone AreasAgricultural Dwelopment I

Programme and the Crash for Rural Employment.From the Fifth Plan onwards, and water conservation Pro-

strengthened in the Fourthwas adopted in soil conserv;basin-wise master plans was

the state plan programmes,

grammes came to be takenapproach. The Sixth Plan protsoil conservation measures in1,m0-2,000 hectares, themanageable'. The target fixedfor soil conservation during

This is the plaUning record ofdegradation and the developmt

under various heads.Tablp 7.1 mdtes sad reading

An 'area saturation' approachwork. The preparation of riverup. To augment and strengthenision was made in the Central

on the basis of the watershedto give intensive attention towatersheds with an area ofof which is practicable and

the treatment of additional areas

Plan period was 7.1 millionhectares said to have been

with the problem of soilof the soil and water resources

of all the plan efforts inhectares of damaged land hadPlan through various projects

ion and development. The

, however. does not give anythe land use data for 197&-79

hectares (as against 23.4covered by soil conservationfirst five plans) j

during the period of the

Challenge

In this land-hungry country, 33

Ecology and Agricultural Development I lSl

Table 7.1Cbssifuotkn of land Use in Irdia 1978-79

Area Percentage of(million Totol Geogra-hectares) phical Arca

I.II

Geographical area

Reporting area for landutilisation statistics (1-5)

ForestsNot available forcultivation (a+b)Land put to non-agricultural useBarren and unculturable landOther uneultivated(excluding fallow) land(a+b+c)

328.78

304.68

67 .44

39.30

17.80

21.5033.01

12.i5

3.91

16.952r.9

9.55

12.44r44.94175.1830.24

37 -96

/|8.09

1m.my2.67

20.5111.95

5.41

6.5410.00

l.

2.

(c)

(blJ.

(a) Permanent pastures and

other grazing land3.70

2.20(D)

(c)

{a)

(D)

Land under miscellaneoustree cIops and groves notincluded in net area sownCulturable wasteFallow land (a+b)Fallow lands otherthan current fallowsCurrent fallowsNet area sown (G7)Total cropped area

Area sown more than once

Net irrigated area

Gross irrigeted area

5.066.682-90

5.6.7.

I.

Iv,

3.7843.45

11.55

per cent of the geographical area is being allowed to go waste, as

against 43.45 per aent of the area that is Put under the plough.

Land put to non-agricultural use accounts for 5.41. per cent of thetotal geographical area of the country. Against this, the area

classified as 'barren and unculturable' amounts to 2l-5 millionhectares (or 6.54 per cent of the country's tota! geographical area).

This represents probably the most severely eroded areas, The

three categories 'barren and unculturable,' 'culturable waste' and

'fallow lands'together make a total of 60.14 million hectares (or

l52/INorlN Acniculrune

Commission Report continues,characterized by unchecked n

Let us look at the picturecountry for which land use st

area of the countrv). This is

land management' to use's phrase. Again, another 12

rised as 'permanent pasturesto the Asriculture Commis-though, some of the worst

lands of the desert,' theof the high hills. they are

rll5

The total area of theare available is around 305

and 4 million hectares

million hectares. Of this, 18 hectares are under urban and2l million hectares are classi-perhaps for certain intrinsicperpetually snowbound or too

other non-agricultural use.fied as barren and unculdisabilities (such.bs, the landsrocky to lend themselves for ). The relevant area for

is thus 266 million hectares.are accounted for by culturable

wasteland (wasteland (arourld 18 millioncurrent fallows (P2 million h,

) and fallow land excluding

). This area, by definition, ischpable of crop production but lying uncultivated apparentlybecause it has suffered soilmillion hectares, 143 million

Of the remaining 226represent agricultural land

and 83 million helctares forests (12 million hectafes permanent

is, 67 million hectares forests,

groves and misc4llaneous tree cr,

hectares of the total forest area i). However. only 35 million

said to be under good .tree orhectares) being more or lessIf we add these 48 million

that have gone out of produc-we have a total of 88 million

hectares, represellting over 33 per266 million hectafes. that is more

of our total relevant area ofless completely unproductive.

total non-agricultural land266 million hectares of relevantagricultural land) is lying waste

thrust and action as well as

50 per cent of this area-sayof the total of 88 million

and made productive.

Ecology and Agricultural Dewlopment I 153

It is a colossal national waste to allow such a large part of thescarce natural resource to go waste.

In addition to all this, a considerable part of the 143 millionhectares of agricultural land is also sick and continuously gettingdegraded. According to an official source, 87 million hectares (or.61 per cent of the total agricultural land area) is afflicted by serioussoil erosion and waterlogging and salinity problems. This meansthat three-fifths of our agricultural land is also sick and needstending.

Floods: The story does not end here. There is also the des-truction wrought annualiy by floods. According to the NationalCommission on Floods, the area affected by annual floods nowstands at around 40 million hectares (as against 25 million hectaresthirty-five years ago). The total area affected by floods in theperiod 1953 to 1981 has been estimated at235.6 million hectares,which gives an annual average of 8.1 million hectares. The totalpopulation involved in losses through floods during the period was795 million, giving an annual average of 27.4 million. The loss ofcattle in floods was 2.8 million heads over the period and damageto crops amounted to Rs. 7,200 crore (or an average of Rs.248crore a year). To these are to be added the losses due to damage tohouses and other propertyo and public utility installations andconstructions. Th._e total material loss due to floods over the periodcomes to the colossal figure of Rs. 11,800 crore (or an average ofRs. zt07 crore a year). All this excludes the incalculable loss ofinvaluable rich soil washed down from the upper reaches of theriver basins by the floods.

The question of the increasing frequency and virulence of floodsand the consequent (apart from rnaterial losses) growing menaoeof soil erosion in the watershed and catchment areas, is intimatelyconnected with the thoughtless destruction of forests and felling oftrees in the Himalayas that has been allowed to continue over thelast thirty-five years. The present state of the Himalayas has beendescribed as the mountains 'really crumbling and bleeding pro-fusely'. Protection of the Flimalayas can make a valuable contri-bution to the prevention of soil erosion from wind and water andthe restoration of soil productivity.

Waterlogging and Salinity: Waterlogging is the second major

resour@s. In soils which areof excessive surface watertill the water reaches the

land thus begins to lose itsaltogether barren. The situ-

of harmful salts whidrto wash up to the surface.

the areas whichon account of waterloggingOf this. about half the land

area is situated in estuarine andbeen lost to cultivzition and about

regions which have longperhaps little can be done.

However, at least 6 million comprise lands which werenow lost to waterlogging aniThe first. and lesser of thesewhich have been created in

till recently, quite productive andsalinitv due to mah-made situaticsituations, arises from

works (such as, floodand canal embankments). If.

do not contain adequatecross-drainage works, water gets up against them. The sur-

wherever needed.It is. however. the second kind situation, peculiar to canal

ious concern. Lands in canaldrained. The construction ofresult in the constant seepage

underground water table

canal water to crops is generally in

in course of time. ThisFint, the application of

of their needs because ofthree reasons: (i) the absence of distributary channels; (ii)want of effective tegulatory installations and equipment at the outlet heads fo control and measure water

rounding areas gel submerged andremedied bv the construction of

use by the farmer, for each field;relation to the co$t of irrigation ,

irrigation water ufed in a field. Iwaterlogging is thp seepage of w

. This situation can becrirss-drainage works

(ftl) water charges bear nosupplied or the amount of

second factor which hastens

in the canal itself which, inthe case of unlined canals. is to amount to as much as

one-third of the tQtal discharge in canal. The total seepage of

Emlogy and Agriculural Development I 155

irrigation water from the main canal.and distributaries put toge!ther is estimated to be as high as 40 per cent of the discharge intothe canal at the headwork or reservoir.

Waterlogging in canal irrigated areas is a global phenomenonand few countries with extensive systems of canal irrigation have

escaped the ravages of waterlogging and sirlinity. In Pakistan, forinstance, Ll million out of a total 15 million hectares of canal

irrigated land is already afllicted by this malady. Egypt, Syria and

Iraq have had a similar fate. There is no easy solution to theproblem. Care has to be taken at the very outset when desigtingirrigation projects to see that the natural drainage in the area isleast obstructed or cross-drainage is provided to prevent rain wateraccumulating and seeping down in the rainy season; the canal

course is lined at the bottom and on two sides with brickworkand cement; field channels and drains are designed and built noton the basis of individual holdings but on the natural drainage ofthe entire watershed or command area; a prior agreement on the

consolidation of their holdings on the part of land owners and

redrawing of field boundaries to permit the even and unobstructedflow of water to the fields ln'an orderly manner; and, giving effect

to that agreement simultaneously with the irrigation syitembecoming operative. It is tot easy to achieve all this. Apart fromthe heavy financial outlay$ involved in making all these arrange-ments, there are several technical, social and legal difficulties thathave to be overcome to give effect to the above proposals. This is

why antlwaterlogging operations hav6 not registered much prog-

ress anywhere.However, the conjunctive use of ground and surface water for

irrigation purposes, which is being practised extensively in Punjab

and Haryana by force of circumstances rather than by desigt'offers considerable hope in the matter. Canal irrigation should be

supplemented by tubewel irrigation on an extensive scale. Thiswould continue recycling the water as well as provide irrigation inrequired quantity throughout the year thereby increasing cropping

intensity and raising productivity per hectare. The average

cropping intensity in Indian agriculture at present is 123 per cent.

In Punjab, however, it is 159 p€r cent and in Haryana, 152 pet

cent. The high cropping intensity in the two states has not been

made possible by canal irrigation alone; the rapid growth of tube-

well irrigation since the beginning of the green revolution in these

156/ INorlN Aoruct|lr-rune

areas to supplemenf canal irrigationtribution to this derfelopment.

There can be othdr ways, specificproblem of waterldgging and, atproductivity. S.S. Johl, in his PnAnnual Conferencd of the Indianomics, has suggested that waterPunjab and the adjoining areas ofwaterlogging becaube the level of'

The conjunctive use of surfaceencouraged in thh rninor irrigdt,

which suffers from

level of the river bdd which islands is lower than theto drain these lands, be

pumped into drains and taken lined canals to the neish-bouring Rajasthan do irrigate its This would solve the waGr-logging problem of {he former and lde much needed irrieationto the latter.

The supply of freFh sweet canal to the salt-dffected water-and the pumping out of

itate these lands for twoconjunctive use of brackish

water with canal {vater in dunal can leld good crops of alltypes since the structure of these soils is such that waterwith even three dhousand ppm concentration can be easilvused without any adverse effect.

designed and nationallymanagement could

ivation and augmentation. Agricultural scientists

other schemes of a similarThis, however, implies thatof the available land and

national perspective and notboundaries.

indicate that any thinkinglevel of planniilg and

Use of Surface and

, all we have got is the

made an important con-

each situation, to solve thesame time, increase land

Address to the 43rdof Agricultural Econ-

the south-western parts of

ground water would be

logged Punjab qnd Haryana areunderground bratkish water will rrbumper crops a year. Besides, a

programrne. The dugwells

Ecology and Agricultural Development I 157

programme in the command areas would be encouraged underthe Command Area Development Programrne, for supplemen-ting canal irrigation. The conjunctive use programme under thevarious development seclors would be coordinated so thatexisting irrigation facilities are put to the b€st use and thegestation period of irrigation utilization under major andmedium irrigation schemes is reduced (emphasis added).tt'

At another place in the document, under the head 'Waterlog-ging and Salinity,' we are told:

In all maior and medium irrigation projects and specially wherethese are in water-scarce areas, highly water-intensive cropswould be discouraged and agricultural output maximized perunit of water by ensufing equitable distribution of water tofarmers . . In existing irrigated areas where salinity andwaterJogging have resulted in good agricultural land be-coming unusable, adequate drainage facilities would beprovided on a priority basis and proper usage of surfaci andground water encouraged as also reclamation and revisedcropping pattem for preventing recurrence of water-loggingand salinity. "E

This is about all that the Planning CommiSsion has to say on thesubject so far as the Seventh Plan is concerned. With regard ro thedevelopment perspective for the next fifteen years, the C,ommis-sion does not have anything to say. The obsessive preoccupation ofthe planners and policy-makers to push on with the construction oflarge and medium canat irrigation works blurs their vision andprevents them from taking a broader and more practical view ofirrigation development in the country. Only the latter course couldhave enabled them to appneciate the importance of the approachto the irrigation problem Of the country based on the conjunctiveuse of ground and surface water.

Intqrated Management of Land und Water

Integrated development of land and water resources should haveformed the basis of all economic planning in the country from thevery outs€t. Unfortunately, even today, there is no evidence of a

policy of integrated managementemerging in the colrntry. The two Iwater, should not pe viewed in iso

been done so far. 'lfhere is an inext

land and water resourcesicultural resources, land and

from each other, as has

close relationship in themanagement of the two. Water, is a renewable resource,

. can, in fact, be put to good use if the land on which it falls,and the land to which it is applied, properly cared for. Land,

158/ Iuprlll Acp.rciilruns

which is for all practical purposesresource, must be managed in sutrather than suffer {amage as a resu

non-renewable and inelastica manner as to be benefitedf its contact with water. 'The

the Central Ground Waterhas been paid to the

and soil resources with theserious deqradation.''

out that according to esti-in March 1980, as muchs total land area of 305

exist are subject to environ-

development, environmentalbecause of the key place

. 'The environmentPlanning Commission.'as

It should form a

and programmes in each

key to India's enviionmental qualsion, 'lies in scielltific land and

,' says the Planning Commis-ater management above all

else.''e This is a grdss understzwell integrated land and water

of the role that scientific andcan and should play in

as a whole.developmental planning is

puts it:

to harnessinq our re-major, medium and minor'

of ground water re-also been built up in thisIrrigation Departments,field in the shape of Central and

the Central Water Commission z

mental problems.In the context of India's

, even with the planners,

Ecology and Agricultural Development | 159

is a different matter. Not only has very little attention been givento the environment in planning in the past but, even now, there isno evidence that the urgency of giving top priority to evolving thescientific managem€nt of land and water resources of the countryin the formulation of our development plans, is being fully re-cognised. The Seventh Plan Approach Paper stipulated that 'allfuture development programmes take environmental considera-tions fully into account' and that 'towards that end, environmentalfactors and ecological imperatives'will have to be incorporated inthe design of all departmental projects from the very commence-ment of their planning.lz No doubt, this marks an advance overpast thinking but it is a small advance which comes nowhere nearthe requirements of the ca$e. Besides, it is of negative charactersince it only cautions against causing damage to the environmentin designing programmes and projects of development in futureplanning. On the positive side all it has to offer is that .the

integrated management of resources on a water-shed basis in thehill areas with the participation of the people, needs to be givenhigh priority'.'8 Whether this is going to be an expression of hopeor it will be translated into a sncrete programme for action, byeither the Central or the state governments concerned, remains tobe seen. In any case, the gap between the expressed need and thepromise by the Plan document is so wide that it would be futile tohope for any tangible improvement on this fiont given the presentamount of concern that planners have on the subject.

The seriousness of the existing environmental' situation in thecountry, on the one hand, and the magnitude of the c-,ontributionthat a scientific management of land and water resources could

. make to the agricultural sector of the national economy, on theother, would suggest that the cpuntry needs, without furtherdelay, an exclusive perspective plan for this purpose. The plan hasto be cast in a much wider framework than mcre conservation ofthe environment. Its- approach has to be developmental ratherthan static, integrated rathgr than piecemeal, holistic rather thanproblem and region specific. The plan should be addressed tothree main tasks: (i) repairing, to the extent possible, the dariragealready done to the ecologlcal system; reclaiming the land underwaterlogging and soil erosion and bringing it back into productiveuse; and providing vegetation cover against wind and watererosion of the soil in areas prone to such erosion, to escape future

economy. The are closely to each other and formparts of an whole. The central object is to strengthenand expand the base of which should be thekev factor in growth of the economv for the next

the third to ins the

The base ofdetermines the

plant life isume and vari

piece of land.is not an inertunrivalled

mrcro

suitableand the

consequently on thethe area. That it a nationalagainstsystem by

This fact istion policy and constructionproduceFor allvena. Theseen as an ible singleductivitv not of the two in iEven so, there islan important ditI:nd exists in a fixed quantity anr

deductions that +ight be made band the receding or advancing ofarea is absolutelf fixed. On the <

resourc€, the av4ilability of whicl

quality is not fixed for all times. Soilbut a and almost living organism of

. Many of living organisms-thebe found in every inch of

breaking downfor fixation of atmosphericboth organic and inorganic

resources of soil, water,use and making such use of

for economic development;the future growth of theof natural environment.

second to development andand long-term needs of the

soil. The quality of the soilof crop production on a given

assimilation by plants. Theof plants anywhere are

and richness of the soil inthat soil is protected

created in the ecological

to the formulation of an irriga-irrigation works. Soil cannot

between land and water.but for the minute additions orchanges in the course of rivers

water on the shore, the landhand, water is a renewable

varies from year to year dePen-

to control, regulate and manage

on its own being combined with water.purposes soil i useless without water and vice

of soil and management should thus beaimed at optimising the pro-of each other, but together.

micro faqna andfertiie soil, whinitrogen andmaterials intogermination of

ding upon naturei It is given to

Surnmary and Conclwions | 169

development process was viewed to be the rate of savings andinvestments. This objective, it was further argued, was best

achieved by developing a strong capital goods industry sector inthe earlier stages of the growth process because it is this sectorwhich afforded the opportunity for achieving the highest rate ofcapital accumulation. For development what. was really needed,

therefore, was not just starting of a few industrial units manu-facturing consumer gcods, but the establishment of basic key andmother-machine industries that would generate new industries.Thus, in the words cf Jawaharlal Nehru:

Ifyou want India to industrialise and to go ahead as we must, as

is essential, then you must industrialize and not putter aboutwith old little factories producing hair oil and the like-it is

totally immaterial what the things are, whether they are smallor big consumer articles. You must go to the root and the base

and build up the structurc of industrial growth. Therefore, it isthe heavy industry that counts, excepting as a balancing factorwhich of course is important. We want planning for heavy

machine-making industries; we want industries that will makeheavy machines and we should set about them as rapidly as

possible because it takes time.

This was said at the meeting of the National DevelopmentCouncil held to finalise the Second Five Year Plan in January

1956. It neatly sums up the theory as well as the growth model thatIndia adopted at the beginning of the Second Plan. Actual experi-ence of working with that model proved so instructive that, withineight years, Nelrru was forced to admit at the meeting of theNational Development Council on 8 November 1963 that in theIndian context:

Agriculture is more important than anything else not excludingbig plants, because agricultural production sets the tone to alleconomic progress. If we fail in agriculture then we fail inindustry also .... Agriculiure is more important than industry forthe simple rcason that indwtry depends on agriculture. Industrywhich is no doubt important will not progress unless agricultureis sound and stable and progressive (emphasis added).

170/INoraN Acmculruns

This was a complete reversal of position taken up by him less'than eight years e4rlier. In the process, he had moved farahead of the tribe of development economists, who had bv thenonly managed to move from thesubstitution model of industrialisi and economic erowth. Pt.

industry to the import-

to give practical shape to thethe next five year plan,of plan holiday. Mean-

of agriculture in India'sand, but for some verbal

sector, the Fourth Planfrom its two predeces-

ier. there was greater erosionbecause of the effects of the

at the macro-economicfactors (like the prude

economic theory. Develop-ies with an exportsJed

to the success achieved bvEast Asia (like Taiwan,

impressed by the fact that incould not solve the basic

problems of pover[y and the World Bank author-ities and experts began to talk makine a direct assault onpoverty by giving high priority in development plans of the

supply the basic minimum. Food, drinking water,services were identified

Bank beean to orient itslending policies to the funding of jects aimed at supplying the

in the rural areas, in theSixth Plan drawn up by thejects the removal of poverty

total population afe met. The planthe Janata governinent.

Though lone voilces were raised e

frame of ten years and thebasic minimum needs of thewas scrapped with the fall of

elementarv educatfion and primaryas the basic miniinum needs and

creation of conditions in whichtotal population a1e met. The I

, it is only recently that a

Summary and Conclusions fl71

consensus has started emerging among the mainstream development economists that agriculture holds the key to economicgrowth in the.developing countries. Hans Singer, writing in 1979that-there is little prospect of the developing

-countries ichieving

the L^ima targets of taking their share of woild industrial produc_tion from 7 per cent in 197-5 to 25 per cent in 2000 under theexisting policy framework, called upon them to base, henceforth,their'national development on agriculture as the primary sectorand developing industries with strong emphasis bn agricultureindustry linkages and interactions. "a The World Bank in theIilorld Development Report l9B2 came out with similar advice tothe developing countries. A World Bank Staff paperB inNovember 1983 made a strong plea that agriculture be accordedthe highest priority in the development plians of the developingcountries. Irma Adelman catne out in l9g4 in favour of the adop_tion of what she calls an agricultural-demandled-industrialisation(ADL.I) strategy's by the developing countries. Though Scitovskyhas called Adelman's paper an attempt ,to introduce a new fashioninto development policy"3' the approach advocated in the paper isnot all that new. Among contemporary economists, Schultz andMellor have long advocated the adoption of that strategy by Indiaand other developing countries. paul Streeton, Hirshman and deJanvry are ainong the more fec€nt converts to that view.

-T\9 World Development Repoft 1986, the annual publication ofthe World Bank for the last nine years, focuses on agriculturalpolicies because in the Bank's view.success in agriculture will . . .largely determine economic growth in many low-income devel-oping countries and help to alleviate poverty in rural areas, wheremost of the world's poorest people live.'

Among the older economists, the lineage of the strategy can betraced back to Adam Smith. The ,natural order' of economicgrowth of a nation, according to The Wealth Qf Nations, wasagriculture, industry and commerce. This was so because the limitsto the economic grofih of a country in a closed economy frame-work, Adam Smith maintained, were set by the growth rate ofagricultural sector which supplied the needed food and rawmaterials to maintain the labour force engaged in non-agriculturaloccupations. Though in a different way, Malthus and Ricardo alsoassigned an important place to agriculture in their growth models.

ich thev suffer

172l INoraN Acnrpulrunn

Climate Change

India's experience hasthinking on the developmenties should adopt under the

a radical change. Theagriculture. as against indus-

and 1960s.

In financial mlnistries aroundtowers from Bbijing to Bostonment strategies have been turnebecome widely piscredited. Famnow seen as the pivotal figurtcountries from lthe mire of indir

of the world, in ivoryand in Washington, developupside down. Old ideas have

not industrial tycoons, arehelp to pull their

on the subject should comea change in the development

strategy underlying Indian has become most urgent, isabsence of such a powerful

and practitioners alike thein this countrv from an

for changing the developmenthave, even now when the

evoked a positive response., if not derided. bv the

ive a whole-hearted welcomeor easy acceptancd from them or the politicians immediatelyeven now. It will fi-rolish to any such illusions. All that

is that a national debate ispublic opinion built up in

the present study hope toprofessional

favour of the line suggested so that the policy-makersand politicians foreed to sit up take notice of the need forchange in the

canwho,^^ u2

started and

Effort in thatplanning, while country seemsthe process of thesuffer fromeconomrc that have lostinhibitions fromcan expect them

because in the matter ofhave reached a dead end inand politicians continue to

beliefs, and worn outcredibility. The mental

to be removed before we

That this changp in world thiabout at a time wlhen the need

Summary and Conclusions | 173

At present, the work of the Planning Commission has come tobe reduced to screening and approving the Union economicministry's and state government's plan proposals and proiects sent toit for inclusion in the five year plans and then write a plandocument to be presented first to the National DevelopmentCouncil and then to Parliament for approval. All this has become

such a routine and, with the file work added to it, time-consumingaffair that members of the Commission are .hardly left with any

time for fresh thinking, individually or collectively, on basic issues

of the growth strategy and related matters. Even different chapters

in a plan document are prepared separately with the help of theirrespective staff by each member, according to the subjects dealt byhim. Any coordination that may be needed between the chapters

is left to the Deputy Chairman. All the work in the PlanningCommission has become so routinised-the bureaucrats would callit systematised-that there is hardly any scope left for fresh and

collective thinking on the part of the Commission on the real issues

in the development of the economy. In the circumstances, it isdifficult to even imagine that the initiative for a change in thedevelopment strategy would come from the Planning Commission.All that it can give is the seventh approach to the same plan-aswas remarked by the late Raj Krishna-and not a much-needednew approach to planning in the Seventh Plan. To force it to do so,

at least the necessary intellectual climate will have to be built upoutside Yojna Bhawan.

Even more difficult than the Planning Commission is topersuade the political elite to act in the matter in the desireddirection. While there is enough or even a surfeit of political rhetoricin the press and on the platform about its concern for the welfareof the agriculturists, weaker sections of the society, Scheduled

.Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, and for thedevelopment of the agricultural sector and rural economy, the fact

. remains that the ruling elite in India is almost wholly urban in itscomposition. It has a vested interest in the development of modernlarge-scale industry, trade, and all the infrastructure required tosupport these sectors. Besides, its perceptions of development are

the development of the modern sector of the economy and of allthat goes with it. It sees and measures development in terms ofwesternisation of the economy and the society. 'One of the great

mistakes made in the years following the second World War when

174l Ixorex Acp.rculrune

there was great elrthusiasm forrecently, 'was foi developing r to assume that they can

,' Galbraith has said

jump from a ruial society to urban industry.' Thesedon't have a steel mill or acountries felt, at {he time, that 'if

machine tool plafit, you weremachine tool plants and variouseconornv have been built and thewanting in terms of providing a

economic probler{rs of poverty, utution, one would expect that the

arisen in regard to financing ofdevelopment strategy, it has creatsectoral and intrfl.sectoral imeconomic ministdes of the gordifficult to cope With them. All tla chance that the advice about g

the country's der4elopment planceive better attenltion now.frombeen the case in (he past.

there'. Now that steel mills,frills of a modern industrial

approach has been foundto the countrv's chronic

. disease and desti-itself realises the mistake in

Seventh Plan. As for theso many and'such great inter-

in the economy that theare finding it increasingly

at least gives hope that there isa new .deal to agriculture inand policy-making may re-

its past notions add mends its thinphilosophy are so rdeeply ingrained

. But Western thought andthe intellectual make-up of

the country's elite that these this from happening. Again,the elite may have genuine for the poor and even

in the countryside but itgenuine interest in povertycannot easilv understand how growth of productivity in

poverty. For it, the only waymillions of small farms wouldto alleviate poverty is to build up a modern industrial sector

down to the rural masses.

, it is a political necessity that- the poor .farmers, the landless and other indigent sec-

tions of the rural population are in good humour. They formsupport is necessary for the

This explains why it becomesprogrammes as a part

f planning and a developmentsigns of breakdown under theand constraints. Difficulties

of planning have alreadyfrom the difficulties that have

ruline elite than would have

Summary and Conchnions I L75

Recapitulation

The kind of policy changes in the agricultural field that are calledfor in the present situation and the reasons have been spelt out inthe foregoing pages of this book. It remains now to bring together,at one place, the various strands of thought and summarise thepolicy conclusions.1. India has registered, over the last thirty-five years, significantgains in the production of foodgrains and various commercialcrops (including cottoil, jute and sugarcane). The trend growtlirate of around 2.6 per cent per annum from 195G-51 to 1983-84has kept ahead of the demographic growth rate so that the percapita availability of.foodgrains has shown improvement over theyears. More importantly, the country has ceased to be.dependenton imports of foodgrains for running its public distribution systemand has today, at least in good crop years, a sizeable exportsurplus. It is one of the few developing countries to have a com-fortable size of buffer foodstocks for the purpose of food security.

2. While all this looks irnpressive, the growth has not. beenwithout several flaws. First, it has been, spatially, a case of unevengrowth with the result that an acute degree of inter-regionaldisparity in crop yields and production has now come to char-acterise lndian agriculture. Secondly, while because of theweather factor, variations in crop production are a naturalphenomenon, the degree of fluctuations in the last two decadeshas shown a disconcerting iqcrease. Thirdly, the gains made by thecountry in cereal production have been mainly in wheat and dce.Production of coarse grains has shown only a modest increase inthe last thirty-five years. This development has an importantimplication. Coarse grains were earlier produced, mainly in therain-fed and dry-farming areas for domestic consumption mostlyby the small and marginal farmers. The failure oi production ofthese grains to keep pace with the growth in population, togetherwith the food policies pursued by the government, have resulted inmaking the poorer sections of the farming community dependentfor their consumption needs on the market or on the public distri-bution systenn where available.

Fourthly, while cereal production has grown, that of pulses,which are the main source of protein in a vegetarian diet, hasremained more or less constant since Independence. resulting in a

of pulses over the lastof oilseeds has greatlythe import of edible oilslagged behind gi$wth in demand,

a major item in t[e import trade r the countrv. A more balancedagricultural gronlth could have1,0(X) crore spen{ on the import

the country more than Rs.edible oils, in its annual importhas divided Indian agriculturebill.'Finally, the pattem of g

into two almost independenttional. The forrller has all thepreferential supply of fertilisers,support; and or$anised markrment operations organised bythe doorstep of fhe farmer). 'comparatively sriffered neglect atpolicy-makers bdcause they foundproduction targets byareas that promibed quickestthinly over the entire length and

the elements of progress andlatter.

3. The green revolution

modern and the tradi-irrigation facilities,

, power and diesel; price(including extensive procure-government reaching literally

latter. on the other hand. hasthe hands of the planners andit easier to achieve the needed

the available resources onrather than spreading them

of the country. Devel-a bimodal pattern of

development of the Indian, technologically advanced,

side by side with the tradi-surplus, low productivity and

sector, with little trickling offrom the former down to the

a technological thrustThe 'wonder' seed was

use of chemical fertilisers andties, caused an impressive in-

and the new agriculturalnot have achieved the success

agricultural policies.yield Mexican wheat seed was

procurement Price of wheat's Cabinet. The incentive

important contributory factortechnology in the country. But

after the introduction of

taken, a 15 per Nent increase inwas simultaneously decreed. byprices offered to the farmer was

complacent about the

Swnmary and Conclwions I lEl

would thus be reversed: instead of travelling down from the

Centre to the states and frorn there to the districts, the plarl would

travel up from'district level to the state capitals,-and from there to

the Centre. This would naturally require considerable dev0lution

of financial resources and powers from the Centre to the states and

the districts. Such devolution will not only' promote economic

growth and strengthen the economy but would also help in build-

i'ng rno." harmonious Cente-{tate relations and, through it' a

strong federal politY.11. In any penpective planning of agricultural development,

land and waieiresource development should occupy the top place'

Unfortunately, in India, this has been one of the most neglectgd

aspects of poiicy planning for the agricultural sector till today' Oflate some ittention has come to be paid to the conservation aspect

of the ecology, especially the conservation of forests in the

Himalayas and othei hilly areas. But the action in the matter still

remaini confined to a review of the problem by expert groups and

commissions and setting up of the National Land Resources Con-

servation and Development Commission. A beginning in making a

serious dent into the problem at the ground level still remains to be

made.However, even if all the attention were given to the conserva-

tion of the natural environment, that would not be enough to meet

the n'eed of the existing situation. The whole problem of soil and

water conservation has to be seen in the developmental context'

For that, it is necessary that the country has an exclusive per-

spective plan of conservation and developrnent of natural

."roor.". to strengthen the resource base of agriculture' The plan

has to be cast in a much wider framework than the mere conserva-

tion of the environment. The approach should be developmental

rather than static, integrated rather than piecemeal, holistic rather

than region and problem specific' The plan sholld be.addressed to

the accomplishment of three main tasks: (i) repairing, to the

extent posJible, the damage already done to the ecological system;

reclaiming the land suffering from waterlogging and soil erosion

and bringing it back into productive use; and providing vegetation

cover agiinst wind and water erosion of the soil in areas prone to

such er6sion, to escape future damage; (;r) putting the available

natural resour. ces of soil, water, land and forests to integrated

optimal use and makrng such use of resources the bas€ of national

182/INolrN Acnrdulrunr

plans of economid development;between the futurb growth of theservation of the natural environmeand soil resources in proper health

(rrr) maintaining a balanceeconomy and the con-

t as well as keeping the land

References

1 Gov€mment of lndia, Economb Suney' 1982-83 ' p. @'

2 Economic SuneY, 198'iJS, W. \2-16.3 Manmohan Singi, 'The Agrarian Prospccts in India,' Dr V'G' Panse Memodal

kcture, New Delhi, 8 October 1984' p. 6.

4 M.J. Akbar, India: The Seige Wdtftdn' Penguin, 1985' p' 168'

5 lbid., p. 167 .

6 Government of India Resolution No. GZ65-C(E) dated 8,1'1965' Ministry of

Food and Agriculture.7 Buta Singh, tonvocation Address (TweDty-fourth eonvocation), New Delhi'

Indian Agricultural Rexiarch lnstitute, 2 February 1985' pp' 34-8 'Some Th-oughts.on Agriculture in the Seventh Plan,' Seventeenth Lal Bahadur

Shastri Memorial l-ecture, Indian Agdcultural Res€arch Institute' Pusa' New

Delhi, p. 8.

9 Buta Singh, op. cit., P. 4.

lo lbid., p. 5.

tt lbid.12 Govemm€nt of India, Department of Agriculture and Departm€nt of Food' /4

Statement of Agricultire and knd Policy in India' New Delhi, Governm€nt

Press, 1946.

13 Government of India, Planning Commission, Fint Five Year Plan' p' 153'

14 Governmenl of India, Planning Commission, Second Five Five Vear PJon' A

Dralt Outline, New Delhi, February 1956, p' 7'

15 U.S. Govemment, 'Presidential C,mmissioo Repon on World Hungqr'

(nimeo), Washingon, Maich 1980' P. 91.

16 bava Krishna ard S.B' Sarin''Regional Dimensions of Agricultural Growth"

in ilegional Dimercions of India's Economic Development' PlanninS Commis

sion Jf India, and State Pianning Institure, U.P. Govemment, 1963' pp' 85' Sl'

17 G.S. Dhitlon, 'India's March Towards Accelerated Agricultural Production:

Key Role of Technology,' New Dethi' Ministry of Agdculture,l98i, p' 74'

18 Economic'SumeY, 1984-45, P- 16'19 Econo4ic Survey, I 5-86, P.|Q.20 National Council of APPlied Ecqnomic Research, 'Change in Cropping Pattem:

Implications for Policy' (mimeo), December 1985.

2l Montek Ahluwalla, 'Rural Poverty anloumal of Develppment Sndies, 197760), p. 319.

22 lbid., p. 32a.23 Seventh Five Yeal Plan, Vol. 1, p. 74.24 lbid., p. 18.?5 lbin.,p. 55.26 lbid., Yor. 2, p. J.27 Sixth Five Year Flan, l9M-85,p.51.28 Seventh Plan, Ydl. 1, p. 58; World l

p.44.29 Seventh Five Yeai PIan, Vol. 2, p.30 W.A. f.ewis, Grawth and Fluawt3r lbid.32 See S. Ishi-Kawai Economic Developt33 K.N. Rai, Prefacd in S. Ishi-Kawa, Lar

Issue Paper, Ban$kok, 1978, p. 1.

34 See, for-instancef Anne Bootb andAgriculnre, Oxfofd, New Delhi, 1984;Asian Perspectivq, Tokyo, 1967; JohGrowth. lthaca, C,erfnell University plDevelopment With 4o Labow Trsnsfl

35 See Annexurc V.l o'f the paper by S.l'Measurement of poverty: A Develop

poverty line io diferent state$ in I36 lbid., papr by J.f.{. Tewari, .Note on

Annexure 2, p. 3{8.

Agricultural Performance in India,' in(also World Bank Reprint Series, No.

World. Development Report 1982,

l87O-l9I J. London, 1978, p. 241.

in Asian Penpective, Tokyo, 1967Absorprion in Asian Agricihure: An

M. Sundrum, Labour Absorption inIshi-Kawa. Ecozom ic Development in

W. Mellor, The New Economics of1976; and A.M. Khlsro. Economic

, Bombay, Asia, 1!b2.Gupta. Padam Singh and K.L. Datta,

ltdex,' in Regional Dimerciorc ofC-ommission, 1983, p, 281. See,

of estimates of population belos, the

Ratio and Development Ind€x,'

and Padam Singh, 'Regional Indi-Sector Rol€,'Annexure 1, pp. 30-45.

Report on World Hunger,' op.

poveny line in diferent srates in36 lbid., papr by J.f.{. Tewari, .Notr

Annexure 2, p. 3{8.37 lbid., papr by S.p. Gupta, S.S. ,

cators of Economlc Efficieocv and

knd ceiling legislftion passed in the ladistribution of 8.10 lakh hectares of c6illandless families. fhe pace of progres i

new national polify of land ceilings, \rlimits and bringinl them down more orwas laid down in July 1972. The star€ceiling laws and ploceeded to implemenafter which the eCrlier enthusiasm warl7.tl4 lakh hcctards had been acquir€ddistributed among 15.4 lakh families. Tldec,lared surplus sb far---{f which 22.g

38 U.S. Governmenl, 'Presidentialcit., p. 23.

39 Planning Commisgion, Sixth Five yew40 knd ceiling legislftion passed in the

distribution of 8.10 lakh hectares of c

1950s and early l9flh resulted in thesurplus land among 10,60 lakh rural

the matt€r vras very unsatisfactory. Aenvisaged lowering of th€ ceiling

less to uniform levels in all the states.governmeots accordingly enacted thethem vigorously for about three years,once again lost. Till December 1983,by the states, and 6.24 takh hectarG

, in all. 28.8 lakh hectares have b€enhectarcs were taken over by the

have b€ei distributed among 26 lakhtotal number of landless agri cultural

References | 185

41 D. Warriner, Lond Reforms in Principle and Practice, OUP, pp' 374'379'392'

42 Planning Commission, Dralt Five Year Plan' 191&-83' p'.12'

43 See S- Mehra,'Some Aspects of Labour Use in Indian Agriculture" in Indian

Ioumal of Agricuttural Economics, Vol. 31. No. 4 (19?6)' pp' 95-121'

,14 See ibid.. p. l12, for details.

45 Anne Booth and R.M. Sundrurn' op. cit., p. 1O8.

46 lbid., p. 7w.47 See A.M. Khusro. 'Returns to Scale in Indian Agriculture" in lndtcn lownal of

Agricultural Econorzics, Vol. 19, Nos. 3 and 4 (1964)' pp 51-80'

48 C]H. Hanumantha Rao, 'Altemative Explaoations of the Inverse Relationship

between Farm Size and Outprrt Per Acre in lndia' lndian Economic Review 'Vol. 1, No. 2 (l%6), P 7.

49 FAO, Regional Office for Asia and Far East, Icarning from China' FAOMission Report on China's Agriculture, Bangkok, 197'l ' p' 7 '

50 Booth and Sundrum, op cit.,p. 113'

51 A.M. Khusro, Economics of Land Reforms and Fqrm Size in India, Delhi,

Macmillan, 1973, pp. 11G17.52 See A.K. Sen, 'An Aspect oi Indian Agriculture,' in Economic and Political

Weekly, An'lr'tal Number, 1982, pP. 24H6.53 Pranab Bardhan, 'Regional Variations in the Rural Economy,'in Economic

and Political Weekly,23 July 1983, p. 13i9.

54 'It has b€en estimated that about half of all demand for recoveries of advances

to sgriculture by commercial banks has remained overdue for some time'

Overdues in the repayment of loans and advances to agriculture by commercial

banks were nearly Rs. 10 billion in June 1982 against about Rs. 2 billion in June

1976. The overdues of primary agricultural credit socicties amounted to about

Rs. 9 billion in June 1979 (rising from Rs. 3 2 billion in 1970-71)' Influentiat'

farmers in repayment of loans from public financial institutions have made this a

major Plank (along with non-payment of irrigation charges and betterment

levies) in the agitations they have led. There have also been reports that in some

areas, large farmers obtaining subsidized institutional credit have recycled itinto local moneylending opetations rather than into productive investment''

Pranab Bardhan, The Political Economy of Development in /ndid, Delhi' OUP'

1984, p. 65.

55 lbid., p. 14, fn. 5.56 Anne Booth and R.M. Sundrum, op. cit., p. 298.

57 Rai Krishna, for instance, argues: '. . in any case, the response to public

invlstment in irrigation, etc., is much sharper than to the favourable agri-

cultural price policy' and he has concluded that it would be much cheaper to

allocate more funds to the provision of agricultural infrastructure and financing

other imProvements in agriculture than giving incentive pdces to the farmer' to

get a given increase in agricullural Production: '. . the long run price elasticity

being O.l, 16 per ceot growth (3 per cent annual growth over five years) would

require a one shot 40 per centl increase in the real terms of trade of agriculture'

This is equivalent to a 7 per cent annual increase over this Period which will

also, of course, spread out the resulting output growth. Tlris order of terms cif

trade increases is hardly a practical proposition even assuming that Government'can fix terms of trade.' At thq same time. however' Raj Krishna conceded that

83 A.S. Kahlon and D.g. Tyagi,Allied Publications, 1983, p. 7.

Price Policy ,n lndia, New D€lhi,

186/Ixornx AcRicuLTURE

'the terms of trade inovements do seemoutput. And a favourable price environ

have a Flositive effect on agriculturalmust be considered indispensableAspects of Agricultural Growth,

' in Food Research Institute

59 lbid., p.2.Q IbA.,P$a.6.

Plon, 1985-%),lune 1984, p. 1.

61 lbid., pp. 2-3.62 Planning Commissidn, The Seventh Five63 lbid.,Yol.2, p. 1.

64 lbid., Ycl. 1, p. 36.6s lbid., Vol. 1, p. 79)66 M.L. Dantwala, .Growth and Equality

ear Plan, 1985-X), Vol. f, p. 55.

Agricultural67 Planninc C-o

Agriculture,' in Inilbn Jouma! of

for agricultural grofvth.' Raj Krishna, ,

Price Policy and Ehuity in DevelopingSrudi€s, Vol. 18, No. 3, t9S2, pp. ZfS-

:: |jaTnins commisifin, The ApFonch ta

Atricultwal Econorfricr, Vol. 42, No. 2Planning C.ommilsign, Draft Five year I

1987), p. 1s7 .

3.2.I lbid., Pzra. 3.3.I lbid.,Para.3.4.70 lbid., Para. 1t.5.7l lbid.,Pata.3.4.72 lbid.,Para.4.7.73 lbid.

197E-83 , Yol. 1, Chaprcr 3, para.

the Seminar on the Role of Foodthe Pacific, New Delhi, 23 April

World Food Equarion,' in lounio! of

1985, p. 48.76 lbid., p. 48.

Economie Imprct, Vol. 50, No. 2,

77 Harbanslal Ahuja, lDevelopment in a Labout Surplus Econoiny,'1982, pp. 16l-62.

: A Strategy for India and theDeveloping World, Qomell University 1976, p. 14.

79 Worfd Bank, World Developmenl 1986, Oxford University pres$,

Prosperity to Retrogression: lndianand Political Wee*/y ( Review of

depressed the output of wheatPradesh, 33 per cent in Punjab

of farm prices of wheat relative toto 196tu7. See Sitesh Balain India,' unpublished Pb.D.

p.2&4-87.

pp. 12-13, Box 1.3.80 Dalip S. Swami and Ashok Gulati,

Cultivation during tle 197ft,' in I

References I l{l

u lbid., p.219.85 Bhanu Pratap Singh, Retrospect and Prospect of Indian Agrieulnire,Neut Delhi,

Federation of Irdian Chambers of C-ommerce and Industry, 1983, pp.'225-8.86 Tarlok Singh, ftdiat Development Experience, Londoa, 194, p..193.87 World Bank, Worid Developmeat Repon 1986, p. W.88 'Biotechnology,' trroadly defined, includes 'any technique that uses living

organisms (or parts of organisms) to develop a micro-organism for specificuses.' This definition lncludes both traditional and new biotechnology. Thenew---or what has been called hi-tecHiotechnology may be defined as theapplication of scientific and engineering principles'to the use of biologicalorganisms for pracdcal purposeg, i.e., for providing goods and services.' See

R.N. Azad, 'Biotechnology and Third World' (mimeo), CommonwealthWorking Group paper on Management of Technological Change, Ldndon,Commonwealth Secretariat, Octobcr 1984, pp. 1-2.

89 See Development Dialogue, Upsala, Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, 1983,pp. 1-2. The entire issue is devoted to new technologies and third worlddevelopment.

90 'Sup€rtomato,' tn The Economis.t, London, 12 October 1984, p. 17.

9l 'Agrobacteria,' in The Economitt, London, 12 October 1984.

92 J.H.F. Van Apeldorn, Biotechnalogy: A Dutch Perspective,Delft, 1981, p.22.93 Buta Singh, Inaugural Address at National Seminar on Development and Uso

of Biof€rtilisers, New Delhi, 9 October 1985.

94 Guido Ruivenkamp, 'The lmpact of Biotechnology on Intemational Development: Competition between Sugar and New Sweetne6,' in ViertelijahresBerichk, Sqcial Issue on New Technologies and Third World Developmen,Number 103, March 1986, p. 92.

95 Government of India: Ministry of Agriculture and Coopentio4 Annual Report198H6, p. 39.

% FAO, World Food Report 1985, Rome, 1985, p. 15.97 The study was published in January 1984" For a summary see The Economist,

l-ondon, 28 January 1984, Science and Technology section-98 lbid.99 Thc Economist, London, 2 November 1985, p. 88.

100 Buta Singh, Inaugural Address at National S€minar on Developm€nt and Us€of Biofertilisers, 9 Octob€r 1985.

101 Address delivered in rbjd.102 FAO, China: Multiple Cropping and Related Crop Production Struegy

(mimeo). Rome, 1980. p. ix.lA3 lbid., p. x.104 lbid.. p. 44.105 Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Research and Education,

Annual Report 1985-46, p.93.106 lbid., Table 38, p. 94.1U7 lbid., p.95.108 M.S. Swaminathan, 'Em€rging Agricultural Scenario: Its Implications for

Public Poficy,' in IAAS-FAO, ,4 gricultural Growth in lzdra, New Delhi, 1985,p. 15.

109 Ministry ot Petroleum, Foarrh Repolt of the Natioaal Committee on Use ofPlastics in Agriculture, New Delhi, March 1985, p. 139.

113 Seventh Five Yt P/an, Part 1, p. 36.ll4 lbid., Part 2, p. F3.115 National

Delhi, 1976, pp.116 S.S. Johl, Determinants of

India,'Agriculturalomics , Yol. 39 ,

117 Seven h Five Y, Plan, P^rt 2, p. I.178 Ibid., p. 170.ll9 Sixth Five Year FIan,p.343.r20 rba.

Growth and Development inAddress to 43rd Conference of Indian Society of

reprinted in Indian lournal of Agricultural Econ-1984,

Research and Education, Annual

P art V, Res ource D ev elopment,

98190, p. 9.

, Iuigahd Agriculnre: Instiu.tioimlBank Staff Working Pap€r No. 5Jl,

125 Ministry of Agriculture (Soit and WLand Resourcbs ponservation and De

Conservation Division), NationalCommission, ReDort of the

Corrur.ission on Agriciltute , p rt1976, p. n3.

Lima Target,' Industry and Develop-

to Economic Growth: SomeWorking Paper No. 619, November

130 lrma Adelman, '$eyond Exponed9, p. 938.

' World Developmen, Vol. 12, No.

l3l Tibor $citovsky, lcomment on ' ibid., p. 953.' in The New York Times,132 Nicholas D. Kristof, ,srdking Shifr ro

reproduced in ThE Times of India, 5 t

128 Hans Singer, 'Poficy Implications of trnenr, No. 3, 19'9, p. 27.

129 Hwa Sin-Chang,lhe Contribution ofEmpirical Evide4ce, World Bank1983.

lndex

Adelman, Irma, 171

Adiseshiah, Malcolm, 27

Agricultural: Labour Enquiry, 20;mechanisation, 85-86; PolicY'79; policy stalement (1946),

32, 33, 167; Prices Commis'sion,24, E, ?5, lll-12, lZ3,126-27; plicr policY, 24, 53,

75,86,88, 109, 110, 111, 119,

123. 180i subsidies, 88-91'108, 179

agricultural credit, 20; need for,8H5

agdcultural growth, and Povertyalleviation, m, 6, E2, 9,3,

ll?, 171, 177; and -PovertvretatioNhip, ,10, 55-58, 63, 73.

80-&. 90. l77agriculture, Indian: gowth rate, 13,

14, 15, 4{F45, 64, 6, 175;

lrowth characteristics, 39-40;grorvth and instabilitY, 17;

growth and emploYment, 67,

9; labour absorPtion in,7a-79, 85; regional disparitiesin growth in, 14, 15, 45-51;role in development, 32

Bangladesh, 78Bardhan, Pranab, 80Bengal famine, 33

bimodal growth pattern, I77: inagricufture, 57, 58, lg2-3,105. 176

biofertilisers. l3{., \3741, 146' l4i1

biotechnology, 83, 134

buffer stocks, 57, 175

China, 64; agriculture in, 78, 87, 88,

141: 'incident.' 22Corn l-aws, abolition of, 120

cropping intensity, 15, 16

cropping pattem, distonions in, 15,

17. 18. 60

Dantwala, M.L., 103

de Janvry, 171

decentralised planning, 18&{1;need for, 116-19

Draft PIan. 10tr, 170

'drain' from agricultural sector, L22,

129, tmDrought Prone Areas Programme,

lv)dryland and wasteland farming, 131 ,

134, r45

Eighth Plan, 99-101employme in agriculture, 97

environmental problems, land affec-

ted by, 143-45

Farm Management Studies, 20, 77

Fel'dman-Mahalanobis model, 1 14

food aid, .ree PL 4&) importsFood Crrporation of India., 91;

fertilis€r sale bY, 26, 89

food policy, 10&-9

foodgrains production, 13, 14' 16,

175; coarse grains Productba'

l9olIndex

17, 175; and p<]rverty, 17; pul-scs production, 17, 44, W7

green revolution belt, 14

Harrod-Domar model, I 14Hirshman, 171

HW-fertiliser teclmology. l?, 24,25,28, n, 42,58,72,79, W,83, 98, 112, 130, 134

India's agric-ultural e$nomy, duatcharact€r of, l{, 131, 176

Indiin Council of Aglricultural Re-search 0CAR)i 23, lzt0

Indonesia, 78industrialisation, 34. 35, 7t, 168,

r@, t72

of,

Khusro, A.M., 79Krishnamachari, T.T.. 24

land reforms, m,75, 76-79land use prolile, 151; policy, 162-66Lewis, Arthur, 74

Mahalanobis plan-frame, 61, 103Malthus. T.. 171

Mellor, John W., f 14, 115-16, 171mini-kits, distribution of, 51

Narain, Dharam, 17National Bank of Agriculture and

Rural Development (NAB-ARD), 84

National Council of Applied Econ-omic Research (NCAER),55

National Development Council, 61,173

National Floods Commission, 144,153

National Land Resourccs Conserva-tion and Development C_om-mission, 163, l8l

National Rural Employment pro-gramme (NREP), 6f, 69

National Rural labour Employ-ment Programme (NRLEP),6

Nehru, Jawaharlal ,22, 16 g, 170nev agricuftural strategy, 22, 37, 54,

176New Dcal (USA), 120

Oilsceds Pioduction Technology

. Mis6ion, 17, ?A, 45, yJ-51,tu7 , 176

PL 480 imports, 35, 36, 125Pakistan, 33. 78panchayati raj institutions, 20Partition.32plasticulture, 134poverty and agricultural growth, 56,

57, 60, 63, 67, 80_82

public distribution sysrem. 14, 15,109, ll0

pulses: per capita availability, /14,

17l-76; production. t7. 93,r07

rainfed agriculture, 17, 18,30, 106,131, 146, 162, \75

Raj, K.N., 7lRaj Krishna, 173Randhawa, N.S., 139Rao, Flanumantha, 78regional disparities, 15, 45-50. 54,

58, 146Ricardo, 171

Rural Credit Survey, 20Rural Landless Labour Employment

Cuarantee Programme (RL-EGP), 66, 69

Schilpcroot, Robert, 135Seventb Plan priorities in agricut.

trre.29.147'Shastri, Lal Bahadur, 23Shenoy, B.R., 35

I ndex I l9l

Singer, Hans, 171

Singh, Bhanu Pratap, 128singh, Buta, 27, n, 1.3,6, t39Singh, Manmohan, l8Singh, Rao Birender, 109Singh, Tarlok, 132Smith, Adam, 171

Streeton, Paul, l7lSubramaniam, C., 23, 24, 31Swami, Dalip, 121

thrust areas in agriculture, qitrickle-down effect, 103Twenty-Point Programme, 44. 51,

r07

unimodal growth pattern, 58, 105unemployment protrlem, 67-68ussR, 64, 168

Vakil, C.N., 35

Warriner, Doreen, 76waterlogging. problem of. 153-54,

155, 156, 157, 161, 181World Bank, 132, 170, 171

Wi