Price Rise- Shun Politics, Manage Better, Improve Productivity
Posted : February 3, 2010 at 3:57 pm [IST]
As reported, since May 2004, prices of rice have gone up by 77 per cent and that of tur dal by an astounding 252 per cent. A farmer family may be producing paddy for rice, but not tur dal. For dal, the family is to go to open market, and its price rise affects even a farmer family of rural India. Landless households are naturally the worst-affected.
I don’t know how many Indians will agree with the prime minster who opines that India’s rising incomes is putting pressure on food supply. The country expects better input and action from the prime minister. Let him not hide his responsibility for the price rise behind the rising incomes.
However, such statements certainly encourage the hoarders and black-marketers to innovate new ways to run their business unchallenged. Unfortunately, the farmers are always losers. They hardly get any share of the price rise. Their sales don’t have royalty content in the price paid by the consumers.
Here are the specific miss and mess of the government, Manmohan heads:
It has hardly focused on the yield enhancement that would have been the priority over raising the minimum support price.
Irrigation: The government spends over Rs 1, 25, 000 crore per year through the NREGA and other Centrally-sponsored schemes besides through Bharat Nirman and Rs 90,000 crore on food subsidy. How much has it invested in to the most important infrastructure for farming- the irrigation projects, water management such as check dams and drip irrigation and focused research for improving the yields of various crops? Is the bringing of all the cultivated land under irrigation the government’s priority? What is the planned time frame?
Yield enhancement: No doubt, India’s per hectare productivity of paddy has moved from 668 kg to 2,203 kg since 1950. While Punjab, achieves just 3,800 kg/ha, the fertile states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh deliver just 1,400 kg and 1,800 kg per hectare. Why can’t India emulate China? China with its hybrids has attained average yield of 6,336 kg/ha. Today, Chinese are working on a strain that will deliver 13,500 kg/ha, having successfully achieved 10,500 kg/ha.
If India develops a similar strain, Bihar alone would produce over 35 million tonnes or a third of India’s current production. In terms of income, this would translate into (@Rs 30 per kg) Rs 2, 04,750 as against Rs 28,275 per hectare as of now.
Naturally the question to be asked is if Indian scientists can give the similar high yielding strain to Indian farmers.
Next area for the government attention is the gap between the price paid to the farmers and the price paid by the consumers. Why should the economic cost of rice be Rs 1,893 per quintal when it is procured at Rs 1,050 per quintal? Why should a consumer pay Rs 24 upwards per kg for rice and Rs 18 upwards for wheat procured around Rs 1000-1100 per quintal from the farmers? Why should consumers and taxpayers bear the burden of sarkari carrying costs?
And then the issue of waste requires some serious action. Why can’t the legendary wastes of over Rs 70,000 crore worth of post-harvest produce be cut down with right government policy?
And what other than government protection can be the reasons for cutting down the horde of middlemen making the most from the farmers and consumers?
Is the mess of food production and distribution in India politically planned and nurtured?
- Indra
Category: Rural development, Government Policy/Administration |
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