The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has given Gujarat a much sought after certificate of high performance in agriculture, right in the middle of elections. Why? Because the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) means that a river is flowing through the region for the first time in its civilisational history.
But, let?s bear in mind that the dams are not fully ready and the Narmada planners had designed many decades ago a canal that is actually a large river, which means that Gujarat is currently enjoying double the water that it will finally be allocated. While admitting that the Gujaratis have fought tenaciously for this water for the last 40 years, I must also point out to IFPRI that: a) the water is not being used very well; b) its plenty is only temporary; and c) the distribution system is only one-tenth ready.
IFPRI also gives the Modi government high praise for raising yields as well as developing rural markets and technology. Once again, let?s point out that the last three years have seen exceptional rainfall but irrigated yields of each crop have not gone up much.
Average yield has admittedly gone up, but that?s because of the SSP bounty, which has raised irrigation share from about 32% of the cropped area at the beginning of the decade to over 36% now, an increase of 15%.
IFPRI has done it again. Its big claim to fame was to argue that India disprotects its agriculture or taxes it. This was used to bully the country no end in global negotiations, for if India was unfair to its agriculture, it didn?t have a case in most global negotiations. That these ?results? were suspect on account of fluctuations in global markets, according to the Indians, was ignored.
In time, even the OECD expressed its unhappiness, with the chair, Margaret Whelan, stating in one of India?s WTO reviews that India actually subsidises its agriculture, which it didn?t want. Now you can?t both subsidise and tax on the net and so IFPRI recanted, saying that India does not disprotect. The organisation has much to explain.
?The author is a former Union minister. Email: yalagh@gmail.com