Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday urged the Centre to peg the minimum support price (MSP) of grain at 50% higher than the actual cost of cultivation. He also asked the Centre to take immediate steps to cut down on post-harvest crop losses which are at an alarmingly high level of Rs 55,000 crore a year. The chief minister also called for measures to step up both public and private investment in agriculture, especially research and development, which has been stagnating for years.
Addressing the India Economic Summit, organised by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in New Delhi, Hooda said all these steps were necessary if the growth in agricultural production was to match the growth in population. Agriculture, accounting for about 17% of the nation?s GDP, constitutes the mainstay of India?s economy and remains the main source of livelihood for more than 60% of India?s population. Complimenting the organisers, he expressed the hope that the summit would offer market-based solutions to the problems faced by the farmers.
Stressing on the need to set up National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture under the National Action Plan on Climate Change to address the impact of climate change on agriculture, Hooda said research institutions should pay focused attention on R&D to minimise the impact of erratic behaviour of the monsoon and weather patterns on agriculture.
Hooda called for massive national effort to set up modern silos to reduce the massive post-harvest crop losses. Immediate action is needed to build required infrastructure for storage through public and private sector interventions. ?I would exhort the industry to come forward to supplement the efforts of government in this regard?, he added. Pointing out that since mid-1990s, private investment in agriculture had been stagnating and public investment was on the decline, the chief minister said that a strong commitment was required on the part of the Centre to improve the R&D scenario in agriculture. Industry could play an important role in funding the agricultural research, he added.
Hooda, who heads the working group on agricultural production set up by the Prime Minister with chief ministers of Punjab, Bihar and West Bengal as other members, disclosed that the group had finalised its report which would be submitted to the Prime Minister shortly.
Emphasising on the need for second Green Revolution to boost agricultural production, Hooda said the increase in grain production is not in pace with the growth of population. It is a cause of serious concern. ?To feed our ever-increasing population, the foodgrain production has to be doubled by 2040 with consistent 2.5% annual growth. Hence, there is a need for the second Green Revolution. It can be achieved only through dynamic approach, focussed strategy and application of new tools of science and technology?, Hooda said.
The flow of resources to the agricultural sector is declining and indebtedness of small and marginal farm families is rising. Input costs are increasing, while factor productivity is declining.
A technology fatigue of sorts had further aggravated farmers? problems.
Linkages between the laboratory and the field need to be strengthened, the Chief Minister said.