In the last 40 years, India’s agricultural productivity has increased by 40 per cent to 500 per cent.&nbsp;

Availability of food, however, still remains a major concern because of poor packaging, inefficient traders, absence of sheltered storage and many more factors.&nbsp;

Among the many frequently faced challenges in the Indian food supply chain, the high volatility in the wholesale market ranks number one.&nbsp;

Owing to the massive size of the supply chain, quality control is another big hurdle. Seasonality and availability are also handicaps, although relatively smaller.&nbsp;

There are limited consolidators available who work with contractual rates; this poses another threat to the fluency of the chain.

There is no differentiation between the product cost and logistics cost, which results in an increase in the total cost of the produces. There are other major issues that impact the supply chain and food quality.

The fragmented nature of the food industry is a major obstacle in the entire supply chain as it consists of organised players like hotel chains and catering businesses, and unorganised players such as small food joints and restaurants. This results in an uneven volume demand and supply pattern.&nbsp;

Also, the involvement of third-party vendors in the supply chain creates a disruption in the flow, resulting in a price increase.

Sharp fluctuations in food price inflation have raised questions about the functioning of the Indian food supply chain itself. There is no standard tool or method to assess the fluctuation rate and predict future patterns. Hence the practice of forward-buying is not popular in India.

The supply chain’s lead time in India is impacted to a large extent by the absence of technology. The manual labour system in the country increases the cost of importing goods, e.g., the cost of importing a container in India is $500 as opposed to the $300 in foreign ports.

Only 6 per cent of the entire logistics network falls under the organised category in India. The lack of organised logistics acts as a barrier in the transportation of produce from the farms to the consumers.&nbsp;

Though the government has introduced 100 per cent FDI in the logistics sector and many organised players like DHL and TNT, among others, are coming in the market, the reach is limited only to the commercial areas. This is due to the poor infrastructure in the remote areas of the country. In India, the cold chain has not matured enough to procure products directly from the farmers; it is instead supplied by the wholesalers.&nbsp;

This results in many perishable products like exotic vegetables/fruits or dairy products losing their quality because of the time it takes to reach the consumers.&nbsp;

In turn, it impacts the farmers and the pricing of the product. The absence of private players has become one of the root causes of this poor structure.

One of the ways to curb the problem is to introduce supply chain partners into the system to address end-to-end delivery. The concept of having a single vendor is at a nascent stage and the government must encourage this concept and make way for the players by easing norms.

In India, some compliance is lost in the traditional route of buying from traders and wholesalers. Besides, there are many big players such as Big Basket, HyperPure by Zomato etc, who are present in the retail industry and are gradually foraying into the B2B space.&nbsp;

Here’s how they help solve some of the challenges. The sustainability of their business model is hinged on direct national sourcing capability and Farm to Fork models for fruit and vegetable chains and backward integration to mills and manufacturers for staples, therefore, eliminating middlemen and distributors.&nbsp;

The best infrastructure for storage, sorting and grading is needed. It is important to leverage technology-enabled end-to-end supply chain capabilities to optimise logistics, track fulfilment rates and share live dashboards.

The ability to forecast market fluctuations is a must. All these challenges result in higher cost and poor quality. Incorporating the aforementioned solutions can help smoothen the process and make things beneficial for both the stakeholders and the customers.&nbsp;

 
(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-challenges-of-streamlining-food-supply-chain-management-2764954">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

In the last 40 years, India’s agricultural productivity has increased by 40 per cent to 500 per cent. Availability of food, however, still remains a major concern because of poor packaging, inefficient traders, absence of sheltered storage and many more factors.

In the last 40 years, India’s agricultural productivity has increased by 40 per cent to 500 per cent. Availability of food, however, still remains a major concern because of poor packaging, inefficient traders, absence of sheltered storage and many more factors. Among the many frequently faced challenges in the Indian food supply chain, the high volatility in the wholesale market ranks number one. Owing to the massive size of the supply chain, quality control is another big hurdle. Seasonality and availability are also handicaps, although relatively smaller. There are limited consolidators available who work with contractual rates; this poses another threat to the fluency of the chain. There is no differentiation between the product cost and logistics cost, which results in an increase in the total cost of the produces. There are other major issues that impact the supply chain and food quality. The fragmented nature of the food industry is a major obstacle in the entire supply chain as it consists of organised players like hotel chains and catering businesses, and unorganised players such as small food joints and restaurants. This results in an uneven volume demand and supply pattern. Also, the involvement of third-party vendors in the supply chain creates a disruption in the flow, resulting in a price increase. Sharp fluctuations in food price inflation have raised questions about the functioning of the Indian food supply chain itself. There is no standard tool or method to assess the fluctuation rate and predict future patterns. Hence the practice of forward-buying is not popular in India. The supply chain’s lead time in India is impacted to a large extent by the absence of technology. The manual labour system in the country increases the cost of importing goods, e.g., the cost of importing a container in India is $500 as opposed to the $300 in foreign ports. Only 6 per cent of the entire logistics network falls under the organised category in India. The lack of organised logistics acts as a barrier in the transportation of produce from the farms to the consumers. Though the government has introduced 100 per cent FDI in the logistics sector and many organised players like DHL and TNT, among others, are coming in the market, the reach is limited only to the commercial areas. This is due to the poor infrastructure in the remote areas of the country. In India, the cold chain has not matured enough to procure products directly from the farmers; it is instead supplied by the wholesalers. This results in many perishable products like exotic vegetables/fruits or dairy products losing their quality because of the time it takes to reach the consumers. In turn, it impacts the farmers and the pricing of the product. The absence of private players has become one of the root causes of this poor structure. One of the ways to curb the problem is to introduce supply chain partners into the system to address end-to-end delivery. The concept of having a single vendor is at a nascent stage and the government must encourage this concept and make way for the players by easing norms. In India, some compliance is lost in the traditional route of buying from traders and wholesalers. Besides, there are many big players such as Big Basket, HyperPure by Zomato etc, who are present in the retail industry and are gradually foraying into the B2B space. Here’s how they help solve some of the challenges. The sustainability of their business model is hinged on direct national sourcing capability and Farm to Fork models for fruit and vegetable chains and backward integration to mills and manufacturers for staples, therefore, eliminating middlemen and distributors. The best infrastructure for storage, sorting and grading is needed. It is important to leverage technology-enabled end-to-end supply chain capabilities to optimise logistics, track fulfilment rates and share live dashboards. The ability to forecast market fluctuations is a must. All these challenges result in higher cost and poor quality. Incorporating the aforementioned solutions can help smoothen the process and make things beneficial for both the stakeholders and the customers. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Availability of food remains a major concern

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/developing-india-into-5-trillion-economy-challenging-but-achievable-pm-modi-at-niti-aayog-meeting-227331">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</a> has announced a high-level task force to bring structural reforms in agriculture in the country, said <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/niti-aayog-meeting-chief-ministers-demand-more-central-funds-to-deal-with-agri-distress-227451">NITI Aayog</a> Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Saturday.

"The Prime Minister has announced a high-level task force to bring structural reform in agriculture. The task force will be constituted very soon. It will submit its report in 2-3 months. The emphasis is on how to increase production and marketing in the agriculture sector," said Kumar while briefing media persons about the 5th meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog.

Kumar said that rainwater harvesting, drought situation and relief measures, aspirational districts, agricultural sector transformation and modernisation, and security-related issues were the key issues discussed during the meeting.

"This is the first time after Independence that there is monsoon deficit continuously for five years. This year the monsoon is projected to be normal at about 96 per cent but still not 100 per cent. Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Gujarat have told the meeting about the steps taken by them," said Kumar.

Talking about the North East Water Management Committee meeting, Kumar said, "The North East Water Management Committee constituted by the Prime Minister and chaired by me has submitted its report. It will be implemented as all north-east states have agreed to it. It deals with Brahmaputra-Barak river basin development."

Talking about the economy, Kumar said that the meeting has agreed that each and every state would set its own goal of increasing its economy.

"The meeting decided that emphasis will be on increasing export," he said.

Kumar said that India's economy is to be made the US $5 trillion dollar economy. He also informed that Prime Minister Modi suggested that development should be done at block level for which blocks should be selected in the district and development should be done.

Talking about how the devolution from the Centre to the State, Kumar said, "Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the devolution from the Centre to the State has increased by more than two times in the past five years from Rs 20 lakh crore to Rs 41 lakh crore."

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the States had a request that the Central government should review the guidelines of the State Disaster Response Fund.

"We will be doing it in cooperation with Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture," he said.

Kant said that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath especially mentioned that the Forest Act needs a few changes while Goa and many other states said the production in the mining sector was at a decline.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a high-level task force to bring structural reforms in agriculture in the country, said NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a high-level task force to bring structural reforms in agriculture in the country, said NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Saturday. "The Prime Minister has announced a high-level task force to bring structural reform in agriculture. The task force will be constituted very soon. It will submit its report in 2-3 months. The emphasis is on how to increase production and marketing in the agriculture sector," said Kumar while briefing media persons about the 5th meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog. Kumar said that rainwater harvesting, drought situation and relief measures, aspirational districts, agricultural sector transformation and modernisation, and security-related issues were the key issues discussed during the meeting. "This is the first time after Independence that there is monsoon deficit continuously for five years. This year the monsoon is projected to be normal at about 96 per cent but still not 100 per cent. Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Gujarat have told the meeting about the steps taken by them," said Kumar. Talking about the North East Water Management Committee meeting, Kumar said, "The North East Water Management Committee constituted by the Prime Minister and chaired by me has submitted its report. It will be implemented as all north-east states have agreed to it. It deals with Brahmaputra-Barak river basin development." Talking about the economy, Kumar said that the meeting has agreed that each and every state would set its own goal of increasing its economy. "The meeting decided that emphasis will be on increasing export," he said. Kumar said that India's economy is to be made the US $5 trillion dollar economy. He also informed that Prime Minister Modi suggested that development should be done at block level for which blocks should be selected in the district and development should be done. Talking about how the devolution from the Centre to the State, Kumar said, "Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the devolution from the Centre to the State has increased by more than two times in the past five years from Rs 20 lakh crore to Rs 41 lakh crore." NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the States had a request that the Central government should review the guidelines of the State Disaster Response Fund. "We will be doing it in cooperation with Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture," he said. Kant said that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath especially mentioned that the Forest Act needs a few changes while Goa and many other states said the production in the mining sector was at a decline.

PM Modi announces 'high level task force' to bring structural reform in agriculture

By Hugo Norton

As the world reels from a series of freakish weather phenomena, a new report from the UN suggests climate change will carve the global agricultural community into two camps: winners and losers. What’s particularly troubling is that the “winners” are already thriving, while the losers are clustered in the developing world. If these forecasts come to pass, the world will be more unequal than ever — and billions of people will face potential starvation.

But there’s a ray of hope, and it comes from the myriad new technologies that are transforming the way we farm. These agricultural technologies could help to obviate the effects of climate change and ensure the planet’s population growth doesn’t lead to a global hunger epidemic.

Of course, there are still those who say we’ve nothing to fear, and that climate change is a myth. But those deniers, led by Donald Trump, are being confronted with an ever-growing mountain of evidence in the form of extreme weather patterns, like Hurricane Florence that hit the United States in September. From droughts in Australia to floods in Japan and southern India, the world is witnessing the catastrophic effects of global warming on practically a daily basis.

But beyond these headlines, scientists predict that rising temperatures will have disastrous consequences for the world’s farmers, particularly those in the “global south.” The new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization finds that climate change will enhance the agricultural potential of countries in more temperate areas, but frazzle growing zones in more tropical climes. The biggest winners will be Russia and Canada, while Europe, the US and Australia will all see an upturn. West Africa, India and their surrounding regions will see their harvests slashed.

This echoes another recent UN report, which concluded that climate change is already driving up hunger levels by triggering droughts and flooding. In fact, scientists have found that of the 51 countries that suffered food emergencies in 2017, 34 experienced climatic shocks. Many of these countries are also battling political and economic crises, making them doubly vulnerable.

Global Economic Gap 
 
The inescapable conclusion is that climate change will make the global economic gap even wider. Despite concerted efforts to reduce this divide, income inequality has fallen only slightly, and some research even indicates that the gap is widening. Billions of dollars in aid have been channelled to Africa — an additional $45 billion will be sent by 2020 — but the US still produces five times the continent’s entire GDP, and that gap will only widen if UN forecasts are realized. Moreover, the developing world is facing a demographic crisis: Over the next 30 years, analysts expect the populations of Africa and Asia to grow 11 times faster than the rest of the world. These regions cannot afford to lose their most fertile land.

The international community certainly talks a good game on climate change. Practically the entire world has ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement, which pledges to keep global warming within 2 degrees of pre-industrial levels. Yet many countries are failing to match their words with actions, as demonstrated most recently by a survey that ranked more than three-quarters of EU member-states as “poor” for their post-Paris progress.

But as governments flounder, a raft of new technologies is enabling farmers to take matters into their own hands. These technologies allow growers to adapt to climatic conditions, target their use of pesticides more efficiently and improve their output with precision techniques. Most significantly, they facilitate information-sharing across borders, encouraging the spread of best practices and expertise. A prime example is an app built by the University of Queensland in Australia that enables beef farmers on the island of Vanuatu to see the performance of their cattle in real time. Such innovation can only lead to efficiency gains, which will be crucial to the developing world as climate change erodes its farmlands.

There are myriad examples of technologies that could have an equally positive impact, from the predictive seed placement tool developed by The Climate Corporation, which uses big data to recommend optimal seeding rates for a particular growing area, to the drones that cover a rice field with pesticide and fertilizer in just 15 minutes. Then there’s vertical farming, which promises to take agriculture away from the fields altogether. The practice involves growing crops in warehouses and shipping containers, turning every terrain on earth into a potential farm. Dubai, unsurprisingly, is an enthusiastic early adopter, and with analysts predicting the market will be worth around $10 billion by 2025, it’s clear this zeal is more than matched elsewhere.

Agtech

Indeed, many countries across Africa and Asia are passionately embracing agricultural technology to obviate the ever-increasing threat of floods and droughts. India’s burgeoning space agency is providing satellite images to map the production capacity of its fields; Japan is leading the way in drone research as it attempts to ease the burden on its ageing farming population. In Africa, a raft of start-ups is shooting up, from the Nigerian company that arms farmers with data to help them negotiate prices with unscrupulous merchants to the Kenyan enterprise that channels solar energy into irrigation kits.

Now it seems the world’s opinion leaders are taking notice. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates is talking up the potential of new technologies to offset climate change in the developing world, while the UK government, the world’s second-biggest aid donor, is ploughing money into partnerships that it says will revolutionize agriculture in Africa. Yet the ominous question remains: Have we found the answer just in time, or too late?

The UN says we have only a few years to avoid catastrophic problems, which may not be enough to create a global AgTech revolution. But in a period that has seen more rapid technological change than any other in history, we mustn’t let our optimism be washed away. 
 
(Hugo Norton is an Africa Policy Analyst and Advisor)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/more/environment/climate-change-news/agriculture-climate-change-global-inequality-tech-news-01921/">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

By Hugo Norton As the world reels from a series of freakish weather phenomena, a new report from the UN suggests climate change will carve the global agricultural community into two camps: winners and losers.

By Hugo Norton As the world reels from a series of freakish weather phenomena, a new report from the UN suggests climate change will carve the global agricultural community into two camps: winners and losers. What’s particularly troubling is that the “winners” are already thriving, while the losers are clustered in the developing world. If these forecasts come to pass, the world will be more unequal than ever — and billions of people will face potential starvation. But there’s a ray of hope, and it comes from the myriad new technologies that are transforming the way we farm. These agricultural technologies could help to obviate the effects of climate change and ensure the planet’s population growth doesn’t lead to a global hunger epidemic. Of course, there are still those who say we’ve nothing to fear, and that climate change is a myth. But those deniers, led by Donald Trump, are being confronted with an ever-growing mountain of evidence in the form of extreme weather patterns, like Hurricane Florence that hit the United States in September. From droughts in Australia to floods in Japan and southern India, the world is witnessing the catastrophic effects of global warming on practically a daily basis. But beyond these headlines, scientists predict that rising temperatures will have disastrous consequences for the world’s farmers, particularly those in the “global south.” The new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization finds that climate change will enhance the agricultural potential of countries in more temperate areas, but frazzle growing zones in more tropical climes. The biggest winners will be Russia and Canada, while Europe, the US and Australia will all see an upturn. West Africa, India and their surrounding regions will see their harvests slashed. This echoes another recent UN report, which concluded that climate change is already driving up hunger levels by triggering droughts and flooding. In fact, scientists have found that of the 51 countries that suffered food emergencies in 2017, 34 experienced climatic shocks. Many of these countries are also battling political and economic crises, making them doubly vulnerable. Global Economic Gap The inescapable conclusion is that climate change will make the global economic gap even wider. Despite concerted efforts to reduce this divide, income inequality has fallen only slightly, and some research even indicates that the gap is widening. Billions of dollars in aid have been channelled to Africa — an additional $45 billion will be sent by 2020 — but the US still produces five times the continent’s entire GDP, and that gap will only widen if UN forecasts are realized. Moreover, the developing world is facing a demographic crisis: Over the next 30 years, analysts expect the populations of Africa and Asia to grow 11 times faster than the rest of the world. These regions cannot afford to lose their most fertile land. The international community certainly talks a good game on climate change. Practically the entire world has ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement, which pledges to keep global warming within 2 degrees of pre-industrial levels. Yet many countries are failing to match their words with actions, as demonstrated most recently by a survey that ranked more than three-quarters of EU member-states as “poor” for their post-Paris progress. But as governments flounder, a raft of new technologies is enabling farmers to take matters into their own hands. These technologies allow growers to adapt to climatic conditions, target their use of pesticides more efficiently and improve their output with precision techniques. Most significantly, they facilitate information-sharing across borders, encouraging the spread of best practices and expertise. A prime example is an app built by the University of Queensland in Australia that enables beef farmers on the island of Vanuatu to see the performance of their cattle in real time. Such innovation can only lead to efficiency gains, which will be crucial to the developing world as climate change erodes its farmlands. There are myriad examples of technologies that could have an equally positive impact, from the predictive seed placement tool developed by The Climate Corporation, which uses big data to recommend optimal seeding rates for a particular growing area, to the drones that cover a rice field with pesticide and fertilizer in just 15 minutes. Then there’s vertical farming, which promises to take agriculture away from the fields altogether. The practice involves growing crops in warehouses and shipping containers, turning every terrain on earth into a potential farm. Dubai, unsurprisingly, is an enthusiastic early adopter, and with analysts predicting the market will be worth around $10 billion by 2025, it’s clear this zeal is more than matched elsewhere. Agtech Indeed, many countries across Africa and Asia are passionately embracing agricultural technology to obviate the ever-increasing threat of floods and droughts. India’s burgeoning space agency is providing satellite images to map the production capacity of its fields; Japan is leading the way in drone research as it attempts to ease the burden on its ageing farming population. In Africa, a raft of start-ups is shooting up, from the Nigerian company that arms farmers with data to help them negotiate prices with unscrupulous merchants to the Kenyan enterprise that channels solar energy into irrigation kits. Now it seems the world’s opinion leaders are taking notice. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates is talking up the potential of new technologies to offset climate change in the developing world, while the UK government, the world’s second-biggest aid donor, is ploughing money into partnerships that it says will revolutionize agriculture in Africa. Yet the ominous question remains: Have we found the answer just in time, or too late? The UN says we have only a few years to avoid catastrophic problems, which may not be enough to create a global AgTech revolution. But in a period that has seen more rapid technological change than any other in history, we mustn’t let our optimism be washed away. (Hugo Norton is an Africa Policy Analyst and Advisor) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

 How new technologies can avert agricultural devastation

The government on Wednesday raised the price at which it buys new-season wheat from local farmers by 105 rupees or 6 per cent, Union Minister of Agriculture &amp; Farmers Welfare said on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to defuse discontent among farmers ahead of elections in 2019.

The revised purchase price of 1,840 rupees ($25.09) per 100 kg for 2019 compares with 1,735 rupees a year ago, minister Radha Mohan Singh said.

India, the world's second-biggest rice and wheat producer, buys the grain from local farmers at state-set prices to build stocks to run a major food welfare programme.

Earlier, Reuters had reported that India was set to raise the support price of wheat by 6 per cent on Wednesday due to growing farmer discontent.

The government also raised the support price of chickpea and rapeseed to 4,620 and 4,200 rupees respectively, per 100 kg, Singh added.

The government on Wednesday raised the price at which it buys new-season wheat from local farmers by 105 rupees or 6 per cent, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to defuse discontent among farmers ahead of elections in 2019.

The government on Wednesday raised the price at which it buys new-season wheat from local farmers by 105 rupees or 6 per cent, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to defuse discontent among farmers ahead of elections in 2019. The revised purchase price of 1,840 rupees ($25.09) per 100 kg for 2019 compares with 1,735 rupees a year ago, minister Radha Mohan Singh said. India, the world's second-biggest rice and wheat producer, buys the grain from local farmers at state-set prices to build stocks to run a major food welfare programme. Earlier, Reuters had reported that India was set to raise the support price of wheat by 6 per cent on Wednesday due to growing farmer discontent. The government also raised the support price of chickpea and rapeseed to 4,620 and 4,200 rupees respectively, per 100 kg, Singh added.

Government raises wheat buying price by 6% ahead of 2019 elections

This year&#39;s budget was not like any other. The government had to announce something effective to boost a terribly upset agricultural sector. Considering the setbacks BJP suffered in the state of Gujarat and with an election coming up in 2019, it was politically imperative for Narendra Modi&#39;s government to come up with a developmental vision for the agricultural sector.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Commenting on his plans for India&#39;s farmers, the Finance Minister said that his government is bringing about a &#39;paradigm shift&#39; in the agricultural and rural sector. Unlike the production-centric approach of the past, India is now going to concentrate on a producer-centric approach. The crux of this paradigm shift will be to double the income of the farmers by 2022.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The current government is committed to seeing agriculture as an &quot;enterprise&quot; and not simply a livelihood. This means that farmers are now seen as an entrepreneur and not someone who just works to fill his belly or that of the nation. What he does is not philanthropy but business. Thus, he needs to make a profit.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Unlike the initial decades of India&#39;s independence, the agriculturalists can&#39;t be made the sacrificial lamb in the altar of nation&#39;s development needs.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

However, while the government spoke in terms of bringing about a paradigm shift in the rural sector, it committed nothing to improve the land ownership scenario of the country. Without any structural reforms, the marginal farmers continue to be marginal, owning a small parcel of land. But the government has promised to bring down the cost of farming while raising the non-farm employment for farmers.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

This two-pronged approach is what they believe will make agriculture profitable in India.

&nbsp;

What Jaitley refers to as a &quot;historical decision&quot; is the government&#39;s plan to provide minimum support price to Kharif crops. This will ensure that farmers get back 150% of the production cost of growing their crops. This is in a way help to balance the somewhat contradictory requirement of the nation: to keep food prices low while giving the farmers a profitable return.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

For a very long time in India, in a rush to boost production of basic industries, such as iron and steel and to appease the Indian middle-class, we have kept the food prices low. This long trend has delivered an indelible blow to Indian agriculture notwithstanding the price support introduced during the Green Revolution of the late 1960s.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Surprisingly, the Finance Minister did not mention any plans to improve the nutritional standard of crops growing in India either with the help of biotechnology or not. He was more keen on developing an institutional mechanism which would help farmers to deal with perishable produce, particularly, onion, potato and tomato. The Government of India will invest 500 crores towards this scheme which is being called Operation Green, a reminiscence of the Green Revolution of the past.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

What is interesting in this Union Budget is that the government, rather than concentrating on &quot;poor man&#39;s crops&quot;, such as raagi, bajra and other hardy cereals that are grown in the rainfed regions of India, is keener on developing a cluster-based model around the cultivation of horticultural crops. The government is going to spend 200 crores on medicinal and aromatic plants. Considering, all these types of plants are sensitive to their water requirements, which need to planned and regularised, there has been little said in the budget speech about expanding the scope of irrigation beyond installing pumps to make groundwater accessible.

&nbsp;

Organic farming has also received a boost with women self-help group being encouraged to practise such a form of farming. But it is yet to be seen to what extent organic farming becomes part of the mainstream agricultural practices of India.

&nbsp;

With farmers suicide, low prices, inadequate infrastructure, heavy debt burden, the Indian farming sector is not doing well at all. While these measures will go only so far in addressing the problem, the deeper structural issues remain unresolved. Inadequate landownership, limited credit opportunities and on-farm employment, sketchy ideas of sustainable farming are some of the key issues which will require sincere resolve on the part of the government to find a resolution.

&nbsp;

Without a clearcut policy stemming from the Budget, the chances are the chasm between rural and urban India will continue to grow, putting the current government in deep political crisis.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Without a clearcut policy stemming from the Budget, the chances are the chasm between rural and urban India will continue to grow, putting the current government in deep political crisis.

This year's budget was not like any other. The government had to announce something effective to boost a terribly upset agricultural sector. Considering the setbacks BJP suffered in the state of Gujarat and with an election coming up in 2019, it was politically imperative for Narendra Modi's government to come up with a developmental vision for the agricultural sector. Commenting on his plans for India's farmers, the Finance Minister said that his government is bringing about a 'paradigm shift' in the agricultural and rural sector. Unlike the production-centric approach of the past, India is now going to concentrate on a producer-centric approach. The crux of this paradigm shift will be to double the income of the farmers by 2022. The current government is committed to seeing agriculture as an "enterprise" and not simply a livelihood. This means that farmers are now seen as an entrepreneur and not someone who just works to fill his belly or that of the nation. What he does is not philanthropy but business. Thus, he needs to make a profit. Unlike the initial decades of India's independence, the agriculturalists can't be made the sacrificial lamb in the altar of nation's development needs. However, while the government spoke in terms of bringing about a paradigm shift in the rural sector, it committed nothing to improve the land ownership scenario of the country. Without any structural reforms, the marginal farmers continue to be marginal, owning a small parcel of land. But the government has promised to bring down the cost of farming while raising the non-farm employment for farmers. This two-pronged approach is what they believe will make agriculture profitable in India. What Jaitley refers to as a "historical decision" is the government's plan to provide minimum support price to Kharif crops. This will ensure that farmers get back 150% of the production cost of growing their crops. This is in a way help to balance the somewhat contradictory requirement of the nation: to keep food prices low while giving the farmers a profitable return. For a very long time in India, in a rush to boost production of basic industries, such as iron and steel and to appease the Indian middle-class, we have kept the food prices low. This long trend has delivered an indelible blow to Indian agriculture notwithstanding the price support introduced during the Green Revolution of the late 1960s. Surprisingly, the Finance Minister did not mention any plans to improve the nutritional standard of crops growing in India either with the help of biotechnology or not. He was more keen on developing an institutional mechanism which would help farmers to deal with perishable produce, particularly, onion, potato and tomato. The Government of India will invest 500 crores towards this scheme which is being called Operation Green, a reminiscence of the Green Revolution of the past. What is interesting in this Union Budget is that the government, rather than concentrating on "poor man's crops", such as raagi, bajra and other hardy cereals that are grown in the rainfed regions of India, is keener on developing a cluster-based model around the cultivation of horticultural crops. The government is going to spend 200 crores on medicinal and aromatic plants. Considering, all these types of plants are sensitive to their water requirements, which need to planned and regularised, there has been little said in the budget speech about expanding the scope of irrigation beyond installing pumps to make groundwater accessible. Organic farming has also received a boost with women self-help group being encouraged to practise such a form of farming. But it is yet to be seen to what extent organic farming becomes part of the mainstream agricultural practices of India. With farmers suicide, low prices, inadequate infrastructure, heavy debt burden, the Indian farming sector is not doing well at all. While these measures will go only so far in addressing the problem, the deeper structural issues remain unresolved. Inadequate landownership, limited credit opportunities and on-farm employment, sketchy ideas of sustainable farming are some of the key issues which will require sincere resolve on the part of the government to find a resolution. Without a clearcut policy stemming from the Budget, the chances are the chasm between rural and urban India will continue to grow, putting the current government in deep political crisis. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Will the Budget help India's struggling farmers?

agriculture-0

Agriculture  , News on Agriculture  , stories on Agriculture  , articles on Agriculture  , Agriculture   stories at Wion, Agriculture   news, Agriculture   latest news

agriculture 0

Availability of food remains a major concern

PM Modi announces 'high level task force' to bring structural reform in agriculture

How new technologies can avert agricultural devastation

Government raises wheat buying price by 6% ahead of 2019 elections

Opinion: Will the Budget help India's struggling farmers?