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Decision on wheat duty in final stages of agri ministry’s consideration
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Saturday, 25 March, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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The decision to impose import duty on wheat (or not) is in the final stages of consideration by the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare. This was stated by Shobhana K Pattanayak, secretary, department of agriculture, co-operation and farmers’ welfare, inaugurating a conference on integrated water resource management for increasing farmers’ income, which was organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and took place in New Delhi.
“However, the ministry has not proposed any increase in the duty. That is under process. Although it is being considered, no decision has been taken,” he added. Pattanayak also stated that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was going to procure wheat on a massive scale. He added, “We have a target under FCI now, so the prices are above the MSP (minimum support price), and so far nothing has happened.”
He rued the fact that when people get access to water, they immediately switch over to water-intensive crops, which is not the right practice. “We must try to economise the use of water in the sense that you can share it with others or by growing more crops.” Pattanayak stated that the government was laying special emphasis on the watershed approach to agriculture. “For all these years, our emphasis has been on irrigation projects and irrigated areas, but what is the thrust area for dry land areas,” he asked.
Pattanayak said that dry land areas necessarily have to adopt a water-shed approach, and they should also be growing climate-smart crops. He added, “The time has come not to feel shy of growing paddy or sugarcane, because most of the land is dry land, and it is more suitable for growing climate-smart crops like millets and pulses.” Terming the increase in pulse production as a revolution, Pattanayak said that between last year and this year, pulse production had increased by five million tonnes.
“Last year, the pulse production was to the tune of 16.4 million tonnes, but in one single year, we have caught up by five million tonnes, which has been made possible by farmers and a host of beneficial factors - high prices in the market, the MSP declared by the government, the availability of seed and others,” he added.
Pattanayak said that farmers could make a good living by growing millets and pulses by getting linked to markets and with some form of processing. “If the supply chain of the farmer can be really linked, then I am certain that this will be an economic and viable proposition, and we can battle the climate change and make the most judicious use of water,” he added.
He said that two or three types of protected irrigation were needed to grow millets and pulses, of which the first is fed by monsoon or residual moisture available in the soil. “The second and third are what I need to just give, and that is what I need to plan. If I can plan that, this country can become self-sufficient in pulse production,” Pattanayak said.
He added that oilseeds was another crop which can really address the issue of climate change, as they are grown on marginalised lands, which hold great scope. “This year also, the production has been really good, but it will take time to reach self-sufficiency, because about 70 per cent of our total demand for oils is imported, but all these three crops are still available for farmers, and when we speak about doubling their incomes, this must be kept in mind,” Pattanayak said.
”The problem is that I do not double my income if I do not make proper use of my natural resources. If I can do so I can double it, and I must grow for the market,” he added. Pattanayak said that apart from the critical input in terms of managing water, there is also the need to critically manage inputs like fertilisers, seeds and others.
“The government has put in place a large number of schemes. We do not have to invent or discover something new, but there is a question of how efficiently we implement these schemes at the field level, and this calls for participation by everyone and not just by government functionaries. Therefore all the stakeholders - the government, the private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), agriculturists, scientists and others - have to play significant roles,” he added.
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