Fwd: [RRA Network] Niti Aayog Document on Strategy for New India - Notes on Agriculture (Long Read)

[Ashok Kumar]

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From: Rohit Parakh <rohit...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 19, 2018, 5:49 PM
Subject: [RRA Network] Niti Aayog Document on Strategy for New India - Notes on Agriculture (Long Read)
To: asha-kisanswaraj <asha-kis...@googlegroups.com>, <rra-...@googlegroups.com>

A lot of bits from Dalwai Committee (some from outside too) make their way in this. The notes on agriculture I noted are listed below and attached here too

Full Document link here http://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Strategy_for_New_India.pdf 

 In agriculture, emphasis must shift to converting farmers to ‘agripreneurs’ by further expanding e-National Agriculture Markets (e-NAMs) and replacing the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act with the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (APLM) Act. The creation of a unified national market, a freer export regime and abolition of the Essential Commodities Act are essential for boosting agricultural growth. 

 A strong push would be given to ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’ (ZBNF) techniques that reduce costs, improve land quality and increase farmers’ incomes. This is a tested method for putting environment carbon back into the land. Therefore, ZBNF allows India to significantly contribute to reducing the global carbon footprint.

There is a need to increase the pace of generating good quality jobs to cater to the growing workforce, their rising aspirations and to absorb out-migration of labour from agriculture. 

 Of India’s total workforce of about 52 crore, agriculture employed nearly 49 per cent while contributing only 15 per cent of the GVA (Gross Value Added). Comprehensive modernization of agriculture and allied sectors are needed urgently. In contrast, only about 29 per cent of China’s workforce was employed in agriculture (Figure 2.1). Industry and services accounted for 13.7 and 37.5 per cent of employment while making up for 23 per cent and 62 per cent of GVA, respectively. 

A significant number of workers, currently employed in agriculture, will move out in search of jobs in other areas. This will be in addition to the new entrants to the labour force as a result of population growth. By some estimates, the Indian economy will need to generate nearly 70 lakh jobs annually to absorb the net addition to the workforce. Taking into account the shift of labour force from low productivity employment, 80-90 lakhs new jobs will be needed in the coming years.

“Lab to Land” time is too long. 

There has been poor progress in the development and deployment of affordable technologies for rural areas, particularly in agriculture, agro-processing, micro irrigation, etc. 

Public funded research institutions should consider shifting their focus to the development and deployment of socially relevant technologies in areas such as clean drinking water, sanitation, energy, affordable healthcare, organic farming, etc. These technologies have large potential for commercialization.

Objectives (Doubling Farmers Income)

• Modernize agricultural technology, increase productivity, efficiency and crop diversification. 

• Generate income and employment through a paradigm shift that ensures food security while maximizing value addition in agriculture.

• Create a policy environment that enables income security for farmers, whilst maintaining India’s food security. 

• Encourage the participation of the private sector in agricultural development to transition from agriculture to robust agri-business systems. 

• Promote through government policies the emergence of ‘agripreneurs’ so that even small and marginal farmers can capture a higher share of value addition from ‘farmgate to fork’. 

• Transform the rural economy through the creation of modern rural infrastructure and an integrated value chain system. 

• Leverage the value chain to boost India’s exports of food products. 

• Create occupational diversification and quality employment opportunities for doubling farmers’ income by 2022-23

Current Situation

The existing yield levels of a majority of crops remains much lower than the world average. The predominant causes are low irrigation, use of low quality seeds, low adoption of improved technology, and knowledge deficit about improved agricultural practices. Close to 53 per cent of cropped area is water stressed. Rainwater management practices and services are resource starved. This limits a farmer’s capacity to undertake multiple cropping and leads to inefficient utilization of land resources. 

Inefficient extension delivery systems have led to the presence of large yield gaps as well. Yield gaps exist at two levels in India. First, there is a gap between best scientific practices and best field practices. The second gap exists between best field practices and the average farmer. There exist significant yield gaps both amongst and within states. Yield gaps have been found to exist in even highly productive states such as Punjab. Closing these gaps provides an opportunity to enhance productivity and incomes significantly. This further implies that states with low productivity (or large yield gaps) have significant potential for catch-up growth in their productivity levels. 

Demand side factors favour the expansion of area under fruits and vegetables, and livestock products. These enterprises also offer better income. Staple crops (cereals, pulses and oilseeds) occupy 77 per cent of the total gross cropped area (GCA) but contribute only 41 per cent to the output of the crop sector. High value crops (HVCs) contribute an almost similar amount to total output as staples do, but they occupy only 19 per cent of the GCA. Research has also shown that diversification to the fruits and vegetables segment is likely to benefit small and medium farmers more than large ones.

Over the past few years, new development initiatives aimed at modernising agriculture have been introduced. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) aims to expand irrigation coverage whilst promoting water use efficiency. Area under micro irrigation has grown 2.5 times in the last four years. The second cycle of the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme is underway, which will focus on job creation and entrepreneurship development through local entrepreneurship models. So far, 3.76 crore SHCs have been distributed under the second cycle.

Constraints 1. Use of outdated and inappropriate technology is the main reason for low productivity of crops and livestock. 2. Given the pre-dominance of small and marginal farmers in Indian agriculture, affordability becomes a significant constraint on technology adoption by farmers. 3. There exist several bottlenecks hampering on-farm adoption of technology developed in public sector. 4. Agricultural research in the country is constrained by resource inadequacy, regulations and intellectual property rights (IPR). 5. Multiple private and public sources supplying different information to farmers create confusion. 6. A huge gap exists between the demand for and supply of skills in agriculture, hindering diversification, adoption of precision agriculture and on farm post-harvest value addition. 7. India has not caught up to the rest of the world in terms of technology, which has led to the dominance of inefficient production practices, such as flood irrigation, at the farm level. Renewed focus on on-ground absorption of technology, market intelligence, skills and extension and modernising trade and commerce in agriculture are needed to modernise agriculture in India. 8. Both production and marketing suffer due to the absence of adequate capital. 9. Low scale is a serious constraint on the adoption of improved practices and in the input and output market.

Way Forward Productivity and efficiency Increase area under irrigation: Irrigation coverage needs to be increased to 53 per cent of gross cropped area (GCA) by 2022-23.3 The focus should be on increasing coverage through microirrigation. Increase adoption of hybrid and improved seeds: States should take the lead through the following measures: • Dynamic seed development plans are required. These may be based on crop wise area (each season separately), seed rate per hectare used, desired/targeted seed replacement rate and crop wise seed requirement. Crop wise requirement should be worked out based on historical trends, introduction of new varieties and replacement of poor yielding varieties. • States should aim to increase the seed replacement rate (SRR) to 33 per cent for self-pollinated crops and 50 per cent for cross-pollinated crops in alternative years. 

Increase Variety Replacement Ratio (VRR): Phase out old varieties of seeds and replace them with hybrid and improved seeds to enhance productivity. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) along with State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) should develop climate resilient varieties of crops suitable for the 128 agro-climatic zones of the country, through farmer participatory plant breeding and adopting farm varietal trials from the third year of the development of the seed. Strengthen seed testing facilities: Seed testing facilities need upgradation in terms of both personnel and technical expertise. Regular performance monitoring is required to maintain the quality of test results. 

Uniform national procedure for seed licensing: To tackle the problem of heterogeneity in seed licensing procedures across states, the central government should develop model guidelines for seed licensing and support states in implementing these. 

Efficient fertilizer usage: Strengthen the SHC scheme and include not merely nine but all sixteen parameters in the tests. This will ensure SHC based fertilizer distribution at the ground level. Seed SHCs with the integrated fertilizer management system. Link SHCs with Kisan credit cards and make SHCs mandatory for subsidies. Ensure proper functioning of the SHC labs. Reorient fertilizer subsidy policy: The current lopsided fertilizer subsidy policy needs to bring secondary and micronutrients on the same nutrientbased subsidy (NBS) platform as phosphorus (P) and potash (K). 

Regulate pesticide use: Align the pesticide regulatory framework with food safety laws to make adoption broad based. Strengthen extension activities to ensure that best practices reach the average farmer. 

Custom hiring centres: Madhya Pradesh has had demonstrable success with their custom hiring centre model to hasten the pace of farm mechanization. This model should be replicated nationwide by employing rural youth and promoting entrepreneurship. 

Subsidies on liquid fertilizers: Targeted subsidy should be provided on liquid fertilizers to encourage fertigation with micro-irrigation. 

Investment subsidies for micro-irrigation: Rather than power and water subsidies, investment subsidies for micro-irrigation can be provided through the DBT mode. 

Strengthening extension systems Synergy between Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs): The ATMA programme needs to be reoriented to include bottom up planning at the district and block levels to develop Strategic Research Extension Plans (SREP).4 Further decentralization and autonomy are essential to the success of this programme. Subject matter specialists at KVKs should orient their research to the block action plans developed by ATMA. 

Public Private Partnership in KVKs: The guiding principles of ATMA provide for the promotion of PPP in extension delivery. With each KVK in possession of approximately 50 acres of land, KVKs should incubate private sector initiatives in extension delivery. 

Market led extension: Give priority to extension services that disseminate information to farmers regarding (i) crop selection (ii) demand for and supply of crop produce, (iii) expected price of commodity and (iv) availability of infrastructure facilities for storage, transport and marketing of produce. 

Value added extension: Prioritise value added extension services to enable a reduction in postharvest losses by converting raw agricultural produce to processed products. This allows for increased price realization and contributes towards increasing farmers’ income. 

District level skill mapping: ICAR and SAUs should map the demand for and supply of skills in agriculture at the district level and coordinate with skill development missions to impart the required skills to farmers and agricultural labour. 

Replicate dealer training programme in state agricultural universities: The National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management’s (MANAGE) dealer training programme should be replicated in SAUs, with diploma holders granted licences to conduct extension activities. 

Sustainable water use in agriculture: About 83 per cent of water is used in agriculture. The solution to resolving India’s imminent water crisis lies in conserving water in agriculture. Therefore, more efficient irrigation technologies, water harvesting and better crop selection must be encouraged. Diversification: promotion of high value crops (HVCs) and livestock 

High value crops Encourage diversification to HVCs: Design an incentive mechanism to wean farmers away from cereal crops to HVCs. The area under fruits and vegetables needs to increase by 5 per cent every year.

Establish regional production belts: As in the clusterbased approach, regional production belts for HVCs need to be identified and supported through the Mission on Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). Make SHCs mandatory in these belts. 

Use of hybrid technology in vegetables: Shift to using hybrid varieties for vegetables. At present, 10 per cent of the cropped area under vegetables is under hybrids. Shifting to hybrids has the potential to increase yields by 1.5 to 3 times and provide a significant increase in income.

Rootstocks for production of fruits: Rootstock technology has shown the capacity to double production and be resilient to climate stress. Measures should be taken to standardize and promote usage of rootstocks to produce fruits. 

Smart horticulture: There have been pockets of success spread throughout the country, using techniques such as high-density plantation, protected cultivation and organic production. These methods need to be documented and replicated at the national level. It is recommended that a mission on smart horticulture may be setup to identify and promote new technologies. This mission must work in synergy with various agricultural research institutions in the country. 

Strengthen market for organic products: Targeted efforts to create a market for niche products is recommended. Spices unique to a state can be branded by the Spice Board to encourage the production of organic spices. 

Convert agricultural waste: Recycling and utilizing agricultural waste would give a further filip to farmers’ income.

Livestock and fisheries Breed indigenous cattle with exotic breeds: Breeding of indigenous cattle with exotic breeds needs to be encouraged to arrest the issue of inbreeding. This will enable greater gene coverage, reduced diseases and greater resilience to climate change. 

Promote and develop bull mother farms: Employing multiple ovulation and embryo transfer technologies, these farms can significantly enhance milk productivity through the supply of cattle with enhanced milk potential to farmers. 

Village level procurement systems: Installing of bulk milk chillers and facilities for high value conversion of milk are needed to promote dairy in states. The private sector should be incentivized to create a value chain for HVCs and dairy products at the village level.

Convergence of schemes in fisheries sector: Integrate the Blue Revolution scheme with MGNREGA. Ponds created through MGNREGA should be used to promote aquaculture and can be used to create potential clusters as well. 

Capacity building for fish breeders and farmers: Establish fish co-operative organisations and run village level schemes in coordination with panchayats to disseminate best practices and research. 

Current Situation The mismatch between the contribution of agriculture to national income and share in employment has remained large and has widened. The manufacturing and service sectors have failed to absorb the excessive workforce in agriculture. Consequently, value addition per worker in agriculture grew slowly and income per farmer never crossed one-third of the income of a non-agriculture worker since the 1980s. The country took 22 years to double farmers’ income at an annual growth rate of 3.31 per cent during 1993-1994 to 2015-16; doubling farmers’ income between 2015-16 and 2022-23 will require an annual growth rate of 10.4 per cent in farmers’ real income. 

Corporate investment in agricultural infrastructure has not exceeded 2 per cent. In the years postindependence, the policy structure was focused on increased production and productivity to ensure food security for India. However, to achieve the target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022-23, we need to shift our focus from agriculture to agribusiness. The current government has taken several steps to improve private investment in agriculture. 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) was allowed in 2016-17. Similarly, the SAMPADA scheme targets creation of food processing infrastructure. The budget allocation to the food processing sector was doubled in the Union Budget 2018-19. Introduction of the Model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Act (2017), Model Contract Farming Act, new guidelines for agro-forestry are some other key policy initiatives taken over the past few years.

Constraints 

1. Fragmented land holdings Agriculture is characterised by an extremely fragmented landholding structure with an average farm size of 1.15 hectares and the predominance of small and marginal farmers, with those holding less than 2 hectares (accounting for 85 per cent of agricultural households).1 This makes it difficult for them to access credit or new technology, severely affecting farm productivity and hence, farmers’ incomes. 

2. Low price realization There exists a large gap between farm harvest prices (FHP) and retail prices (see Figure 6.1).2 Prices also tend to fall below the minimum support prices in a good production year, leading to agrarian distress. Mechanisms need to be developed to ensure remunerative prices to farmers, in both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ monsoon years. 

3. Non-farm employment Lack of non-farm employment opportunities has resulted in excessive dependence on agriculture for livelihood among both small and marginal farmers as well as among the landless.

4. Agricultural credit Despite an allocation of more than INR 11 lakh crore of commercial credit, access to institutional credit remains a constraint, especially in the case of tenant farmers. 

5. Agricultural trade Exporters of agro-commodities are not successful in raising their share in global markets because of uncertainty in the foreign trading regime. 

Way Forward • Marketing reforms Many of the constraints in marketing can be addressed by adopting the Model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Act (APLM), 2017 which provides for progressive agricultural marketing reforms, including the setting up of markets in the private sector, allowing direct sales to exporters/processors and customers, farmer-consumer markets, e-trading, single point levy of market fee, a unified single trading licence in a state, declaring warehouses/ silos/cold storage as market sub-yards and the launch of the National Market for Agriculture. APLM should be adopted by all states as expeditiously as possible. 

• Amend Essential Commodities Act The Essential Commodities Act, which has proven a disincentive to large investment in agricultural technology and infrastructure, should be replaced with a modern statute that balances the interests of farmers and consumers. 

• Stable export policy In consultation with all stakeholders, the Government of India should come up with a coherent and stable agricultural export policy, ideally with a five to ten-year time horizon and a built-in provision for a mid-term review. Efforts should be made to achieve this urgently. 

• Price realization The government should consider replacing the Commission on Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) by an agriculture tribunal in line with the provisions of Article 323 B of the Constitution. NITI Aayog should set up a group to examine the following: o Replacing the minimum support price (MSP) by a minimum reserve price (MRP), which could be the starting point for auctions at mandis. o Separating the criteria for MSPs for (i) surplus produce; (ii) for deficit but globally available products; and (iii) for products that are in deficit both domestically and globally. 

o Examine options for including private traders operating in markets to complement the minimum support price regime through a system of incentives and commission payments. Raising MSP or prices can only be a partial solution to the problem of assuring remunerative returns to farmers. A long-term solution lies in the creation of a competitive, stable and unified national market to enable better price discovery, and a long-term trade regime favourable to exports. 

Agriculture advisory service: An effective and technology driven Agriculture Advisory Service may be considered on the lines of those of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the European Union (EU). The mandate would be to ensure that farmers adopt an optimal cropping pattern that maximizes their income.

Futures trade: Futures trade should be encouraged. Removal of entry barriers to increase market depth should be considered. 

Crop insurance: PMFBY needs to be modified to - o Promote weather-based insurance. o Increase non-loanee farmers’ insurance coverage. o Allow for mixed cropping and increase the number of crops notified. 

• Contract farming Encourage states to adopt the Model Contract Farming Act, 2018: Contract farming can be thought of as a form of price futures. The contract will specify the price and quality at which the farmers’ produce will be purchased. This protects the farmer in cases where prices fall below the MSP.

 Land aggregation 

o Encourage states to adopt the Model Agriculture Land Leasing Act, 2016: The Model Act aims to improve land access to small and marginal farmers through land leasing, whilst also providing for a mechanism for tenants to avail of institutional credit. A major constraint to land leasing under the present regulatory environment is the unwillingness of landowners to lease out land due to fears of land capture by tenants. The Model Act spells out the rights and responsibilities of both landowners and tenants. Like the Model Contract Farming Act, 2018, this Act too contains provisions for dispute resolution within a specified timeframe. 

o Digitize land records: Complete digitization of land records is a must for effective implementation of land leasing. Geo-tagging, along with location agnostic online registration of land records to generate updated land records, must be carried out.

o Promote farmer producer organizations (FPOs): There are now 741 FPOs in the country, managed under the aegis of Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC). They have demonstrated that aggregating farmers can help achieve economies of scale. The benefits accorded to start-ups under the Start-up India Mission need to be extended to FPOs as well. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD’s) model of joint liability groups can be promoted to channelize small growers into the value chain.

• Research & development o Focus on precision agriculture: Support research on energy friendly irrigation pumps, micro irrigation, climate smart technologies, internet of things (IoT), and use of technology in animal husbandry to monitor animal behaviour, health and production to prepare for future challenges. 

o Raise research spending: Research spending, currently at 0.3 per cent, needs to be increased to at least 1 per cent of agricultural GDP. 

o Create a knowledge hub to disseminate best practices: It is essential that new technology be adopted at the farm level. The performance of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) should be regularly reviewed by external agencies and well performing KVKs must be strengthened to disseminate best practices at the field level. 

Develop models of integrated farming: Research so far has focused on practices for individual crops or enterprises. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and State Agriculture Universities (SAUs) should focus on providing recommendations across the farming value chain, covering production, postproduction, processing and other valueaddition activities. 

• Innovation Several breakthroughs have the clear potential for quickly doubling farmers’ income. o One is the recorded success of zero budget natural farming by Subhash Palekar. It is now being adopted across the country and providing notable increases in farmers’ net income by sharply reducing costs of production and improving incomes by raising yields and improving the quality of agricultural produce. o Two, there are patented herbal inputs that improve soil quality and make plants more pest resistant. These herbal inputs, for which actual performance data is now available for a few thousand farmers, need to be applied across the country. o Three, rapid progress has also been made in organic farming techniques, which have also helped improve incomes of cultivators and dairy farmers. These should be carefully examined for possible application across the country

• Non-farm income o Moving labour out of agriculture into manufacturing will go a long way towards the goal of doubling farmers’ income. According to estimates prepared by Chand, Srivastava & Singh (2017), nearly twothirds of rural income is generated in nonagricultural activities. In non-agricultural activities in rural areas, another avenue is shifting farmers to agro-business and farmrelated skills which are currently in short supply. Create and nurture agripreneurs for achieving greater value addition through agro-processing and propagation of modern extension services. o India will also have to accelerate growth in the manufacturing, services and exports sectors to wean labour away from agriculture. This will result in higher productivity and income for farmers. 

Current Situation Despite rapid progress, rural India suffers from an infrastructure deficit. The present government has done an admirable job in achieving full village electrification and accelerating the pace of connecting habitations through the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). Similarly, household electrification has been given a significant push under the Saubhagya scheme. 

Agriculture infrastructure, such as rural markets, warehouses, cold chain, farm machinery hubs and public irrigation need upgradation. Based on the recommendations of the Dalwai Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income, the number of additional markets required comes to 3,548. The recent 2018-19 budget announcement to develop the existing 22,000 Rural Periodic Markets (RPMs) into Grameen Agriculture Markets (GrAMs) will offer better market access to small and marginal farmers. This initiative recognises GrAMs as facilities for first stage post production activities, enabling aggregation and transport from the village level to wholesale markets. The electronic national agriculture market (e-NAM) was launched in 2016 to create a unified national market. So far, 479 mandis across 14 states and UTs have been integrated on the platform. 

The lack of an adequate and efficient cold chain infrastructure leads to massive post-harvest losses, estimated at INR 92,561crore annually. Perishables account for the bulk of post-harvest losses. Moreover, as a recent report indicates, most existing cold storages are single commodity storages, resulting in their capacities lying idle for up to six months a year. 

The cold-chain infrastructure is also unevenly distributed among states. Inadequate cold-chain infrastructure hampers India’s food exports as well. Countries across the world have stringent guidelines for import of agricultural and processed food products. The European Union (EU) has raised more notifications, issued more rejections and destroyed more consignments from India as compared to consignments from other developing countries such as Turkey, Brazil, China and Vietnam.India has huge export potential, reflected in the fact that its domestic commodity prices were below export parity prices in 72 per cent of cases. 

The present government has taken several steps to modernise the agri value chain. The SAMPADA central sector scheme aims to supplement agriculture by modernising processing activities and decreasing agri-waste. Similarly, in the 2018- 19 budget, ‘Operation Green’ on the lines of ‘Operation Flood’ was announced. This scheme aims to promote farmer producer organisations agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management of such operations.

Constraints 1. Public and private investments in agriculture have remained low since the early 90s. Bottlenecks in implementation and a high degree of uncertainty have further reduced investor appetite for agricultural investments. 2. Inability to acquire land for setting up of market yards, resulting from the restrictions on land leasing and land acquisition, is another major constraint. 

3. Even the existing marketing infrastructure suffers because of a lack of finances, manpower and proper facilities. Sub-market yards largely function as a location for government procurement and do not provide opportunities for open auction. Further, they are irregular in their operations and handle less than five per cent of the volume handled in principal yards. 

4. Poor maintenance of rural roads is a major constraint as well. Linkages with local and feeder roads remain sub-optimal. 

5. In the electricity sector, separate feeders for supply of power to agriculture and domestic electrification have not been carried out in many states. 

6. Lack of agriculture best practices hinders India’s food exports. Interventions at the farm or producer level are needed to ensure that products meet export standards. However, factors such as the lack of a traceability mechanism from the farm to the consumer, fragmented holdings and restrictions on direct procurement of products from farmers in some states makes it virtually impossible to ensure that products meet export quality standards.

Way Forward 

Markets and value chain Infrastructure status for agriculture value chains: Warehousing, pack-houses, ripening chambers, and cold storages, including those set up at the village level, should be accorded full-fledged infrastructure status to enable them to avail of the fiscal benefits that come with infrastructure status. 

Village level procurement centres: To benefit small and marginal farmers, government collection centres and warehousing facilities should be set up at the village/block level. The budget announcement of developing Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs) will help develop the agricultural marketing infrastructure and bring markets closer to the farm-gate. 

Link production to processing: Village level collection centres for fruits and vegetables should be linked to larger processing units. Actively engage the private sector in developing processing centres near rural periodic markets (RPMs). 

Food processing: A greater focus should be placed on the food processing industry for enhancing value addition in vegetable and fruit crops. The government has now shifted its attention to promoting “agripreneurs”. This will result in rapid modernization of the agriculture sector. 

Rural markets: Develop private market yards. Agro-processors and food processors that wish to establish backward integration to secure their raw material should partner with the government in organizing sourcing through the RPMs. 

Upgrade wholesale markets: Upgrade wholesale markets with facilities for temporary storage, packhouse operations and cold storage facilities 

Warehouse upgradation: Pledge financing at warehouses, through negotiable warehouse receipts (NWR), needs to be adopted and popularized as an alternative means of financing. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DACFW) should draw up guidelines to promote warehouse based post-harvest loans and e-NWR trading. 

Block level resource centres: Establish functional block level resource centres to create value chains, targeting clusters of villages along with social services. It will create an integrated solution for the farmer to access his/her requirements for agriculture and other services. It will also add to employment generation at the local level by engaging youth and creating village level entrepreneurs. 

Convergence in government initiatives: Coordination is needed between the initiatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Processing, and Commerce to develop effective procurement linkages, processing facilities, retail chains and export activity. This will facilitate synergies between various initiatives such as the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) of the agriculture ministry, viability gap funding of the Ministry of Commerce for cold chains and warehousing infrastructure development and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana of MOFPI. 

Strengthen railway freight operations: Railway freight operations should be strengthened through temperature-controlled containers and loading and unloading facilities to reduce post-harvest losses and connect land-locked states to export markets. Rural roads, electricity and mechanization 

Maintenance of rural roads through women SHGs: The maintenance of roads by women SHGs has been experimented with by some states (Uttarakhand for example) and has been found to be very promising. This model could be replicated by other states. 

Revisit criteria for identification of rural habitats for road connectivity: To ensure better inclusion, the criteria for identification of habitats for rural roads connectivity in hill and left-wing extremism (LWE) affected districts must be revisited. 

Incentivize feeder separation: All distribution companies (DISCOMs) need to be incentivized for rural feeder separation. Agriculture connections and electricity supply feeders should be separated from domestic rural electricity supply. 

Incentivize private investment in farm implements: Private entrepreneurs should be incentivized to establish small farm implement mechanization hubs for every 1000 ha and big machinery hubs for every 5000 ha of cultivated area. 

Export enablers Develop export oriented clusters: The Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been championing the development of export-oriented clusters with common infrastructure facilities. These clusters should contain a functional end-to-end cold chain system along with processing facilities. 

Increase the number of testing laboratories: There exists a shortage of testing laboratories, essential for health certificates for exports. Private laboratories should be extended financial support to achieve international accreditation. As suggested by APEDA, agricultural universities should also seek to get their labs accredited by APEDA. 

Augment cargo handling facilities at airports: APEDA has suggested augmenting the capacity of the Ahmedabad Air Cargo Complex and Mumbai Airport to handle agricultural cargo.

Green channel clearance: Efforts must be made to setup a green channel for perishable produce at identified airports handling cargo. 

Regulatory frameworks to combat rejections in export markets: Regulatory frameworks regarding use of pesticides, growth hormones, and antibiotics for marine produce need to be developed and implemented effectively to curb the rejection rate in the export market. 

Ensure traceability mechanism: Promotion of farmer producer organizations (FPOs), export-based clusters and contract farming will go a long way towards ensuring traceability of farm produce, a key export requirement. 

Energy

For agriculture, an upfront subsidy per acre of land through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) may be considered instead of providing separate subsidies for fertilizers, electricity, crop insurance etc.

Promote the use of solar pumps for agriculture. Local discoms should buy surplus power from the farmer.

To manage the demand for power, it is necessary to introduce 100 per cent metering, net metering, smart meters, and metering of electricity supplied to agriculture.

Water

Despite clear evidence of rising water stress, water is still used inefficiently and indiscriminately, particularly in agriculture. Poor implementation and maintenance of projects, absence of participatory irrigation management, non-alignment of cropping patterns to the agroclimatic zones, and absence of field channels (CAD works) are some of the challenges.

 Groundwater management 

• As on date, development of groundwater, i.e., utilization of groundwater resources vis-à-vis replenishable quantity, is 62 per cent. There is a need to develop recharging zones at identified places to make groundwater resources sustainable using check dam, farm ponds, tanks and injection wells. • Participatory aquifer management initiated in the 12th Plan National Aquifer Management (NAQUIM) under PMKSY should be strengthened through a network of partnerships to control unbridled, competitive extraction of groundwater since it is virtually impossible to police more than 30 million groundwater structures through licences and permits. • The participatory approach to encourage behavioural changes and community engagement in ground water management at the gram panchayat level as envisaged in the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) should be adopted and extended to other regions

PMKSY – Har Khet Ko Pani – envisaging enhancement of food production more than two-fold in 96 prioritized most ‘deprived irrigation districts’ in 12 states by creating irrigation facilities through tube wells, dug wells, bore wells and dug-cum-bore wells, should be expedited. This will facilitate assured irrigation in tribal and backward areas that traditionally have been deprived of canal irrigation.

Ensure proper operation and maintenance of water infrastructure with active participation of farmers/consumers.

Sustainable Environment

A major contributor to air pollution is the practice of burning crop residue, particularly in North India. Convincing farmers to discontinue the practice by providing alternative methods of disposal through economically productive use of crop residues is a key challenge. 

‘Polluters should pay for the pollution’ principle is not effectively implemented. 

Agro-forestry is hampered by regulatory restrictions. Besides, biodiversity conservation and maintenance of healthy habitats for wild life have to be aligned with sustainability goals.

Way Forward Crop residue burning To eliminate the practice of burning biomass (crop residue), the Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare should introduce suitable modifications in their guidelines of schemes for farm mechanization to provide support to farmers to purchase equipment to collect, transport and sell biomass to processing sites for economic benefits. 

The Task Force on Biomass Management, constituted by NITI Aayog under the ‘Cleaner Air, Better Life’ initiative, has made the following key recommendations in its report titled “Action Plan for Biomass Management” that need to be implemented by the central and state governments expeditiously: 

• Extend financial support to farmers in the shortterm for in-situ treatment of paddy-straw/nonburning of crop residue. 

• Create a “Clean Air Impact Fund” to provide viability gap funding (VGF) for projects with long gestation periods and low returns on investment such as bio-power or bio-ethanol projects

• Upscale technologies for crop harvesting and utilization of farm residue o Support service-based shared infrastructure. o Provide process-based incentives for entrepreneurs. o Allow accelerated depreciation for farm implements. 

• Reward and monitoring at the local level o Institute a reward scheme for village panchayats with zero burning. o Put in place a mechanism to monitor farm fires. 

• Provide regulatory support for business models for crop residue utilization o Re-assess the fuel quality criteria for briquettes/pellets made out of crop residue. o Issue directives to power plants to procure paddy-straw briquette/pellet. o Remove the size limitation for bio-power captive generation.

• Create awareness amongst farmers for better soil management practices o Plan awareness campaigns for farmers. o Recognize farmers following non-burning practices. o Design information tools for in-situ mulching and on-farm management

We should tap the huge scope that exists in agro-forestry. States and UTs may consider exemption of trees grown on private farmland from permit/transit pass. Revenue record and geo tagging should be used to verify the origin of wood and wood-based products to identify species extracted from farm forestry. 

Sustainable Agriculture should be redesigned to increase agricultural productivity and contribute significantly to achieving the vision of doubling farmers’ income by 2022-23.

Use the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change and other global funds for strengthening resilience against climate change in sectors like agriculture, forestry, infrastructure and others. 

Gender - • Ensure 50 per cent membership of women farmers in Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).

Consider creating a separate budget to bear the registration/processing fee for the registration of women FPOs. • Specially focus on skill development among women, particularly for activities such as soil conservation, social forestry, dairy development, horticulture, organic farming, and livestock rearing (including animal husbandry, poultry, fisheries). • Target agricultural extension services to women farmers as well, not just males. • Prioritize groups of women farmers seeking to lease land, water bodies, etc., at the village panchayat level. • Encourage joint registration with spouses/ sole registration of land in the name of the woman through registration fee and stamp duty concessions through special drives/awareness campaigns. • Recognize and secure women’s rights over common property resources like irrigation systems, fishing grounds, forests and water. 

Optimizing use of land resources (see image attached for land use change across years in India) - 

Objectives Ensuring that land markets function smoothly, through efficient allocation of land across uses, provision of secure property rights and titles, and clear and consistent regulations around the operations, leasing and sale of land are critical for India to achieve and sustain high economic growth. To this end, the following goals have to be achieved by 2022-23: • Legalise and ease land leasing. • Consolidate fragmented plots of farmers to enhance efficiency and equity. • Create a digitized and integrated land records system that is easily accessible in all states. • Increase efficiency in the management of forest land. • Convert waste and fallow land to productive uses 

• Strengthen property rights, especially community rights over forest land.

Current Situation As measured by the land-to-population ratio, India is one of the most land scarce countries in the world. Agriculture accounts for the bulk of land use although the sector contributed only 17.45 per cent of value added to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015. There has been a sharp fall in the average farm size from 2.28 ha in 1970-71 to 1.15 ha in 2010-11. There is an imperative need to make land available to meet the needs of a fast expanding economy and rising population with a greater thrust on vertical development

Constraints • Restrictive agricultural tenancy laws: Agricultural tenancy laws passed by various state governments between the 1950s and 1970s are highly restrictive. o Conditions on leasing: While the states of Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir prohibit leasing out agricultural land without any exception, states such as Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh allow leasing out only by certain disabled categories of landowners, such as physically and mentally handicapped persons, persons from the defence services, minors, widows, etc. 

o Lack of ease in leasing: In other states, there is no explicit ban on land leasing, but there are restrictive clauses that discourage landowners from leasing out land. 

o High informal tenancy: Due to legal restrictions, many landowners prefer to keep land fallow rather than lease it out, fearing they may lose their land rights for illegally leasing out land. At the same time, as market forces drive land leasing, there is informal tenancy in several places. Informal tenants do not have either security of tenure or access to institutional credit, insurance and disaster relief. As a result, productivity on tenanted land suffers.

• Small sized land parcels: Landholdings in India are small and highly fragmented, which not only results in diseconomies of scale, but also makes the task of irrigation management and land improvement difficult. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have completed their first round of consolidation, but further sub-division and fragmentation of land have necessitated reconsolidation. The progress in other states is either nil or negligible. 

• Absence of conclusive titling and records: Deficient land records and lack of conclusive land title result in costly litigation and adversely affects investment and economic growth.

Way Forward 1. Agricultural Land • States may consider the Model Land Leasing Act, 2016. Further details on land leasing are given in the chapter on Agriculture. • Consolidate smaller plots of land through pooling to enhance productivity. The consolidation of fragmented landholdings is essential to exploit scale economies and increase farm incomes. Pooling the land of willing farmers and organizing them into land shares or joint stock companies will allow farmers to earn dividends based on their equity shares. Farmers will also earn wages/salaries as an employee based on agricultural output.

Increase efficiency around the management of forest land • Implement effectively the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in all states to strengthen the property rights of forest dwellers, tribal populations and local communities. • Zone land on a priority basis to clearly demarcate forest and revenue lands. • Bring more area under agro forestry using wasteland, non-cultivable fallow lands, etc. • Revisit the policy on tree-felling. Encourage trees as a resource for farmers especially by easing restriction on certain species of trees. Current restrictions on inter-state and interdistrict movement of wood should also be removed.

Updating and modernization of land record systems • Beyond creating and maintaining land records, efforts must be made to update and digitize these records in a user-friendly manner. The National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP), now Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme, aims to develop a well-functioning and transparent electronic land records management system that will provide easy access to all available and relevant information to give a fair comprehensive position of any plot of land to the landowner, concerned officers/agencies and interested persons/entrepreneurs. This will improve real-time information on land, optimise use of land resources, benefit landowners and prospectors, assist in policy and planning, reduce land disputes and check fraudulent/ benami transactions.

• While most states have started digitizing their records, all states must have digitized textual as well as spatial records so that they are easily available and verifiable. In this area, commendable efforts have been made by the states of Karnataka and Gujarat. It will also be desirable to link the land record database with banks. 

• Other states should review their progress in terms of digitization and move toward complete and accessible up-to-date records. In due course, states may move towards conclusive land titling.

4. Initiating Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for wasteland development • Cultural wastelands, estimated at about 12 million ha, need to be improved and productively utilized as a potential resource. • This can be done either by gram panchayats with financial support from states/union government or through PPPs, with clearly laid down procedures and norms. • Strengthen property rights, plan urbanization and prevent land degradation. • Define and identify common land, along with details of ownership, control and use rights. • Recognize the customary land tenure system including community ownership in tribal areas. • Remove encroachments on public land to ensure that land is used efficiently. • Free estimated ceiling surplus land of over 1 lakh acres that has been under litigation for several years through speedy disposal of cases. • Define and demarcate revenue and forestland, including land used for shifting cultivation. • Plan urbanization as per master plans with greater emphasis on vertical growth. • Prevent land degradation and soil erosion through policies that promote fertilization and organic farming. 

5. Using land as resource to finance urban development • Tools such as land value capture, incentive zoning, town planning schemes, and landbased taxes like land value tax, vacant land tax, land value increment tax, etc., can be used to finance rapid and efficient urbanization. 

During the preparation of this document, the NITI Aayog consulted extensively with groups of scientists, think tanks, voluntary organizations, industry, agriculture and labour. This Annex provides a comprehensive list of these outside experts and organizations

Agriculture 

• Shri A. J. Tharakan, Member, Seafood Exporters Association of India • Shri Ajay Kumar, Adviser, Merino Group • Shri Anand Kothadiya Krishiratna, Extension Activist, Sahaydri Farmers Producer Organisation • Dr. Ashwini Mahajan, Co-Convener, Swadeshi Jagran Manch • Shri B. Ramarao, Farmer Representative, Andhra Pradesh • Dr. B Venkateswarlu, Vice-Chancellor, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth • Shri Balbir Singh Rajewal, President, Bharatiya Kisan Union • Ms. Chhaya Bhavsar, Senior Coordinator, ASHA • Shri D. Bhuyan, Director, SFAC • Dr. Gopal Naik, Professor & Dean Faculty, IIM- Bangalore • Dr. GV Srinivasan, Scientist, Spices Board

• Ms. Ishira Mehta, Director & Co-Founder, Crop Connect Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. • Shri Ishwar Lal Patidar, Chairman, Rajya Krishi Aayog, Madhya Pradesh • Shri Jalees, Researcher, Navdanya • Shri Joy P Joseph, Spice Farmer, Kerala • Kiran Vissa, National Co-Convener, ASHA • Shri K. K. Agarwal, Farmer Representative, Madhya Pradesh • Shri Krishan Bir Chaudhary, President, Bharatiya Krishak Samaj • Shri Kuldeep Singh Brar, Farmer Representative, Punjab • Shri Lalit Deora, Farmer Representative, Rajasthan • Shri P. Srinivas, Member, Warehousing Development & Regulatory Authority (WDRA) • Dr. PK Joshi, Director, South Asia, IFPRI • Shri Prakash Lohia, MD, Merino Industries Ltd • Shri Pravesh Sharma, Founder & CEO, Sabziwala.com • Prof. Anil Kumar Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwavidyalaya • Shri Puneet Jhajharia, Director & Co-Founder, Crop Connect Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. • Shri Raghunath Patil, Shetkari Sangathan, Maharashtra State • Dr. Rajaram Tripathi, National Convener, All India Farmers Alliance • Shri Rajkumar Singh Hajari, Farmer Representative, Karnataka • Shri Ramesh Kumar Yadav, Chairman, Haryana Farmers Commission • Shri Rampal Jat, National President, Kisan Mahapanchayat • Shri RG Agarwal, Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech Ltd. • Shri RS Sodhi, MD, Amul • Dr. Sandeep Kumar, Haryana State Farmers Commission • Dr. Shanti Swarup Khanna, Former Adviser (Agriculture), Planning Commission • Shri Sharad Marathe, UTS • Ms. Smita Bhatnagar, Senior Coordinator, ASHA • Shri Tshering Gyatso Lepcha, Spice Farmer, Sikkim • Shri Tushar Jagtap, Senior Manager, Sahaydri Farmers Producer Organisation • Shri V. Ravichandra, Farmer Representative, Tamil Nadu • Shri Veerpal Singh, Farmer Representative, Uttar Pradesh • Shri Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya, CEO, EkGaon • Shri Vikas Chaudhary, Farmer Representative, Haryana • Shri Vilas Shinde, MD, Sahaydri Farms Producer Company Ltd. • Ms. Vimla Sihag, Farmer Representative, Rajasthan • Dr. Vinod Kumar Bhatt, Executive Director, Navdanya • Dr. VL Patil, President, Bharatiya Krishak Samaj – Vidharbha 

Dr. Punjab Singh, President National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Pusa New Delhi • Dr. P. K. Joshi, IFPRI-South Asia Office, Pusa, New Delhi • Dr. P. G. Chengappa, Forcer Vice-Chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences • Dr. Sukhpal Singh, Professor, IIM, Ahmedabad • Shri Ashish Bahuguna, Chairperson, FSSAI, FDA Bhawan, New Delhi • Dr Gopal Krishna, Director & VC, Central Institute for Fisheries Education, Mumbai • Dr. S. Shivkumar, Chief Executive of the Agri Business Division, ITC Kolkata • Shri H K Bhanwala, Chairman & Managing Director, NABARD, Mumbai • Shri Satish Chander, Director General, Fertilizer Association of India, New Delhi • Dr. R. S. Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Federation Ltd  Shri Raghunath Dada Patil, President, Maharashtra State Shetkari Sangathan, Sangli, Maharashtra • Shri Anil Kumar Sahni, Tigra Farm • Shri Mayank Jalan, Keventer Agro Limited • Shri Sudesh Menon, Water Life • Shri Sudhir Mehta, Pinnacle Industries Limited. • Shri Rahul Mirchandani, Aries Agro Limited. • Shri Nikhil Nanda, Escorts Ltd. • Ms. Priya Nair, Hindustan Unilever • Shri Pritam Shah, Parag Milk Foods • Shri Pravesh Sharma, Former Managing Director, Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium • Dr. S K Goel, Former Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Cooperation and Marketing, Government of Maharashtra • Shri Gokul Patnaik, Global Agri System, New Delhi • Shri Prabhat Kumar Sharma

Longer list of think-tanks etc listed in other sections

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