A plan for the winter crop

Source: This post is created based on the article ‘A plan for the winter crop’, published in The Indian Express on 3^rd October, 2023.

Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3, Agriculture

News: The Indian monsoon’s deficit has led to variations in crop cultivation. Now the issue at hand is the government approach towards balancing the price of agri-commodities.

What are the challenges in front of agriculture sector?

The Indian monsoon for the year ended with a 5.6% deficit compared to the long-period average.

However, the area planted under paddy and sugarcane has increased, while the area under pulses, especially arhar, has decreased.

The area under arhar saw a 4.9% fall, leading to a price inflation of 32% in August.

What are the steps that government is considering?

To control the rising tur prices, government is considering importing a million tonnes from African nations and Myanmar.

TO tackle the threats from heat waves, government departments have released heat-resistant wheat varieties.

What are the steps taken by the government and what are the issues associated with it?

Faulty government estimates: There’s a significant gap between the government’s wheat production estimates and trade estimates, leading to inflationary market expectations.

Regulating the prices by offloading: The FCI sold wheat below its economic cost to match the market prices with the MSP. It resulted in a loss for wheat farmers.

While the poor section of the country is benefitted by large-scale distribution of free wheat and rice under the PDS. The government’s approach of controlling market price seems to favor urban middle-class consumers over producers,

Export bans: To prevent further price hikes, an export ban on wheat was placed in May 2022. Yet, inflation kept increasing, reaching 25% in January 2023.

What steps should be taken?

First, government should upgrade the traditional production estimate system to a more technologically advanced one.

The system should be able to effectively monitor crop progress, settle insurance claims, and provide timely data to the government.

Second, shift from a purely “production-centric” approach to a more holistic “food systems” approach in agriculture.