Madhya Pradesh Agri-Revolution: The journey till date

The first panel discussion ‘What made Madhya Pradesh’s agriculture programme succeed’ focused on the journey of Madhya Pradesh till now. This conversation was around the evolution of the state in agriculture and different factors that enabled the evolution. dignitaries that participated in this discussion included: (in alphabetical order) Rama Chari, head, Materials Science division, RRCAT; Narendra Dhandre, DGM, Netafim; D N Pathak, Executive director (Ed), SOPA; and Rajnikant Rai, CEO, ITC-agro. this session was moderated by R N Bhaskar, Consulting Editor.

THE BACKGROUND PERSPECTIVE
Rajnikant Rai, CEO, ITC-agro: Let us take a moment to understand the progress of agricultural sector in Madhya Pradesh and the factors behind the same. Madhya Pradesh, over the past ten years or so, has seen area under irrigation go up tenfold. This has naturally enhanced productivity of land under cultivation.

Wheat output in this period has gone up five times, and Madhya Pradesh has displaced the traditional leader Haryana from the top position. The state has multiple varieties of wheat at price points from Rs 15-25 per kg. Farmers in this state are lucky, because this state has given the best realisation to farm produce consistently and across categories over the past ten years. The prices are supplemented by bonus amounts from the state government. The downstream industry is active, particularly in soya. Twenty years ago, soya output was 10 lakh tonnes. Since then, it has peaked at 65 lakh tonnes. Soya is an industrial crop and has helped farmers invest back in their agriculture activity.

The mandi system in Madhya Pradesh is also supportive. Distances to mandi are longer but facilities within the mandi and process of transparency are quite excellent. Given that land holdings in Madhya Pradesh are larger than average, the scope for structured finance is better and indeed the Kisan Credit Card has been well utilised.

Narendra Dhandre, DGM, Netafim: In terms of irrigated area, Madhya Pradesh is high at 44 percent, However within this, the micro irrigation share is marginally. When you look at annual micro irrigation targets set by states, most are in the range of 2-2.5 lakh hectares. Madhya Pradesh targets are around 0.5-0.6 lakh hectares whereas it has among the largest areas under cultivation in India. Clearly potential is massive and emphasis is needed. It is proven that productivity, especially in vegetables, can rise by 50 percent through micro irrigation.

THE SOYA CONUNDRUM
D N Pathak, ED, SOPA: If we look at soya specifically, the last four-five years have not been good for the industry. Globally, soya production has risen sharply in this period, going up to 350 million tonnes. This has seen a sharp decline in prices. As far as the domestic processor is concerned, the soya cake is of paramount importance. If that is not exported in remunerative terms, the business economics are hit. Our productivity is one third compared to large producers like Argentina, who are naturally in a better position to drop prices and sell their output.

The last two years’ monsoon has been unfavourable towards the soya production areas (Marwah) and therefore the dependence on buyers has gone up. Thus, reducing farmers bargaining ability. Farmers therefore start switching crops which is understandable. The terrain is difficult and hence irrigation penetration is also less. For a soya cultivator, it is important to cultivate good practices. Productivity is the key. So all can benefit— farmer, processor and consumer.

Narendra Dhandre: Economics of drip irrigation in the case of soya are not as attractive as other crops.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MANDI TODAY
Rajnikant Rai: The mandi concept was introduced in the seventies. Today connectivity is better, India is a bazaar and each company is an equal opportunity for the seller. Those days you needed collective bargaining and the mandi was important.

Today you can negotiate if you deliver quality produce and promise reliability.

D N  Pathak: When you go through the mandi route, there is a Rs 70-100 per quintal cost that the producer/ seller has to bear and there is no tangible benefit to the buyer. If the farmer connects directly, this can be avoided.

GOVERNMENT AGENCY SUPPORT
Rajnikant Rai: India imports 17 million tonnes of edible oil which is 70 percent of the domestic consumption. All this means prices cannot be fixed by the Indian producers. The government can have a duty structure to protect the domestic producers. Beyond that, it is only productivity that would help.

Rama Chari, head, Materials science division, RRCat: Our institution is an arm of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). The DAE has for long been working on improved seed varieties, especially in pulses. Our method of improving seed quality is by mutation. The mutation process is accelerated through irradiation.

Mutation increases hardiness of the seed and helps mitigate the climate change impact on yields. Today 42 varieties of such seeds are commercially available, which is the DAE contribution. We have, of course, a pipeline of such offerings. There is a three-year trial period and once the trials are successful, ministry approvals are obtained for the commercial release.