Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM’s speech at the Workshop on Agriculture at Rashtrapati Bhavan

“Let me begin by thanking respected Rashtrapatiji for bringing us all together for this workshop. I understand that the workshop is a part of the initiative on agriculture that arose out of the deliberations of the last biennial conference of Governors. We are now at the final stages of formulation of the 12th Five Year Plan and therefore this is an opportune time to discuss how we can strengthen the agricultural sector in all its dimensions. I am sure that the varied and vast experience and expertise that the participants bring to this event will result in very meaningful contributions to the cause of Indian agriculture.

The importance of agriculture to our society and economy has stayed undiminished over the years. A strong agricultural sector is necessary for our food and nutritional security and for the welfare and well being of the very large proportion of our population that is still engaged in farming. Indeed without providing livelihood security to the farmers, we cannot achieve the goal of inclusive growth in its true sense.

I believe that our government has given considerable attention to agriculture in the last seven and a half years or so. We have been able to channel nearly 4.75 lakh crore rupees of bank credit into agriculture and allied sectors. Minimum support prices for key agricultural commodities have been significantly enhanced. Indeed they have been enhanced as never before. We have increased Public investment in agriculture and with the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana given States a strong incentive to increase their involvement and their investment in agriculture. Consequently, allocation for agriculture & allied sectors as a proportion of State Plan expenditure has gone up from 4.88% in 2006-07 to 6.04% in 2010-11.

I am very happy that our agricultural policies have yielded positive result. Gross Capital Formation in agriculture and allied sectors has increased from 13.1% of GDP in agriculture in 2004-05 to 20.1% in 2010-11. Agriculture and allied sectors have grown at an estimated rate of 3.5% during the Eleventh Plan compared to the growth rates of 2.4% and 2.5% during Tenth and Ninth Plans respectively.

Our farmers have done us proud again this year. The 2nd Advance Estimates for 2011-12 indicate that the production of food grains is expected to reach the record level of over 250 million tonnes, exceeding the target for the year by 5 million tonnes. The production of cotton in 2011-12 estimated at 34 million bales is also a new record.

But we still have a long way to go. I would like to repeat here what I had stated on the occasion of the Foundation Day celebrations of the Indian Council of Agricultural research on July 16 last year- the challenges that India`s agriculture faces in the coming years remain enormous. As an illustration, to meet the total demand of foodgrains in the year 2020-2021, we need a growth rate of at least 2 percent per annum in food production. This has to be contrasted with the average annual rate of only 1 percent that we achieved in the ten year period 1995-96 to 2004-05. Although food production has regained momentum in the recent years, we cannot afford to be complacent since the demand for horticulture and animal products is increasing very rapidly and this will require some shift of area away from production of foodgrains. Therefore agricultural productivity in foodgrain production has to go up handsomely.

The broad tasks that lie ahead of us are well known. We need to increase agricultural productivity which has generally reached a plateau over the years. Yields in the Eastern regions of our country are particularly low. The gap between what is achievable and what is actually achieved needs to be bridged. For this we need to strengthen the agriculture research system, the system of extension services and ensure availability of quality inputs to farmers on time.

We also need more efficient produce markets so that farmers see tangible gains from their effort and so have the incentive to produce more. There is a big gap between the farm gate prices and the retail prices that the consumers pay. There is also volatility, with prices being low after harvest. We need to address all this by reforming the agricultural marketing systems and in investing in supply chain logistics, including the cold chain. The Minimum Support Price Mechanism for pulses and oilseeds should also be made to work more effectively.

Investment by the private sector is complementary to public investment. Accordingly, private investment is being encouraged in various areas of agriculture, including extension activities, soil testing, seed production and agricultural marketing. A substantial portion of hybrid and certified seeds today comes from private seed companies and private investment in marketing logistics will be vital for growth, particularly in sub-sectors with perishable products.

More importantly, a substantial part of our agricultural growth has to come through Research and Development efforts - through application of new technologies and new knowledge to processes of production. Therefore, we need to both invest more in agricultural research and improve its quality. And we must in turn improve the quality of the human resource engaged not only in research but also in agricultural extension and in other areas of agriculture.

The States of course have a critical role to play in all this. I would particularly stress the importance of reforms in agricultural marketing and the revitalization of the Agricultural Universities in our countries.

In the whole range of our efforts we must pay special attention to the needs of rainfed farming, which I believe is the special focus of this very important workshop. Rainfed areas contribute more than 80 percent of the oilseeds and pulses grown in our country and more than 40 percent of our total agricultural production. They account for about 60 percent of our total cropped area. Yields continue be low in the rainfed areas of our country and these must be increased not only to enhance our agricultural production but also for the benefit of the large number of farmers dependent on rainfed agriculture.

Once again, I must point out that our government’s efforts seem to be bearing fruit. The acceleration of agricultural growth after 2004 has been particularly marked in States with relatively low irrigation facilities and in the yield of rainfed crops such as pulses, coarse cereals, oilseeds and cotton. Nonetheless, rainfed farming continues to be a gamble with nature and cases of distress continue to be reported despite our efforts. We have introduced innovations such as weather-based insurance, our schemes now encourage unconventional practices such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and our scientists have created many new and appropriate technologies which are drought resistant. But these can achieve results only when they are adopted by a large number of farmers. To achieve such adoption, an enormous amount of work needs to be done in strengthening institutions and partnerships among governments, the private sector, farmers’ institutions like cooperatives, producer companies, self help groups and civil society organizations and last but not the least, the Panchayati Raj institutions.

We must also take care of two other overarching concerns while formulating our strategy for agricultural growth. These are efficient use of water, which is increasingly becoming scarce in our country, and concerns about environmental degradation, paying particular attention to reducing energy intensity in agricultural processes.

Distortions arising from pricing and subsidy regimes, which have resulted in degradation and depletion of soil through unsuitable cropping patterns and disproportionate use of resources, need to be reviewed.

While we broadly know what needs to be done, we must find new pathways and means to do solid research. And it is here that initiatives like the present one are so useful. I understand that the Committee of Governors constituted by respected Rashtrapati ji to recommend measures to enhance productivity, profitability and sustainability of Indian agriculture has already concluded two meetings. The Committee is paying particular attention to the area of farmer-industry partnership. I am told that the deliberations of this workshop will feed into the work of the Committee.

We had earlier constituted three groups to look into the issues of agricultural production, consumer affairs and public distribution system under Chief Minister of Haryana, Chief Minister of Gujarat and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission respectively. These groups have given their reports and the Ministries of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution have examined them. I am told most of the recommendations are acceptable and action on them has either already been taken or is underway.

I have no doubt that the representation of all the key stakeholders, including the concerned ministries of the central government, state governments, farmers’ organizations and industrial houses, this workshop will come up with technically sound and administratively implementable recommendations for benefit of agriculture in rainfed areas.

I once again thank respected Rashtrapati ji for her initiative on agriculture, which shows her deep and abiding interest in issues relating to farmers. I also wish all the participants in this workshop all the very best in their endeavours to contribute to the noble cause of Indian agriculture.”