NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO ENHANCE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
AND SUSTAINABLE RURAL LIVELIHOOD
Dr. Narayan G. Hegde
Trustee, BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune 411 058
Abstract
A majority of the Indian rural population is dependent on agro-based activities for their
livelihood, but over 30 to 35% of them are threatened by the problems of unemployment
and food insecurity. Although India has made significant progress to achieve self
sufficiency in food production, the growth of the agriculture sector has been stagnant
during the last one decade. This is a serious threat, which should be addressed through a
paradigm shift by focussing on the development of rain-fed areas and degraded lands,
whose potentials have not been fully exploited so far. India’s most successful Green
Revolution in early 70’s had aimed at enhancing food production to meet the acute
shortage of foodgrains, but the present need is to promote gainful self-employment to
enable the rural poor to earn sustainable livelihood, while enhancing food production.
This programme should essentially aim at production by masses instead of mass
production in rain-fed areas and integrated with livestock, horticulture and forestry. As
the main targets are women and weaker sections of the society, greater emphasis on
building the capacities should also be aimed. This paper is based on BAIF’s field
experience across 12 states over the last four decades. BAIF is a noted Gandhian
Organisation established by Late Dr. Manibhai Desai at Urulikanchan near Pune in 1967
serving over 3 million Below Poverty Line families in India.
Development for Sustainable Rural Livelihood
The advancement in space and nuclear technologies will soon take India to the group of
developed nations. India has already established its leadership in information technology
and heavy engineering. The challenge now is to sustain the growth and ensure economic
prosperity, particularly in rural areas. Rural development in India requires priority
because more than 65% of the population is still living in villages and over 85% of the
rural people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. More than 75% being small
and marginal holders, most of their earnings are utilised to ensure food security. With the
growing population and over-exploitation of natural resources, the pressure on food
security and employment generation will continue to mount, further affecting the quality
of rural life. Hence, it is necessary to develop a suitable strategy to improve the economy
of the rural sector through agricultural development and sustainable use of natural
resources.
To achieve rural prosperity, the development strategy should focus on improved
agricultural production while generating gainful self-employment for small farmers and
weaker sections of the society. With year-round employment, the poor can earn enough to
meet their basic needs. Agriculture is the main source of rural employment, but being
deprived of irrigation facilities, a majority of the small and marginal farmers are heavily
under-employed for 6-8 months in a year. Even under well established irrigated
conditions, the growth of the agriculture sector itself has been almost stagnant for the last
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8-10 years. Therefore, the policy makers and agriculture experts have been urging for the
Second Green Revolution to accelerate growth in the agriculture sector. However, the task
is more challenging as the potentials for enhancing crop yields have already been
exhausted in the fertile agricultural belts covered under assured irrigation.
Second Green Revolution with a new Focus
In the 70’s, India was successful in creating a Green Revolution which gave a boost to the
agriculture sector across the country. Green Revolution accelerated the yields of major
food crops such as paddy, wheat, millets and oil seeds, particularly in the states of Punjab,
Haryana, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The success was due to introduction of
high yielding varieties, development of effective agro-chemicals introduction of
mechanisation and post production technologies for storage, processing and marketing.
We need to create a similar revolution in the near future but with a focus on new areas
where the benefits of the first Green Revolution could not be harnessed earlier, as we have
already started experiencing stagnation in growth of agricultural production in the regions,
which had contributed significantly to the success of the first Green Revolution.
The first Green Revolution was launched to ensure food security as there was severe
scarcity of food in the country. Today, our food supply is well secure. Meeting the
growing needs is within reach. Therefore, the second Green Revolution should aim at
promoting sustainable livelihood, enabling the poor to come out of poverty by generating
gainful self-employment. While the first Green Revolution aimed at undertaking mass
agricultural production, the second Green Revolution should be to promote agricultural
production by the masses. This is the Gandhian approach to equitable sharing of
prosperity by involving the poor in development. For achieving this goal, we need to
search for technologies which can be adopted by the farmers in arid and semi-arid regions
and those who are dependent on rainfall for crop production.
Scope for Enhancing Agricultural Production
While rich farmers in progressive areas will continue to make efforts to increase
agricultural production through modern technologies and innovative inputs developed in
the private sector, farmers in the rain-fed areas and backward regions will depend on the
public sector research and development institutions to help them to improve agricultural
productivity on degraded lands, with low investment in agricultural inputs. Hence, it is
necessary to identify the target areas where there is good scope for improving agricultural
production and technological problems encountered by those farmers.
Agroforestry on Degraded Lands: Sustainable livelihood being the major concern, the
development focus should be on generation of employment for small and marginal
farmers, who are dependent on agricultural production on degraded lands in unirrigated
areas. Presently, these lands are not being used intensively for high value crops. In fact,
farmers often incur losses by farming on such lands, due to natural calamities. Such lands
can be profitably used for establishment of drought tolerant fruit crops and agri-hortipastures. Tree crops have the ability to withstand the vagaries of nature without sustaining
heavy losses. Tree-based farming can also provide year-round employment while
protecting the soil from erosion and runoff of rain water. Promotion of tree-based farming
will also enrich soil fertility and increase the water table while absorbing atmospheric
carbon dioxide all round the year.
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Farmers can easily earn a net income of Rs.45,000 - Rs.60,000 per ha from crops like
mango, cashew, custard apple, amla and tamarind once the orchards start bearing fruits.
Apart from foodgrains and vegetables, there are many under-utilised plant species having
food, medicinal and nutraceutical uses which can be planted as inter-crops to fetch
premium price even in local markets. Income from inter-crops can start from the first year
itself to sustain livelihood of the participant families. Therefore, tree-based farming can
improve the quality of life and protect the environment. Promotion of horticulture can
further open up opportunities for post-harvest processing and marketing opportunities not
only to add value to the produce but also to generate additional employment in rural areas.
Apart from unirrigated lands, there are large stretches of wastelands in India. Among the
estimated 40-50 million ha of wastelands, more than 9 million ha are sodic wastelands.
Most of these lands were fertile irrigated fields which have turned sodic due to excessive
use of water for irrigation and poor drainage facilities. As a result of such mismanagement of rich natural resources, the agricultural production has been seriously
affected while causing unemployment for the land owners. With reclamation of sodic
lands, it is possible to enhance food production by 50-75 million tons/annum, while
creating employment for 8-10 million people. Similarly, several million hectares of ravine
lands remaining idle for decades can be brought under agri-silvi-pasture system while
improving the local economy and the biodiversity.
For enhancing agricultural production on the above type of degraded and unproductive
lands, it is necessary to introduce new technologies which can help in proper diagnosis of
various problems and develop suitable solutions to address them.
Following are some of the technologies useful while developing degraded lands and
improving agricultural production in the country.
Water Quality, Conservation and Utilisation:
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2.
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Ground water survey, water current and storages
Soil water content and techniques for easy measurement in the field
Water requirements of crops to determine irrigation schedule
Measuring salt and mineral contents in water and soils
Technology for improving the quality of irrigation water
Soil quality Improvement:
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2.
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Technology for chelating / precipitating harmful salts and minerals in soil
Eco-friendly techniques for faster decomposition of stones and rocks
Technology for cracking / breaking sub-surface hard / clay pans
Improvement in soil texture enhance soil productivity and water holding capacity
Nutrition Management:
1. Identification of microbes for accelerating bio-composting, facilitating efficient
uptake, fixation and production of nutrients
2. Acceleration and production of plant growth hormones, growth promoters, flower
inducers, fruit setters, fruit ripeners
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Crop Protection:
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Genetic manipulation for improving crop yields and quality
Bio-fungicide, bio-pesticides, disinfectants,
Eco-friendly techniques for sterilisation, control of pests and diseases
Techniques for drying and storage of seeds and food grains
Foodgrain storage using techniques like low humidity, oxygen free chambers
Techniques for long shelf life of fruits, vegetables and other food products
Post- harvest Management:
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2.
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Safe techniques (chemical free) of food preservation
Low cost dehydration of fruits and vegetables
Protection of natural colours and flavours in processed food
Quick field tests to assess the pollutant levels in food products
Technology for killing pathogens present in fresh and processed food
Dairy Husbandry: Livestock development is another important opportunity to provide
gainful self-employment and food security for the poor. A majority of the small farmers
in India who do not have good quality land for agriculture, are dependent on livestock for
supplementary income. Small farmers consider livestock as an important asset for earning
their livelihood. Therefore, livestock is well distributed among the weaker sections of the
community unlike land holdings. Among different species of livestock, cattle and
buffaloes are widely maintained because of social acceptability and potential for
generating substantial income. Promotion of dairy husbandry along with agri-hortipasture, traditionally known as mixed farming, can generate remunerative employment for
small farmers throughout the year.
India has the largest population of livestock in the world, but its production potential has
not been optimally tapped so far. It is only during the last 2-3 decades that the dairy sector
has made significant progress to increase milk production to meet the domestic demand of
100 million tons/year. However, the demand for milk is steeply rising and is expected to
reach 180 million tons/year by the year 2022. The demand for meat is also expected to
increase by 3-4 folds by this period. This can provide greater opportunity for small
farmers to expand their dairy husbandry programme.
It has been very well demonstrated by BAIF and many Dairy federations that there is
scope for increasing milk production without increasing the livestock population.
Probably, dairy husbandry is the only programme where poor families are able to build
new assets every year in the form of crossbred cows, each worth over Rs. 25,000. There
are also proven technologies to improve the supply of superior quality feeds and fodder,
particularly to facilitate even the landless to take up dairy husbandry successfully.
Promotion of forage shrubs and trees on degraded lands and backyards, treatment of
agricultural by-products to improve the nutritional qualities and establishment of
decentralised complete feed production units can be popularised by providing technical
and infrastructural support. There is also a need to strengthen veterinary health care
through an extensive network of vets and para-vets to ensure good health, which has a
direct impact on the cost of milk production and the quality of milk.
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There is also scope for promoting sheep and goat husbandry, piggery and poultry for
farmers who are unable to adopt dairy husbandry. Livestock being the major source of
organic manure, animal husbandry should be an integral part of agriculture. With the
introduction of agricultural implements to improve the efficiency, preferably operated by a
single animal, bullock power can become an ideal farm power for small farmers. Thus
tree-based farming, particularly agri-horti-pastoral system linked with livestock
development, can help in boosting the agricultural production while providing gainful selfemployment to small farmers.
Following are the areas requiring new technologies to increase the productivity of the
livestock industry:
1. Genetic improvement for enhancing production and quality
2. Sexing of semen and embryos
3. Diagnostic kit detecting heat, pregnancy and diseases
4. Induction of disease resistance
5. Development of low cost, thermo-resistant vaccines
6. New technologies for increasing hygiene and sanitation
7. Preventing afflotoxins in cattle food and methods for treating such feeds
8. Low cost animal health care using nuclear and light therapies
9. Improving the digestibility of inferior quality feed and fodder
10. Development of protein rich animal feeds through microbial digestion of wastes
11. Production of spirulina, single cell protein, Azolla, etc. for feeding livestock
12. Diagnosis of infertility problems and development of hormonal treatments
13. Techniques for clean milk production
14. Low cost cooling and processing of milk, meat and other food products
15. Value addition for milk, meat and other products
16. Efficient production of biogas from dung and animal wastes
17. Management and recycling of animal wastes and dead animals
18. Reduction in release of methane and carbon dioxide.
Efficient Management of Water Resources: Water is a crucial input required to
enhance agricultural production. As most of the small farmers are living in arid and semi
arid regions and deprived of irrigation facilities, promotion of watershed development
schemes and sustainable use of all the available water resources should be ensured to
improve the crop yields. Fortunately, adequate financial support is available from various
sources to accelerate this programme. In the absence of adequate water conservation
measures, water scarcity is likely to be a serious bottleneck in the future.
Water crisis can be a serious problem with the anticipated global warming and climate
change. With increasing exploitation of natural resources and environmental pollution, the
atmospheric temperature is expected to rise by 3-50C in the next 75-100 years. If it
happens, most of the rivers originating from the Himalayas may dry up and cause severe
shortage of water for irrigation, suppressing agricultural production by 40-50%. Rainfall
is expected to be erratic and the water requirement for crops is likely to increase due to a
significant increase in evaporation and transpiration losses. Therefore, greater awareness
needs to be created to make efficient use of water resources and to prevent global warming
through environmental protection as an integral part of Green Revolution.
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There is scope for introducing new technologies in the following areas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Efficient harvesting and storage of rain water
Reducing loss of water by evaporation in reservoirs and tanks
Reducing ground water pollution
Cost effective filtration of water for drinking
Development of alternate and renewable sources of energy for rural uses
Technologies for low water consumption by crops and trees
Capacity Building: To ensure agricultural prosperity, involving rural masses particularly
those at the bottom of the pyramid, it is necessary to build the capabilities of the
participant families, particularly the women. Status of rural women has a direct influence
on the agricultural production in India, as about 65-70% of the labour in crop production is
contributed by women. Thus, women empowerment is the pre-requisite to boost
agricultural production. Unless we undertake drudgery reduction, community health care,
nutritional and educational programmes for children and training in various skills, women
will not be able to contribute to agricultural improvement. As they are semi-literate and
often lack confidence, it is necessary to provide various essential services at their
doorsteps by posting well-trained para-extension workers selected within the community.
They need mentors at the grassroot level, who can be approached any time, to seek
solutions for their problems.
Formation of Self Help Groups of farmers having common interests and user groups can
be encouraged for awareness and motivation of the fellow farmers. Generally, the poor
farmers who have been experiencing failures, are likely to develop a dependency
syndrome. These families need regular support and peer group pressure to take active part
in various development initiatives. Such support can be provided by the members of the
user groups to one another. It is also easy and effective to communicate with the members
through their group leaders.
While there are solutions to address the anticipated technical problems, it is essential to rebuild the infrastructure to establish backward and forward linkages while launching
various programmes. Presently, the organisations which deal with agricultural extension,
input supply, credit and marketing at the village level are extremely weak. It is necessary
to strengthen them. Many of these functions can be taken over easily by the People’s
Organisations.
In rural India, where the poor and illiterate people are lacking initiatives, any approach
with a “supply push” is not likely to work. Thus, most of the Below Poverty Line families
are not able to take advantage of various development schemes. We need to create a
“demand pull” through awareness among the poor, about various opportunities and
motivate them to take active part in socio-economic development. The local communities
particularly, those belonging to the weaker sections of the society, who represent over 6570% of the rural population, should demand for the services to fulfil their needs, instead of
the donors and traders imposing their ideas and products in rural areas. We need to build
their capabilities and confidence to a level, when they will start demanding for various
inputs and services. They need hand holding in the initial stage. Subsequently, the
organisations of local people – self help groups and federations can take the responsibility
of mentoring and facilitation. The people should own their programmes.
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There are many unsolved problems affecting the quality of life of the people living in rural
areas. Some of the important challenges which need to be addressed are presented below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Rapid diagnosis of the quality of drinking water
Pumping of water from tube wells and open wells in the absence of power supply
Water filters operated without power supply
Easy techniques of maintain hygiene and sanitation
Technology for preventing contamination of food from pathogens
Techniques for promoting literacy among adult illiterates
Concluding Remarks
As rural poverty is a serious problem in India, we need to launch agricultural production
through promotion of agri-horti-pastures on marginally productive and wastelands and
livestock development, particularly dairy husbandry with a special focus on generation of
gainful self-employment for the poor and weaker sections of the society. The programme
should enhance agricultural production by involving a large number of small farmers and
integrate with women empowerment, literacy and development of community
organisations, for ensuring its success. Such a comprehensive programme can empower
the rural poor to come out of poverty and enable the country to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, identified by the United Nations, for a sustainable future.
The target areas being located in remote areas, they are deprived of basic amenities.
Moreover, as the target population are poor and illiterate, there is a need to develop low
cost economically viable technologies at the lower scale of operation. Such technologies
can empower the poor to take active part in the process of strengthening the economy of
the country.
Dr. Narayan G. Hegde is a Trustee of BAIF. He has Post Graduate Degrees in
Horticulture from the University of Pantnagar and University of Hawaii, Diploma in
Agricultural Management from IIM Ahmedabad and Ph.D. in Economics from the
University of Pune. During his 35 years of association with BAIF in various capacities,
including as the President and Managing Trustee for 15 years, Dr. Hegde has been
promoting conservation of natural resources, community forestry and sustainable
agriculture with a strong emphasis on environmental protection for ensuring sustainable
livelihood to rural poor.
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