exporters . Coffee , Rice , Cotton , Rubber and many more agri commodities are exported and helps earn valuable foreign exchange . Thanks to the hard-working farmers , agriscientists , policy support and infrastructure . Also , political stability and economic liberalisation .
We will all agree that availability of food is no longer in question . Affordability of food is however another question altogether . The Wholesale Price Index of January 2016 shows a12 % inflation for fruits and vegetables and a shocking 44 % inflation for pulses . And traditionally winters are when food availability is more and at cheaper prices . Malnutrition also remains an issue ; a badly kept secret that continues to weigh heavily on our national conscience . Making a distinction between accessibility and availability the first myth that needs correction is that “ the poor and vulnerable are dying for lack of food ”. There could be nothing further from the truth . It ’ s not “ lack of food ,” it ’ s about their ‘ lack of access to food .’ The emergence of hidden hunger among the poor cannot be ascribed to the lack of availability of food . Instead of questioning scientific intent & trying to limit scientific progress , the call of the hour is that of affirmative action to address this problem .
Assessing the ground situation
Farmer hunger has many causes but the most telling is this statistic : India ’ s total land under cultivation has remained fixed at 140-150 million hectares for over 40 years , but the number of farmers trying to make a living from farming has doubled . We are adding one crore additional farmers every five years – a demographic gift rather than a dividend . The average size of an Indian farm holding has fallen from two hectares to 1.15 between 1976 and now , and it is falling further . Indian agriculture is no longer competitive . It just cannot support itself . Lack of irrigation , limited farm technology and climate change have been detrimental to farm output . Farm wastage , the lack of cold-chains , and the damage done by minimum support prices has aggravated matters further . To attribute the ills of Indian agriculture to farm technology ( of all things ) disregards real socio-economic issues . Is this linked to the green revolution ? Absolutely no .
Clearing air on misconceptions
The Green revolution was never about promoting so called ‘ chemical agriculture .’ It was an improvement over traditional agriculture and was designed to ensure better returns on investment for the farmer ( linked to the greater good of ensuring food sufficiency for a hungry nation – which incidentally it did ). The Green revolution allowed farmers to become professionals , as they could now predict their yields given a new found ability to follow a recommended package of practices . At the same time it did not exclude the applications of organic manure . It advocated the use of organic manure and strongly advocated crop rotation , mixed and inter-cropping . Hence , linking the green revolution with an overdose of chemical poisoning is not just inappropriate but also a misleading exaggeration of its intentions . As is the foolish attempt to convince India that organic agriculture can completely replace modern agriculture and wipe out poverty and hunger .
PROF H E SHASHIDHAR , PROF VIJAYAKUMARA SWAMY AND MR SUMANTHA HOLLA ,
Ph . D scholar are based at Department of Plant Biotechnology , College of Agriculture , University of Agricultural Sciences , GKVK , Bengaluru , Karnataka . The team has been involved in various research initiatives in agriculture biotechnology .
BIOVOICENEWS . COM 17