Agriculture & Allied Sectors Mid Term Appraisal

1. TENTH PLAN Agriculture & Allied Sectors Mid Term Appraisal

2. MTA Prime Concerns • Slow growth – 1% in the first three years. • Decline in public investment. • Low productivity levels. • Low growth in input use. • Recurrent drought • Degradation of natural resources • Stagnation in livestock/ fisheries development • Stagnation/Decline in cereal consumption.

3. Initiatives Accelerate growth through: • Increased investment by public/ private sectors. • Increased productivity of crop/livestock/fisheries • Encourage diversification. • Promote horticulture and allied activities. • Reduction of Post Harvest losses. • Development of markets – Contract farming – Direct Marketing. • Increase of agricultural exports.

4. Stepping up investment • Irrigation: • Completion of 388 major/medium irrigation projects. • Improve water use efficiency through drip, sprinkler and other water saving devices. • Flood control, drainage & water logging. • Watershed management: • Reclamation of wasteland / degraded land. • Integrated treatment of drought prone areas . • Stabilization of fragile eco systems. • Infrastructure Development • Roads, Markets, Processing, Storages & Godowns.

5. Enhance Productivity • Crop productivity: • Relevant research (ICAR-SAU-KVK) • Improved hybrid seed • Fertilizer • Water management • Extension services. • Livestock productivity • Livestock breeding policy – selected indigenous breeds. • Genetic upgradation of cattle: buffaloes and ruminants. • Disease control. • Fisheries productivity • Increasing aquaculture and marine fisheries, improved gear, landing site and fishing vessels for deep sea fishing,. • Leveraging strength of private sector in extension and marketing.

6. Managing Drought • Concern - Against state plan outlay of Rs.92143 crores for the water resources sector, expenditure only 30%. • Greater emphasis on watershed management. • Diversify into less water intensive crops. • Promote dry land systems farming approach, livestock, dairy, poultry in areas with less than 500mm rainfall. • Promote horticulture, floriculture through adoption of micro irrigation – drip, sprinkler.

7. National Horticulture Mission • Launched with an outlay of Rs.2300 crores to double horticulture production by 2012. • Will adopt regionally differentiated area specific, cluster approach. • Will address development of infrastructure for production, quality planting material, post harvest management & marketing. • Technology led development making use of precision farming practices including micro irrigation, fertigation, tissue culture etc; • Micro irrigation programme to be launched shortly.

8. Market Reforms • Essential for securing remunerative prices to farmers/growers • To ensure assured market for farmers through contract farming/direct marketing • Essential for integrating the supply chain production with processing and marketing. • Nine States and four UTs have amended APMC Act, partial reforms by six States, action initiated by 13 States and 3 UTs.

9. Information Access • Commodity exchanges for price discovery/risk management. • Important agri markets being provided internet connectivity for dissemination of price and market related information. • 1200 markets already connected giving real time price information in respect of more than 300 commodities and 2000 varieties. • 2700 markets planned to be connected by March, 2007.

10. Post Harvest Technology • Current level of losses – Rs.60000 crores per annum. • Foodgrains(10%), Horticulture(30%), Dairy (1%), Fisheries (15%), Livestock (3%). • Thrust Areas – Value Addition through • Primary & Secondary processing • Scientific storage and cold chain facilities • Packaging and transport • Infrastructure linking produce to market.

11. Marketing Season Procurement under DCP Rice Wheat 2003-04 78 15 2004-05 88 21 Decentralized Procurement Benefits • Helps farmers in non traditional states get remunerative prices • Savings in freight costs and ease transport congestion. • Consumers get foodgrains of their choice produced locally • States benefit by way of higher revenue • Operational in 10 States • State expenses reimbursed (Lakh MTs)

12. Strengthening PDS • PDS an important part of government’s food policy. • Target 2005-06 - identification of an additional 50 lakh at the risk of hunger. • Grain Banks to be set up in chronically food scarce and inaccessible areas • Reports about large scale diversion of foodgrains to be addressed. • States to hasten identification of BPL Households.

13. Task Ahead • Step up investments in agriculture to achieve 4% growth. • Improve productivity of crop & livestock. • Speed up completion of ongoing irrigation projects. • Water use efficiencies through drip & sprinkler. • Undertake watershed development on large scale. • Close monitoring to expand credit cover for farmers. • Revitalize rural credit cooperative system. • Strengthen research & extension support system. • Balanced use of fertilizers & other inputs. • Expedite reforms in APMC Act. • Improve international competitiveness of agricultural products and become a global player.

14. “everything else can wait, but not agriculture” -- Jawaharlal Nehru