Grain Gain

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Grain Gain
Presentation by S Viswanathan (SV) Agriculture
Consultancy Management Foundation (ACMF)
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Objective A Green Dream

• Double Foodgrain Production
• Revive the Green Revolution
• Benefits Largest Numbers

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Agriculture is an important focus area for India

• Tremendous impact on Economic growth 22 of GDP
• Nearly 60 (gt600 million) of population directly
  involved in agriculture
• Favorable climate all year around
• Favorable politico-economic situation

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Impacts economic growth and large proportion of
population

• Nearly 600 million Indians depend directly on
  Agriculture (54)
• 210 million depend on Manufacturing (19)
• 300 million depend on Services (27)
• Agriculture contributes around 22 of GDP
• Manufacturing contributes 27
• Services contributes 51 (IT services 3)

Agriculture
Manufacturing
Services
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Indias climate favorable all year around

• India well endowed with largest area of arable
  land 420 million acres
• Climate favorable all year around
• Farming possible round the year unlike in
  Europe, China or most parts of the US, where
  agricultural operations possible only for 5-6
  months a year

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Favorable Politico-economic Climate

• Federal government anxious to accelerate growth
• Prime minister sets 4 farm growth. This will be
  necessary to achieve a 10 GDP growth
• Government interested in ensuring that growth is
  sustainable and manageable
• Pressure from global competition e.g. WTO

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Green Revolution in the 1960s was a great success

• The Green Revolution initiative
• From ship-to-mouth to food surplus
• Saw regional shifts based on economics and not
  local consumption (e.g. Punjab state)
• Foodgrain production increased from 72 million
  tonnes in 1967 to 108 million tonnes in 1971 an
  increase of 50 in just 4 years

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But we have not built on initial success over the
next 35 years
Production in Million Tons

• For the last 5 years, 2000-2005, food production
  has remained stagnant at around 200 million
  tonnes.

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In addition India has low yields compared to the
rest of the world

• Many US farms produce 60 tonnes of tomatoes per
  acre compared to lt10 tonnes per acre for an
  Indian farm

• Farmers in California produce 8.5 tonnes of rice
  per acre compared to Indias average of lt1 tonne
  per acre

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Indias lack of progress in agriculture is due to
several factors

• Fragmented, small land holdings
• Lack of agro-climatic focus
• Lack of technology and management inputs
• Fertilizer companies traditional focus on NPK at
  the expense of micronutrients and soil analysis

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Lack of Agro-Climatic Focus

• Many states in India produce similar food grains
  across the country (e.g. rice in West Bengal,
  Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.)
• But, agro-climatic zones vary around the country
  and are conducive for specific, targeted
  varieties of crops
• In the US, each state has selected what is most
  suitable to its endowments
• States well endowed with water such has Illinois,
  Indiana focus on corn and wheat
• States like California and Florida focus on
  horticulture, nuts, other exotic crops
• Hawaii focuses on pineapples and sugarcane

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Technological and Management Inputs

• Lack of adequate scientific information is a
  common problem
• The Federal government owns and operates advanced
  information networks to monitor weather patterns,
  rainfall, soil conditions etc.
• through advanced satellite mapping
• through research institutions
• Agriculture is predominantly a state subject in
  India. Knowledge assimilated at the Federal
  level is not fully percolating to the end farmer

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Change Focus of Fertilizer Companies

• The second Green Revolution demands attention to
  soil
• Soil analysis should be more comprehensive
• Done not just of N, P and K
• Sharper focus on micro-nutrients needed

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We have the Infrastructure to do this!

• Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Fertiliser companies
  already have a lapse
• These needed to be tailored for a close analysis
  for micro-nutrients
• We have the infrastructure only links missing
• India is strong in satellite imaging.
• Extensive mapping has already been done
• Missing links Interpreting these to the farmers
• Well-spread engineering and science colleges can
  be trained to do this
• The system of using sprawling post office network
  can help
• A village post office can help dispatch a sample
  to the laboratory and also to deliver a report in
  quick time

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What Needs to be Done

• Precision farming
• Soil analysis
• Tilling techniques
• Mechanization
• Agglomeration of land
• Three-pronged farm management strategy
• Demonstration farms
• Corporate involvement
• Infrastructure
• Governments role as facilitator

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Precision farming

• Soil analysis
• Soil needs to be tested for micronutrients lack
  of nutrients, minerals to be compensated
• Tilling techniques
• Till deeper instead of wider in California, land
  tracts tilled up to 24 inches in India tracts
  tilled up to 3 inches
• Inadequate reach of nutrients, water to roots
• Increased farm mechanization
• This requires consolidation of farms / land

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Three-Pronged Farm Management Strategy

• Demonstration farms
• Tilling
• Fertilization and pest control
• Irrigation
• Total farm management
• Corporate involvement
• For management and scientific inputs
• Produce handling and distribution infrastructure
• Processing
• Marketing

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Increased Farm mechanisation Tilling deeper
itself can help a lot

• Water and the fertiliser will effectively reach
  the roots
• This will call for a measure of mechanisation
• Simple implements like Sechell Shank inserts and
  disc ploughs can help
• Of course, this will mean more demand for steel

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Looking at what this will mean to the Steel
producers

• Rural India has not been a great consumer of
  Steel
• Focus on simple tools and implements can
  stimulate huge demand for Steel
• Should generate gainful employment and help
  retained skilled talent in the rural areas

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Citys dominance will diminish India will also
thrive on farm based economy

• Western Pundits predicts the rate of urbanization
  can be decelerated
• Doubling of farm incomes will impact massively on
  the rural economy
• Rural households can then spend on education,
  health, insurance and a whole lot of consumer
  goods
• The gap between the modern India and the
  traditional Bharath will be bridged.

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Case studies Pockets of farming success exist in
India

• Contract farming
• Pepsi
• ITC
• Tata Chemicals
• Increased yield using micronutrient analysis and
  total farm management
• Gemini Farms

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Women empowerment
Women self help group at Babrala village in the
state of Uttar Pradesh, India,
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IT in agriculture
Assisting with farm inputs and weather patterns
to market information and global prices,
computers are becoming powerful tools
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Reclaiming wasteland
Before and after pictures of land reclaimed for
farming
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Conclusion

• Imagine this scenario
• Farm output DOUBLES to 400 million tonnes
• Impacts on the rural economy
• Moderates unhealthy urbanization
• India emerges a large foodgrain producer for the
  world
• Replicable globally
• Better prospects for eliminating global hunger
• A second, stronger Green Revolution is possible!

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Agriculture Advantage India
Presentation by S Viswanathan (SV) Agriculture
Consultancy Management Foundation (ACMF)