The
Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that increased
production and efficient distribution of food grains can move our country
forward to achieve the goal of zero hunger and adequate nutrition for all. He
was delivering the 49th Convocational Address at the Acharya N.G.
Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh today. The
Governor of Andhra Pradesh and the Chancellor of ANGRAU, Shri E.S.L Narasimhan,
the agriculture Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri Somireddy Chandra Mohan Reddy
and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
The
Vice President said that India is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses
and jute, and ranks as the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane,
groundnut, vegetables, fruit and cotton. He further said that the growing needs
of our country’s increasing Population require us to evolve our own home grown
food security Strategy.
The
Vice President suggested that first we have to provide an end-to-end (E2E)
ecosystem comprising of “4-I s” namely ‘Irrigation’, ‘Infrastructure’,
‘Investment credit’ and ‘insurance’. The second is Lab-to-Land (L2L) transfer
of Technology, he added.
The
Vice President said that infrastructural improvements in rural roads,
dependable quality power, godowns, cold storage facilities, refrigerated vans
and Market yards are an essential prerequisite for improving the efficiency of
the agricultural Sector. Timely credit facilities at reasonable Interest Rates
and farmer-friendly insurance Policies are important building blocks of a
robust ecosystem for Agriculture, he added.
The
Vice President congratulated all the students, Gold Medalists and awardees who
are receiving their degrees on this occasion.
Following
is the text of Vice President’s Address:
“The
Hon’ble Governor of Andhra Pradesh and the Chancellor of Acharya N.G. Ranga
Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Shri E.S.L Narasimhan garu; Vice-Chancellor,
ANGRAU, Dr. V. Damodara Naidu, Members of the Board of Management, Members of
the Academic Council, Faculty, Officials and Staff of the University,
distinguished guests, dear students, respected parents, representatives of
press and media, ladies and gentlemen :
I
consider it a proud privilege to deliver the 49th Convocation
address of this prestigious university. I heartily congratulate all the
students, gold medallists and awardees who are receiving their degrees on this
occasion. It is a moment of Celebration of your achievements and also a moment
of inspiration. It is a moment that launches you on your chosen vocation and
helps you to realize your aspiration.
You
have chosen to be agricultural scientists, a field that has tremendous
relevance in a country with a vast agro-ecological diversity and where 64 percent
of the total workforce in the rural areas is engaged in agriculture and
contributes 39 percent of total rural net domestic product. Agriculture plays a
vital role in India’s Economy. Agriculture, along with fisheries and forestry,
is one of the largest contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As per
the 2nd advised estimates by the Central Statistics Office (CSO),
the Share of agriculture and allied Sectors (including agriculture, livestock,
forestry and fishery) is expected to be 17.3 per cent of the Gross Value Added
(GVA) during 2016-17 at 2011-12 prices.
The
last seventy years after independence have been years of significant growth.
The country’s food grain production increased by 8.7 per cent and reached a
record high of 273.83 million tonnes in 2016-17.
As
the Food and Agriculture Organization acknowledged:
“India
is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses and jute, and ranks as the
second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables, fruit
and cotton. From 50 million tons in 1950, India’s food grain production rose
more than five times, to over 257 million tons in 2014-15. India is the world’s
largest milk producer, producing over 130 million tons annually. The dairy
sector is also one of the largest employers of rural people, especially Women.
With an annual production of over 10 million tons, India ranks second in global
fish production and aquaculture, next only to China.”
Yet,
we have formidable challenges confronting us.
Except
wheat, productivity of other crops in the country is below world average mainly
because of poor access to irrigation and improved technology.
Workforce
in Agriculture sector is declining at the rate of approximately 2 percent every
year. According to one estimate, “to double Farmers’ income by 2022, the
progress in various sources of growth has to be accelerated by 33 percent”.
Clearly,
a concerted, coordinated focused action is required on a number of issues that
impact the growth of agriculture sector and the quality of life of people who
depend primarily on this sector. We cannot be complacent about the food
security situation as it exists today. The growing needs of our country’s
increasing Population require us to evolve our own home grown food security
strategy. Increased production and efficient distribution of food grains can
move our country forward to achieve the goal of zero hunger and adequate
nutrition for all.
Our
Honourable Prime Minister has called for doubling the income of Indian farmers
by 2022. Both the Central and State Governments are taking up several
Initiatives in this regard. In my view, we have to adopt a two pronged
approach. The first is to provide an end-to-end (E2E) ecosystem
comprising of what I call “4-I s” namely ‘Irrigation’, ‘Infrastructure’, ‘Investment
credit’ and ‘Insurance’. The second is Lab-to-land (L2L) transfer of
technology.
Let
me take the first strand of work. Successive governments have been taking up a
number of reform measures to strengthen the ecosystem but I think more time-bound,
systematic and systemic efforts are called for. Irrigation is of course the
most crucial factor. In addition to rain water harvesting and construction of
check dams, the government is considering linking of rivers as a possibility to
enhance the area under irrigation. More than 40 proposals of intra-state links
have been received from 9 States viz. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Orissa,
Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. Linking Narmada to
other rivers in Gujarat, Ken- Batwa link in Madhya Pradesh and linking Krishna
and Godavari in Andhra Pradesh are a few examples of what could be the most
promising way forward.
In
addition to irrigation, the government is rightly focusing on infrastructure
like rural roads, dependable quality power, godowns, cold storage facilities,
refrigerated vans and market yards. These infrastructural improvements are an
essential prerequisite for improving the efficiency of the Agricultural sector.
Two
other important building blocks of a robust ecosystem are timely credit
facilities at reasonable interest rates and farmer-friendly insurance
policies. These allow for farmers to invest in better, income-generating crops
and agricultural practices and increase their incomes. The insurance cover
shields the farmers against unforeseen climatic and natural disasters. The
kisan credit cards and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
(PMFBY) are steps in the right direction and need to be universalized.
The
government have to ensure the end-to-end services. Right from the purchase of
seeds to the post-harvest Operations, the farmer’s needs have to be addressed
through a network of efficient farmer-friendly institutions. There is certainly
a need to step up public investment in and for agriculture which currently
stands at 2.7 percent of GDP.
Marketing
of agricultural produce and getting a fair return is a big challenge for most
farmers. The farmers still rely on local markets and have to resort, very
often, to distress sale. A new initiative called E-NAM seeks to remedy this
situation by adopting an e-trading platform for agricultural commodities. The
Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act is also being proposed to be
amended by introducing single-point levy of market fee across a State and a
united single trading licence.
The
E2E initiatives of the government have to be supplemented by the private
sector’s efforts as well. In addition, there is a very important second strand
I mentioned at the beginning- strengthen the Lab-to-land (L2L)
approaches. All of you have a huge challenge before you. How do you transfer
the knowledge and skills you have acquired during your stay in this University
to the farmers in order to transform the agricultural landscape of the country?
How do you positively impact the lives of the farmers in rural India?
You
can do many things and use your innovative abilities to improve the efficiency
of the system. Let me suggest a few areas that merit focused attention of
agricultural Universities and other institutions of higher learning as well as
research institutions.
First
is intensification of farming by enhancing productivity through use of
high yielding varieties of seeds and efficient use of land and water. High
yielding varieties cover only 69 percent of the total area under cereal crops.
This coverage should be expanded. While irrigation facilities are being
expanded by the government, there is a need to educate the farmers on using the
water efficiently. “It is seen that even districts at same level of irrigation
show large difference in aggregate productivity”. Every drop of this scarce
resource must be made use of optimally. Equally important is that more crops
must be grown on the same land.
Second
is diversification. Farmers must be encouraged to diversify and take up
high value crops like fruits, vegetables, fibre, condiments, pulses, spices and
sugarcane. It has been established that the average productivity of high value
crops is around Rs. 1.4 lakh per hectare as compared to Rs. 41,169 per hectare
from staple crops like cereals and oil seeds. There is also a tremendous
potential to diversify towards other allied occupations as well like dairy and
forestry. The productivity of livestock is still quite low with an average milk
yield of 4.90 kg per in-milk buffalo and 3.1 kg per in-milk cow. Similarly, we
need to encourage farmers to take up agro-forestry and forestry, especially in
view of the fact that India currently meets 40 percent of its non-fuel timber
requirement from the import of wood and wood products.
These
two sets of actions can be implemented and accelerated depending on how
effectively the transformative technologies can be transferred to the farmers
and how innovatively we can harness the power of Information Technology to
provide information, knowledge and skills. We have to bring in a major shift in
Indian agriculture moving it from a low-productivity stage to a high productive
level and at the same time ensure that it is sustainable and equitable.
Using a multi-disciplinary approach, you must take up problem-oriented
research. You must strengthen the vital connection between your lab and the
farmer’s land. Forecasting the seasonal conditions in advance, testing the soil
and water availability you must work with the government’s extension machinery
like Krishi Vignan Kendras to advise the farmers on the cropping patterns and
post-harvest processes and Food Processing technologies. You will have to
provide your expert advice on different ways to increase productivity of crops
and livestock. You must learn from indigenous and global technologies. You must
bring in the state of the art in the field to make different agricultural
processes more efficient but always keeping the farmer invariably at the centre
of your work. I am glad that the students in this University maintain the
essential link with the ground realities and farmers’ lives through the six
month long rural agricultural work experience programme. I am sure this gives
an opportunity for the students to share their knowledge with the farmers and
at the same time gain new insights from the farmers’ experiences and practices.
It is, in my view, a valuable two- way learning process.
Dear
friends, you are a part of the large knowledge network devoted to the same
cause. We
have a very large system with 63 State agricultural universities, 4 deemed
Agricultural Universities, 1 Central Agricultural University, 106 ICAR research
institutes, and 680 Krishi Vignana Kendras. I do hope all of you in this
University would be able to continuously add to the body of scientific
knowledge and use it creatively for the benefit of our ‘Anna Daata’ s. I hope
you would take the fountain of knowledge to the farmers’ fields and become
‘Aananda Daataa’s as you see the tangible happy transformation on the face of modern
India.
JAI
HIND!
***
KSD/BK
