Need For Green Revolution 2.0: RBI

In News

• India needs a second green revolution along with the next generation of reforms with a view to make agriculture more climate-resistant and environmentally sustainable, said an RBI.

About

• Agriculture has traditionally been the source of basic sustenance: of 70% of the population, which resides in rural India.
• The Second Green Revolution: is a change in agricultural production widely thought necessary to feed and sustain the growing population on Earth. These calls came about as a response to rising food commodity prices and fears of peak oil, among other factors.
  • It is used to describe future widespread adoption of genetic engineering of new food crops for increased crop yield and nutrition.
• Indian agriculture scaled new heights: with record production of various food grains, commercial and horticultural crops, exhibiting resilience and ensuring food security during the COVID-19 period.

Issues/ Challenges

• Food inflation: Despite the success in terms of production that has ensured food security in the country, food inflation and its volatility remain a challenge.
• Crop productivity: in India is much lower than other advanced and emerging market economies due to various factors, like fragmented landholdings, lower farm mechanization and lower public and private investment in agriculture.
• Environmental hazards: Current overproduction of crops like rice, wheat and sugarcane, has led to rapid depletion of the ground-water table, soil degradation and massive air pollution raising questions about the environmental sustainability of current agricultural practices in India.
• Seed: is a critical and basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of assured quality seed is as critical as the production of such seeds.
• Manures, Fertilizers and Biocides: Indian soils have been used for growing crops over thousands of years without caring much for replenishing. This has led to depletion and exhaustion of soils resulting in their low productivity.
• Irrigation: Although India is the second largest irrigated country of the world after China, only one-third of the cropped area is under irrigation. Irrigation is the most important agricultural input in a tropical monsoon country like India.
• In spite of the large scale mechanization of agriculture in some parts of the country: most of the agricultural operations in larger parts are carried on by human hand using simple and conventional tools and implements like wooden plough, sickle, etc.
• Agricultural marketing: still continues to be in a bad shape in rural India. In the absence of sound marketing facilities, the farmers have to depend upon local traders and middlemen for the disposal of their farm produce which is sold at throw-away price.

Suggestions/ Way forward

• The need is supply-side interventions: such as higher public investment, storage infrastructure and promotion of food processing.
• Climate resistant: Addressing these challenges would require a second green revolution focussed on the agriculture water-energy nexus, making agriculture more climate resistant and environmentally sustainable.
• The use of biotechnology and breeding: will be important in developing eco-friendly, disease-resistant, climate-resilient, more nutritious and diversified crop varieties.
• Wider use of digital technology and extension services: will be helpful in information sharing and generating awareness among the farmers.
• It also stressed that better post-harvest loss-management and a revamp of co-operative movement: through the formation of farmer-producer organizations (FPOs) can arrest the volatility in food prices and farmers’ income and help harness the true potential of Indian agriculture.
• Many companies, VCs, start-ups: are increasingly of the view that there is an urgent and important need to adopt new and less-negatively impacting agricultural practices for future generations.
• Krishi Vigyan Kendras: The governments must provide farmers with access to startup infrastructure, such as through the Krishi Vigyan Kendras, to engage with these innovations.

Related Schemes

• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): The Central Sector Scheme aims to provide a payment of Rs. 6000 per year, in three 4-monthly installments of Rs. 2000 to the farmer’s families, subject to certain exclusions relating to higher-income groups.
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY): It aims to provide old-age pension to farmers.

• It focuses on providing a social security net for Small and Marginal Farmers (SMF) as they have minimal or no savings to provide for old age and to support them in the event of the consequent loss of livelihood.

• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): It was launched from the Kharif 2016 season and provides insurance cover for all stages of the crop cycle including post-harvest risks in specified instances, with a low premium contribution by farmers.

• Per Drop More Crop Initiative: Under it, drip/sprinkler irrigation is being encouraged for optimal utilization of water, reducing the cost of inputs and increasing productivity.

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): It aims to promote organic farming.

• Har Medh Par Ped: Under this initiative, agroforestry is being promoted for additional income. 
• Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA): It is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as announced in the Union Budget for 2018.
• Kisan Credit Card (KCC): The Government has extended the facility of KCC to the farmers practicing animal husbandry and fisheries-related activities.

• Operation Greens: It aims to address price volatility of perishable commodities like Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP).
• PM Kisan Sampada Yojana: It aims to promote food processing in a holistic manner.
• Initiating National Agriculture Market (eNAM): It is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.

• National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): It has been formulated for enhancing agricultural productivity especially in rainfed areas focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management and synergizing resource conservation.

• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY): It has been formulated with the vision of extending the coverage of irrigation ‘Har Khet ko pani’ and improving water use efficiency ‘More crop per drop’ in a focused manner with end-to-end solution on source creation, distribution, management, field application and extension activities.

Source: ET