Budget: Aiming towards inclusive growth in agriculture sector

The performance of the agricultural sector has significant impact on the sustainable growth of the economy. Despite the declining share of agriculture in GDP, it remains critical as it provides employment to over 60 per cent of the population in the country. The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, has taken cognizance of this fact in the Union Budget 2010-11, wherein he has reiterated focus on agriculture and allied sectors with wide-ranging sustainable and innovative initiatives.

Sustainable measures augmenting agricultural production

The north eastern region is known for the immense potential that exists particularly for horticulture, floriculture, agro and food processing, organic farming, plantation and animal husbandry. This potential, however, remains to be harnessed given the many inherent constraints such as inadequate infrastructural facilities, use of traditional and outdated methods of production, lack of market access and insufficient credit availability. Mr Mukherjee has given the highest priority to the agricultural development of eastern region by allocating Rs 400 crore, a significant step that can attract investments in the region. Planning for agri-business sector should be based on the infrastructure facilities and linkages in this region. . Innovative measures such as development of “pulses and oilseeds villages' in rain-fed areas along with integrated intervention for water harvesting, watershed management and soil health would ensure the improved production of pulses and oilseeds, enhanced productivity of dryland farming areas and reduced import dependence. Such measures will facilitate achievement of the food security mission. The Government has taken a further step in the right direction by introducing “Climate resilient agriculture initiatives” to address the issues on preservation of biodiversity, soil heath and water conservation.

Agro and Food Processing Sector to get impetus

The proposal to establish five new mega food parks in addition to the existing 10 parks will further bridge the infrastructure gap that exists in the food processing sector. Mega food parks can lead to consolidation of the fragmented supply chain boosting the much needed processing capacity and improving market linkages. However, the agro processing industries need to be accorded the status of 'other processing industries' to ensure active private participation. We are aware that nearly 30 per cent of the country's fruits and vegetables are wasted during the transition from farms to retail outlets. Improved post-harvest technologies, especially storage and transportation facilities, are imperative for our country that ranks as the world's second largest producer of fruits and vegetables and where the horticulture sector contributes to seven per cent of the GDP. Though the concessional incentives and exemption of service tax on cold chain infrastructure and mechanised handling systems would go a long way in reducing the service delivery costs and reduce wastage, certain crucial concessions and support such as power for cold storage, effective agri logistics arrangements need to be put in place. This would also boost the private sector participation to implement the large scale cold chain infrastructure, also with an added advantage of their proposed purview under external commercial borrowings. Similarly, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project would ensure complementary development of high-value agri infrastructure projects in these regions with enhanced rail, road and port connectivity and modern logistics solutions.

Credit Support to farmers

Higher credit target, interest subventions on farm loans and extension of repayment period will ease the credit availability and affordability eventually leading to better agricultural performance by incentivising the farmers. The Government's decision for introduction of nutrient based subsidy policy for imparting greater efficiency in the fertiliser subsidy regime should be applauded. Such measures would strive to incentivise the farmers to go for a balanced fertiliser application while addressing the issues of productivity levels which have been gradually stagnating or declining on account of progressive deterioration in soil quality due to unbalanced and indiscriminative use of nitrogenous fertilisers. However, the implementation of such a measure would require comprehensive analysis of varied geographies with their distinct soil profiling and their physical and chemical properties to evolve tailor made nutrient management systems. The direct transfer of fertiliser subsidy to the farmers under the budget paves the way for banks to play a central role by evolving innovative financial inclusion models to widen the reach to the farmers. Seeds are considered to be the most critical input for sustained growth of agriculture. While it is crucial to ascertain that affordability and timely availability of seeds to the farmers is ensured, it is equally important to ensure that high quality and disease resistant seeds are supplied for augmenting productivity. The exemption of service tax in certification and testing of seeds is a worthwhile initiative. However, necessary funds should be allocated for promoting R&D in this sector for developing high yielding, pest and disease resistant seeds for the farmers.

Retail in Agriculture

The indication of the Finance Minister to open the private retail space in agriculture is a promising one which would improve access of producers to the retail sector and increase the marketing efficiency through supply chain rationalisation. At the same time, the development of modern agro logistics solutions and storage infrastructure would also boost the retail sector.

Research and Development

Agricultural research in India has generated significant successes in the past. Research driven events such as the Green Revolution and White Revolution have heralded the nation not just into a state of self-sufficiency, but also as a global leader in production of agricultural commodities such as food grains and milk. Driven primarily by the need to increase food production, the focus of research has been on improving productivity. Though the Finance Minister's initiative to enhance the weighted reduction on expenditure incurred on in-house R&D activities in the sector is appreciable, and serves to encourage companies to invest in technology development, the same needs to be synergised further by putting in place an appropriate public-private-partnership framework so as to enhance the productivity and efficiency of both Government as well as the private sector which are presently working in isolation. Promoting entrepreneurship and encouraging private sector participation through incentives such as providing tax credits and creating a framework to fund pre-seed, competitive and generic R&D in agriculture will go a long way in promoting R&D in Agriculture.

Women Empowerment in Agriculture

The sustainable development of agriculture calls for women's active involvement under which the Finance Minister has allocated a modest fund allocation of Rs 100 crore to meet specific needs of women farmers. However, their participation would be governed by strategic interventions such as fulfilling basic needs through welfare programmes, facilitating involvement in economic activities and strengthening their economic base. This would call for a comprehensive package of incentives and support so that women actively undertake the envisaged agriculture development initiatives.

Concluding Comments

A holistic and integrated approach is the need of the hour to achieve sustainable and inclusive development across the agri value chain to maximise stakeholder benefit and transform India into a leading agro economy of the world. India's vision of inclusive growth to a large extent is predicated on the reforms in the agriculture sector.

Rana Kapoor, Founder-cum-Managing Director & CEO of YES BANK

FARM & RD BUDGET - 2010 in a Nutshell

The Union Budget 2010-11 announces a 4 pronged strategy for Growth of Agriculture viz. increasing agricultural production, Reduction in wastage of produce, Credit support to farmers and impetus to food processing sector.
Agricultural Production:

1. Rs. 400 Crore have been provided in the budget 2010-11 for extension of Green Revolution to the eastern region of the country comprising Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Eastern UP, West Bengal, Orissa.

2. Rs. 300 Crore have been provided to organize 60 thousands “Pulses and Oil seed villages” .

3. Rs. 200 Crore have been provided for sustaining the gains already made in the green revolution areas through conservation farming for soil health, water conservation and preservation of biodiversity.

Reduction of wastage of produce:

1. To bring down the difference between farm gate, wholesale & retail prices government considering the opening up of retail trade

2. Government plans to meet the deficit in storage capacity through ongoing scheme for private sectors which involves hiring the go downs from private parties for 7 years by Food corporation of India.

Credit Support to farmers:

1. For Year 2010-11 a target of Rs.375000 crore of Agricultural Credit has been fixed.

2. Period for repayment of loan has been extended for farmers under the Debt waiver and Debt relief Scheme

3. Those farmers who pay the short term crop loans in time eligible to get 2% interest subvention in 2010-11 (it was 1 % earlier)

Impetus to Food Processing Sector:

1. Apart from the 10 mega food park projects, Government decides to set up 5 more mega food parks

2. Now External commercial Borrowings will be available for cold storage or cold room facilities.

Outlays:
Total Outlays for Agriculture Ministry in Budget 2010-11 is Rs. 11880 Crore which involves Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (Rs. 8280 crore) Department of Agricultural Research and Education (Rs. 2300 Crore) Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (Rs 1300 Crore) . Outlay on some programmes is as under:

1. Rs. 6722 crore have been provided for Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojna.

2. Rs. 1350 Crore have been provided for National Food Security Mission which includes Rs. 129.50 Crores for North East India

3. Rs. 950 Crores have been provided for National Agricultural Insurance scheme (NAIS) which is in operation since Rabi 1999-2000 season.

4. Rs. 500 crore have been made for Integrated Oil seed, oil palm, Pulses and maize Development.

5. Rs. 1050 Crores have been provided for crop insurance

6. Rs. 400 Crore have been provided for Technology Mission on Horticulture in North Eastern Region, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand

7. Rs. 1,061.98 crore have been provided for National Horticulture Mission

8. Rs. Rs. 1,000 crore have been provided for Micro- Irrigation

9. Rs. 1000 Crore have been provided for Macro Management of Agriculture

FM stresses on the need to make growth more broad-based.

• Double digit food inflation due to bad monsoon and drought, Govt is conscious of the situation and taking steps to tackle it

• Need to strengthen food security, accepts FM and So, Govt is getting ready with Food Security bill

• Nutrient-based fertiliser subsidy scheme to come into force from April 1, 2010

• Deficit in foodgrains storage capacity to be met by private sector participation

• Rs 400 crore to boost farm output in eastern India

• Rs 300 cr for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY)

• Rs 200 crore provided for climate resilient agriculture initiative

• Rs 100 crore allocated for women farmers

• Stimulus package to continue in the view of droughts and flood in many parts of the country

• Timely repayment of crop loans : subvention raised from 1% to 2% and Farm loan repayment extended by 6 months.

• Crop loan at 5% interest for farmers

• Agricultural seeds exempt from service tax

• Rs 1,200 cr for drought mitigation in Bundelkand area

• External Commercial Borrowings to be available for cold storage

• Govt to set up 5 more mega food parks

• Rs 66,100 cr for rural development and NREG scheme allocation stepped up

• NREGS gets Rs 40,100 crore in FY11 and Smart card extended to NREGA

• All villages with 2000+ population to get banking facilities by 2012

• 46% of total plan dedicated to infrastructure

• Plan outlay for Renewable energy ministry up 61%

Rural Development in Budget 2010-11

The budget 2010-11provides a total of Rs. 66100 crore Rupees for Rural Development.

The total Central plan outlay for Department of Rural Development has been kept Rs. 76,100 crore, this includes Rs. 10,000 crore IEBR (Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources)

Allocation for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been stepped up to Rs. 40,100 crore from 39,100 crore in 2010-11.

Unit cost under India Awas Yojna has been increased to Rs. 45000 in plain areas and Rs. 48500 in the hilly areas.

Allocation for Indira Awas Yojna has been increased from Rs. 8800 crore in Budget 2009-10 to Rs. 10,000 crore in 2010-11.

Allocation to Backward Region Grant Fund has been enhanced by 26% from 5800 crore in 2009-10 to 7300 crore in 2010-11.

Additional central assistance of Rs. 1200 Crore has been provided for drought mitigation in the Bundelkhand region.

Important Outlays:

Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna: Rs. 2984 Crore including Rs. 301 crore for NE region

Rs. 2458 Crore have been kept for Integrated Watershed Management Programme

Rs. 40100 Crore have been provided for MNREGA

Apart from this Rs. 1016 crore have been kept for Other Rural Development Programmes such as DRDA Administration (Rs. 405 Crore), NIRD National Institute of Rural Development (Rs. 105 Crore) , CAPART (Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology) Rs. 100 Crore , Provision for Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) (Rs. 124 crore), Management Support to Rural Development programmes and strengthening of district planning process (Rs. 120 crore) and BPL Survey (Rs. 162 crore). A provision of Rs. 92 crore has been kept separately as lumpsum provision for the projects/schemes in the North Eastern Region and Sikkim.

A total of Rs. 120 Crore has been kept for Ministry of Panchayati Raj which includes 12 Crores in North east and Sikkim, apart from this Assistance for state plans under the backward Regions Grant Fund is Rs. 5050 Crore.

Rs. 201 crore has been kept for land Reforms in India.

Jai Ho Ramesh!

With the decision of announcing indefinite moratorium on Bt Brinjals’ immediate commercialization by Jairam Ramesh, the incumbent Minister of State (I/C) become the darling of the masses. His well thought, argued and articulated decision might have surfaced the tussle within the cabinet, with the vehement attacks by none other the Mr. Irresponsible Sharad Pawar and Shri Prithviraj Chavan over the issue. Even the PM has backed his sheer heartedness and the responsibly taken decision. He single handedly took the situation in control with the consensus of majority stakeholders unlike own Agri Minister Sharad Pawarjee, the man who is still untouched by the feelings and reeling of a common man, when the food items and almost all the essentials’ prices reached to an unprecedented level.

Earlier too Mr Pawar commented that the proposed consultations has nothing to do with the Bt Brinjal and the GEAC’s recommendation is final approval and the very moment it was befittingly the words have been returned to him by Mr Ramesh saying that if he remembers then GEAC falls under the prerogative of Environment ministry and as such it has been constituted for the appraisal and not for the final say on the approval of the Genetically Engineered crops and other products. And it has been entrusted only the task of appraisal and recommendation, and not the final approval. I am here for the final say and it would be taken after consulting all the stakeholders and considering the views from everyone. GEAC has fallen as the first ire of people and the minister, and thereafter has been aptly rechristened as “Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee” from the dillemic nomination of “Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee” by the ministry.

It is very hard to realize that why the Marathi ministers, I mean Pawar & Chavan are supporting the MNC (Monsanto), is there any under the table deal among them or, just their association with Maha-grown seed giant Mahyco and thus to keep their Marathi proud high, keeping aside the lives of teeming millions. Why not Mr Pawar and Chavan be first fed with the newly developed Brinjal, in case they are so assured of the associated risks. Let the Scientists and the agents of Bt Brinjal be the best guinea pigs for the conduct of the health tests.

Many advocacy forums including the scientific fraternity of ICAR & CSIR are vehemently supporting the Bt Brinjal cause, irrespective of the Bt cotton experience, but it seems they have forgot the graveyard beneath the cotton success saga throughout the dry tracts of the country, Vidarbha, Telangana, Rayalseema, Northern Karnataka, Punjab etc. The researchers take the denial as their credibility issue and as their contribution to the society have been questioned. But why the compromise on environmental & health safety for the interests of these so called irresponsible researchers. Researchers should not take it as a case of battle lost, but it is just the re-designing of scientific strategies in the larger interest of the common man and the farming community, and instead it is a “win-win situation” for all including the science. Any research has to have some social angles/ dimensions other than the economic gains, which is blatantly violated/ refused in India. It has to be gauged on the parameters of acceptance as per the demand, local taste and tradition of a place, unlike the thousands innumerable varieties developed by the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) handful of which can be seen today in market and in the field, which is utter waste of money, resources and time. The time is ripe for the refinement of science by appropriating the reforms in the system. But for introducing any technology, it has to be taken to be taken for consultation before the stakeholders involved for the gauging the pros and cons of the same and no committee/ autonomous body having the authority to take the autonomous decision based on some lab tests and data provided by that too the producers, which needs to be scrutinized, before considered as reliable and base material for the appraisal purpose.

What is the hurry, when lots of things viz. health hazards, biodiversity risks and many other known & unknown effects are put on the stake and in the condition when there would be no “U” turn? The halt looked mature other than the half cooked speeches of the critics and some of the ministers, which is taken decisively after consensus among the aam admi and reknown scientists like MS Swaminathan, PM Bhargava etc. The Ministry of Agriculture, S&T and HR has to re-define their role and responsibility towards the society with sensible liability, which is running unilaterally with the futile efforts and he outcomes. Merely promoting biotechnology/ GM is not the panacea for food security, but has to have a better perspective for the same.

He became the first minister to initiate the concept of consultation in policy-making for making the consensus among all the stakeholders and considering multitude of issues. The man tirelessly travelled and chaired the consultations across the 7 states and even hurdled with abuses and curses by social organisations & farmers. But sometimes the curses only turns into the blessings in disguise, do prove in the case and given him the strength for steadfastly taking the issues without any sort of bias. Today the outcome is that Ramesh has emerged the champion of all and his tireless effort is clearly reflected in the decision report presented for which he conducted global reviews and consultations for addressing the cause of the ground zero people. The decision will surely have long term impact on the scientific research in India and has raised the bar for other ministries and organizations to show their final liability and duties towards the aam admi.

Need for a National Authority on Hunger Elimination

Despite the remarkable progress in the country with high economic growth, impressive food production, advanced technologies and enviable human resources, the country is seriously confronted with the most challenging problem of hosting over 240 million ‘hungry’ people, with 66^th position on Global Hunger Index (GHI) among 88 countries in the world. The fact that India could reduce hunger only marginally (about 25%) over a period of 18 years (1990-91 to 2007-08) made the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Washington to make a statement that ‘India’s performance was lack luster’ on hunger elimination. This reflects badly on the inadequate attention given to ‘hunger’.

The major contributing factor for GHI of 23.7 is the high percentage of underweight children (43.5%) below five years in the country. The most disturbing report that 70% of children between six and 59 months after birth are anemic (3^rd National Family Health Survey 2005-06), made the honest Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh to admit frankly that ‘it is a matter of National shame’. A recent report by Dr.Karin Holshof, UNICEF India Representative on the seriousness of the problem with 61 million children fighting under nutrition, is an eye opener. In spite of the schemes on health and nutrition of children, it is estimated that 20% of Indian children (over 25 million) die due to under nutrition during the five years after birth. Already India’s record on the percentage of underweight children is the highest in the world, with Madhya Pradesh topping the list (59.8%), followed by Jharkhand (57.1%), Bihar (56.1%) and Chattisgarh (47.6 %). Out of the 17 Indian States analyzed, four are grouped under ‘serious hunger’ (Punjab, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Assam), while 12 are under ‘alarming hunger’ (Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Orissa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand) ; with Madhya Pradesh alone under the ‘extremely alarming hunger’ category, similar to Ethiopia.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently reported that 1.02 billion people are chronically ‘hungry’ in the world. In the recently convened World Summit on Food Security in Rome, although the attention was focused on the rise in food prices across the world, the summit failed to bring out tangible commitments by rich countries on ‘hunger’ issues. In order to create awareness on the seriousness of chronic ‘hunger’ and solidarity with people who go to bed without food, the Secretary General of United Nations Ben Moon and the Director General of the FAO Jaques Diouf observed a 24 hour fast in November which attracted worldwide attention, but the Indian Government failed to observe any such demonstration in spite of adverse situations in the country. The sad comments were that ‘despite all the promises made concrete actions on hunger has been lacking’ and FAO concluded that ‘in the absence of strong measures another global food crisis cannot be excluded’. The Indian Government has to take note of the adverse situations arising out of climate change exemplified by unprecedented drought and floods which have the potential to increase the number of hungry people.

India with over 1.15 billion population out of which almost 200 million are chronically hungry, with high percentage of children, cannot afford to ignore the problem anymore. The long term implication of the present underweight children below five years will be on the future generation of youth, whose physical and mental health are essential to take up the responsibilities of Nation building activities. For sustaining the developmental activities during the ensuing decades, the children born, say from 2009 – 2010 onwards need utmost care in a holistic way – health, education, environment, character build up and skill development which ensure leadership qualities. In fact, all those born during early 2000s must undergo frequent health checkup for midterm corrections of nutritional disorders. It is well established that ‘good nutrition early in life is a key input for human capital formation, a fundamental factor for sustainable and equitable economic growth’. So, the child care should be the top priority for the Government. It is a daunting task, but acquires National priority as youth are great National asset for ‘India Tomorrow’ for ensuring peaceful life.

Therefore, the attention should be on the most sensitive States like Madhya Prdaesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh to rescue the lives of millions of children with underweight and to prevent the problem in other States too. An effective health and nutrition program for children (and mothers) from the infant to juvenile to youth stages is the need of the hour. A weak youth force will be an impediment for the entire Nation’s progress. It is, therefore, high time that the Honorable Prime Minister personally examines the situation in depth and initiates action to establish a ‘National Authority on Hunger Elimination’ (NAHE), with adequate funds and exclusive powers – administrative and financial and enhanced human resources with the ultimate goal of making India hunger-free by 2020. The NAHE must function as a high power coordinating unit with concerned ministries – food and agriculture, health, education, environment and finance. As the present poverty alleviation programs did not seem to yield the desired result in terms of minimizing ‘hunger’ among millions of the poorest of the poor, the NAHE might be expected to achieve the goal better and in shorter time frame. India should strive hard to get its name erased from the list of GHI of the IFPRI with exemplary time targeted programs. For this, extraordinary political will is the only answer under the dynamic leadership of the Prime Minister.

Dr.V.Rajagopal, Retired Director, CPCRI & Founder of Hunger Elimination and You movement (HEYm), Tirupati, E mail : rajvel44@gmail.com

The Indian Bt Brinjal dilemma

The debate over the approval of Bt brinjal by Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has gone to the next level, with the consultation being held throughout India by engaging different stakeholders under the able headship of Mr Jairam Ramesh. But the consultation faced open revolts with the wide protests by NGOs and even in some cases by the scientific fraternity. Already the Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar consultations faced the ire of the protestors and was closed without any results. Several groups have expressed concern and dissatisfaction over the way in which the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee conducted and approved Bt brinjal field trials. These groups have called for tests by an independent lab.

Dr MS Swaminathan also felt for the need of a regulatory mechanism that inspires people's confidence and genetically engineered foods hold great promise for the future, especially if India intends to cut its hunger rate by half by 2015. In the recently concluded 97^th science Congress, PM Dr. Manmohan Singh also expressed his concerns over the safety issues of GM foods and reiterated that safety must be given full weight, with appropriate regulator control based on strictly scientific criteria.

So, it seems just like another go around phenomenon. Why not we can go to basics and opt for the health, safety and other concerns raised? There are clear indications that people are still not ready for its acceptance without proper health and safety assurances. Just releasing a variety/ hybrid is of no use, if it doesn’t reach the end consumers at affordable rates and is proved of no damage to the human / any other creatures’ health, physiological activity and the ecosystem at large.

The data on safety and efficacy has been examined by 30 scientists who are members of the review committee on genetic manipulation and also the GEAC. The data is sufficient to allay safety and environment concerns, as claimed by the government. But one of the member Dr. P.M. Bhargava furiously revolted by noting that the report of Expert Committee II headed by Arjula R. Reddy, which recommended the approval of Bt Brinjal was full of lies and absurdities, a ludicrous document that brought down Indian science in front of the whole world. And one which looked like it had been written by the public relations officer of the Mahyco-Monsanto collaboration.

It was obvious from the Bt brinjal debate that Indians do not trust the current regulatory structure. Kerala, Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have already decided to keep Bt brinjal out. It was objected to even by former health minister Anbumani Ramadoss. But, Mr Ramesh has given assurance that no decision on Bt brinjal would be taken in a haste. He promised to arrive at a decision by February 20 only after conducting hearings in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagpur and Chandigarh. In the situation, when researchers’ themselves are not well assured and confident of the Bt Brinjal’s safety aspect, then how could we imagine its approval by the governing and other concerned departments?

After lot of discussions, debates out of research can only make sure/ convince the public/ consumers that, it is clean for environment and safe for humans. Government has to ensure that the decision due next month on going ahead with commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal should not be dismissed without a fair trial. As, in India even the murderer like, Kasab of 9/11 gets the trial. Govt, ICAR and corporates are in for its haste release, which may cause havoc to the health of general public and environment also.

With the widespread protests and debate over the release of Bt brinjal, even the Apex court has asked the government to come clean on the health and environmental effects of the GM food crop. The Supreme Court also wants to know from the Centre to spell out the measures taken to prevent contamination of indigenous crops varieties by open field trials of the Bt brinjal crops. Mr Jairam Ramesh, the Environment and Forests Minister expressed that India needs an autonomous bio-technology regulatory authority and an independent laboratory to conduct various tests.

Bt cotton, too, faced similar opposition a few years ago but today, the country is the largest producer of cotton. Besides, the soil bacterium has been around for many years, but here the situation is not the same as Brinjal being the food crop and a native to Indian subcontinent with unimaginable levels of diversity and consumption pattern. Tackling the debate on scientific basis is ok, other than on the basis of unfounded fears and a fear psychosis. Health and safety issues have to be well taken care of, before the unknown plunge. As there would not be U-turn, once it is introduced and reaches the farmer’s field.

The sugary tug of war

With the continuing blame game of ever high sugar prices between the centre and the Uttar Pradesh government, the retail prices are not known to come down any soon. Sugar is selling at Rs 50 per kg in retail markets in Delhi and almost at the same rate across India, more than double from the level in January 2009.

India, the world's largest sugar consumer and currently a leading importer, after production fell two years in a row, needs 23 million tons of sugar annually. The country is expected to produce only around 16 million tons in the crop year. With farmers raising the farm gate price of sugarcane to 240 rupees per quintal from 140 rupees a year ago, costs have escalated and are likely to rise further as cane supply gets scarce in the coming months.

In the international market, sugar futures are trading near a 28-year high of 27.49 cents a pound, mainly because of anticipated shortages in India. India allowed tax-free imports of raw and white sugar in April to improve supplies in domestic markets, spiking benchmark prices in New York and London. India has contracted to import 2.9 million tones of raw sugar and 0.9 million tones of white sugar in the season that began in October. After being a net importer for two straight years, the country may become self-sufficient in 2010/11, as per the assurances from the Govt.

Uttar Pradesh government has imposed a ban on processing of imported raw sugar since the farmers' protest over cane prices in November, leading to about 8 lakh tonnes of raw sugar lying at ports. Imported raw sugar has been lying at the ports for more than two months and the UP government is not allowing millers to process. On the other hand, the UP govt is openly blaming the Central policies for the muddle, which encouraged hoarders and blackmarketeers and suggested for revamping the policies. The Agriculture Ministry has already written to UP government for lifting the ban on raw sugar processing and accepted that they have not been able to convince the state govt, and will try to request at the highest level.

The central government missed all the red flags that pointed to a sugar shortage for almost a year, generated sharply varying estimates of cane production, and kept prices artificially depressed from October 2008, due to the state elections, leading to a situation where sugar prices is at about Rs 50/kg today, and likely to only rise further. The agriculture minister was not even ready to accept the insufficient production last cane season ending September – November and most of the times reiterated that we have enough stocks to keep the prices under tab. A report even revealed that the incumbent Govt. and Mr. Pawar was aware of sugar crisis a year ago. In the case, they should have imported sugar six months ago when the sugar prices of import was just Rs.17 per kg. Sensing the crisis, the exporting countries hiked sugar prices knowing that India was going to import sugar. Sharad Pawar’s promise of bringing down the retail prices of essential commodities, including sugar within one week to 10 days, following the measures unveiled by the government is fading way. And now he is conveying that the wholesale prices have come down to 10-12 per cent during last 2-3 days and its impact can only be seen in retail after some time. Mr. Pawar should have been more empathetic and should have restrained from making insensitive comments of not being a fortuneteller and sugar prices will be high for the next three years, the moment sugar prices started defying gravity and reached Rs 50/ kg!

In situations of insufficient availability, the millers would have processed an additional 2.5 lakh tons per month. If this extra processed sugar could become available, this would have brought down prices. Besides, states should take stern action against hoarders and speculators. Additionally, steps should be taken to check smuggling of sugarcane and sugar from India to Nepal and other neighbouring countries. The govt. has already given green signal to the duty free sugar imports till December 2010, but it has to be adhered by the state and the essential commodities act has to be brought into action to contain the damage that has already been half done. So, with the Govt’s decision for importing 40 lakh tones of raw sugar, it is hoped that the situation would turn a bit placid. The regular imports would be allowed to ease the inflation and meanwhile, the current agriculture policies particularly, the marketing and pricing policy needs to be given a relook.

The lack of policy co-ordination among the Centre and States is also hindering government efforts to control prices. While the central government has been encouraging sugar mills to import raw sugar, the Uttar Pradesh has put ban on imports by mills in the state, resulting in some 900,000 tons of raw sugar being stuck at Indian ports. Some of the provincial governments are also slow to utilize the full quota of food grains released by the central government for distribution through welfare programs. While government officials have publicly stated they expect prices to fall in the coming weeks, fresh steps to control prices are a clear sign that the situation is still not under control.

Pride and Prejudice of being BIHARI !

Who carries you on a rickshaw or an autorickshaw in Delhi? Biharis. Who drives the cars of Delhiites? Biharis. Who built the Delhi Metro? Biharis. (You may not agree with the last one.) Who is building the new houses and the expanding suburbs of Delhi? Biharis. Who made Punjab the most prosperous state in the country? The answer again is Biharis. (Here too you may not agree.) The credit for building the Delhi Metro or making Punjab prosperous will never go to Biharis. Does anyone ever say that blacks built America? In colonial days, Bihar supplied the girmitiya, or indentured, labourers who built countries like Mauritius, Suriname and Fiji. A bulk of the labour employed in the Raj capital of Calcutta came from Bihar. After Independence Bihari workers flocked to places like Delhi, Punjab and Mumbai.

At the same time, Biharis excelled in other fields. Many became great political leaders, ICS and IAS officers, scientists, doctors, engineers, writers and artists. Delhi and other Indian cities attracted huge white-collar Bihari populations and Biharis formed a large part of the Indian diaspora of professionals. But in the eyes of the rest of India, “Bihari” had come to mean a labourer, a person doing menial jobs. It had become a term of scorn and contempt. In their anglicized lingo, places like Delhi University turned the word into “Harry”, but the pejorative tone remained unmistakable. Heaping scorn on the working classes is a universal phenomenon. That is how words like Negro, Paki (used for Pakistanis and Indians in Britain) and some of the words denoting dalit castes in India earned contemptuous connotations. In fact, while Biharis were getting their hands dirty on Punjab’s farms, Punjabis were migrating in hordes to the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Never mind that they would take up blue-collar jobs as taxi drivers, petrol pump attendants and waiters in those faraway lands. As the years passed, many of the Biharis who had come to Punjab or Mumbai as manual labourers started moving up the economic ladder as did the blue-collar Indian emigrants abroad. A usually unnoticed aspect of the so-called racial attacks against Indians abroad is the threat the rise of working classes poses to the entrenched social order. This accentuates the contempt they face. From this angle, the attacks on Biharis in Punjab, and Mumbai, and the attacks on Indians abroad are manifestations of the same phenomenon.

What stopped Biharis from bringing about a green revolution or building a Metro in Bihar? The answer is geography and history. Geography, because ravaged by floods, the land of Bihar was unable to feed its growing population. And history, because what was the centre of the biggest Indian empire in ancient times was reduced to an obscure provincial existence. The skewed landownership system introduced by the British rulers worsened the situation. Things could have improved after Independence had the political leadership of Bihar been able to exert influence on the rulers in New Delhi to get enough funds for development projects and set off a process of industry in the state.

On the contrary, Bihar continued to live the same, conveniently ignored, provincial existence. A system built on casteism, nepotism, corruption and crime came to dominate the state. It spawned a neo-rich class of netas, babus, contractors and government engineers who would build palatial houses for themselves with the money meant for dams, power projects, ration for the poor or even fodder for cattle.

The money meant for roads and public amenities would go into their bank accounts. No wonder, the roads in front of those houses would be full of ditches and become the playground of pigs every monsoon. With limited options of higher education and hardly any employment opportunities in the state, the youth of Bihar started looking out. They flooded places like Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. They started dominating the country’s toughest competitions like the IIT-JEE and the civil services exam. With this success, Biharis started believing they had the best brains. The world began to grudgingly acknowledge their capabilities.

Academic success, however, did not do much to rid the word “Bihari” of the scorn it had gathered. People in Delhi continued to laugh at those who spoke with a Bihari accent. Those without an accent would get this compliment: “Oh, you are from Bihar? But you don’t sound like a Bihari.” Biharis, meanwhile, were retreating into a shell, with little but the historic glory of Buddha, Mahavira, Chandragupta, Chanakya, Ashoka, Aryabhatta, Guru Gobind Singh and Sher Shah to bask in. Now comes 11% growth. The state can recover from the damage it has suffered over hundreds of years only if such a high rate of growth can be sustained for many, many years. Then Biharis would not have to till others' land or build cities and countries elsewhere.

Vinay Pandey | The writer is proud to be a Bihari.