The Hindu : 'Talks failure has given us breathing space'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 27, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

'Talks failure has given us breathing space'

By Our Staff Reporter

Coimbatore Sept. 26. The breakdown of negotiations at the Cancun talks has given India "breathing space" to improve its agricultural competitiveness, the Vice-Chairman of the State Planning Commission, M. S. Swaminathan, said today.

Inaugurating a programme on high-tech training for technocrats in the departments of agriculture, horticulture and agri-marketing, organised at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University here, Dr. Swaminathan said the failure of the talks did not mean that decisions would not be taken; it only meant that the agreement had been postponed.

With agriculture being brought into negotiations regarding world trade, India would have to take steps to face the situation because substandard products would be unacceptable in the international market.

"The ultimate goal of agricultural extension is to increase the profitability per unit of water and land. Even the small farmers must have more marketable surplus. It is not enough to consider merely the `yield per hectare'; we must give importance to `yield per unit of water'. Only then will farmers earn more income."

Emphasising the need for ``quality literacy'' apart from `productivity improvement,'' he said knowledge-intensive agriculture could encourage farmers to confidently adopt alternative cropping systems. The attitudes towards farmers should change from "patronage to partnership" by acknowledging the practical knowledge the farmers had.

"We must move from the `Green Revolution' to the `Evergreen Revolution', without causing social harm, and aim at productivity improvement in perpetuation, without damaging the environment," he said.

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