The Hindu : Front Page : Set up special farm zones <I>a la </I>SEZs: Swaminathan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 24, 2007
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Set up special farm zones a la SEZs: Swaminathan

Special Correspondent

To achieve food security through sustainable farm practices

— Photo: Special Arrangement

TAPPING POTENTIAL: Agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan (right) at the inauguration of a seminar on ``Rainfed agriculture in India'' held in Jaipur on Monday.

JAIPUR: Eminent agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan has advised the setting up of Special Agricultural Zones (SAZs) in the country on the lines of the much touted Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to achieve food security and food sovereignty through sustainable agriculture practices. As in the case of SEZs, special incentives and support must be given to farm families in SAZ areas so that a predominantly agricultural country like India can usher in a second Green Revolution, he said.

"Not a day should be lost in setting up Special Agricultural Zones both in irrigated and rain-fed areas to serve as flagships of India's ever-green revolution movement," Dr. Swaminathan, chairman of National Farmers' Commission, said delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on "Rain-fed agriculture in India" here on Monday.

Guiding principles

The guiding principles of SAZ were preservation of ecology, optimisation of economic and social benefits, equity, creation of additional jobs and energy conservation, he said. The concept would help to realise the untapped potential of rain-fed areas and ensure national nutrition security and food sovereignty, he observed.

The two-day seminar is part of programmes being organised here on the occasion of the silver jubilee of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Jaipur. Noted economist and chairman of IDS, V.S. Vyas, R.B.Singh, member, Planning Commission and experts from different States attended the inaugural function.

New policies

Dr. Swaminathan, who also heads a Task Force on Agriculture set up by Rajasthan, mentioned the Indira Gandhi Canal Area in the State as a potential SAZ. "We need new policies rooted in the principles of ecology, equity and economics for sustainable management of the Indira Gandhi Canal during the 21st century," he said.

SEZ and SAZ could become mutually complementary and not competitive, if the latter was aimed at bringing about a Small Farm Management Revolution improving the productivity, profitability and sustainability of the major farming systems in the country, he said. The country was in the early stages of a "land war" involving small and marginal farmers possessing fertile agriculture land and those who wish to purchase it for establishing industries or SEZ, he noted.

"Any Exit Policy for small farmers through land markets should be accompanied by an `Entry Policy' which will provide them with alternative and sustainable non-farm livelihoods. If this is not done, we will be swelling the numbers of landless labour families with disastrous social consequences," he cautioned. "Agriculture is the riskiest profession," he said.

"SAZ would provide a unique opportunity for introducing an interactive package of soil health enhancement, water harvesting and management, financial inclusion in credit availability, integrated insurance, technologies which can promote an ever-green revolution and greater non-farm employment opportunities," Dr. Swaminathan pointed out. This should go with supply of quality inputs at the right time, decentralised renewable energy generation based on biomass and fair price and assured marketing, he said.

For establishing SAZs, areas with high agricultural potential both under irrigated and rain-fed conditions could be identified. Integrated packages of technology, services, techno infrastructure and producer oriented trade could be introduced for these specialised areas with the help of farmers' organisations, gram sabhas and the private sector, he suggested. Common service centres could be introduced to provide centralised services for decentralised production, he said. Prof. Vyas noted the rain-fed agriculture was having negative growth for the past 14 years.

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