Sustainable agriculture, a driving force
K P AGRAWAL
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An integrated approach to achieve food and nutritional security
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The Green Revolution brought self sufficiency to India during the 1990s. However, the gains of the revolution could not be sustained. The severe food and nutritional scarcity in the country is reflected in the facts that almost half the children under three years of age and more than one-third of women are undernourished and two square meals continue to be a distant dream for millions of families. The issue of food and nutritional security has come up in a big way in rece
nt years because international prices of foodstuffs like wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, etc., have increased two to three fold during the past few years. Even America and Australia which are big producers of food grains are facing the problem. The situation is alarming in poor countries where food accounts for more than half of a family’s spending.
Change in diet pattern from vegetarian to non-vegetarian, increase in price of oil leading to direct effect on cost of agricultural produce, a bad weather in key growing areas that affects productivity, turning edible foods into bio-fuels, decreasing investment in agricultural research and development and hoarding of large stock by private grain dealers are some reasons for this situation.
Viable strategies
Food production may not be commensurate with food requirement due to several reasons like stagnancy or decline in food grain production for last one decade, limited scope of expansion of area of cultivation and 65 per cent of agriculture being rain-fed. Agriculture is an important driving force for food and nutritional security. Both are complimentary to each other. Decentralised development, resource conservation, water harnessing and bio-diversity management particularly of disadvantaged areas like desert, drought/flood prone, hill and mountain, tribal and coastal areas affected by salinity, low income, unemployment and high density population are important for sustainable agriculture. The farm sector needs a clear policy and heavy investment before India can claim to achieve consistent food security. The efforts should be to cover the entire farming gamut, i.e. water management, use of information technology to improve returns to the farmers, strengthening of the extension services, marketing, infrastructure development, provision of adequate power to farmers, protection and enrichment of natural resources, encouragement to off–farm employment opportunities, issuance of a reasonable price to farm produce, a special focus on the small and marginal farmers and mainstreaming gender into agriculture. Emphasis on farmers’ income rather than on mere production, water harvesting and drainage during kharif and on irrigation in rabi, the involvement of farmers from the very beginning so that they feel that it is their programme, are also important for sustainable agriculture.
Holistic approach
An integrated approach through diversification, horticulture, livestock and fisheries, bee keeping, natural resource management integrated pest management, post-harvest processing and value addition will provide long term sustainability.
Other important aspects include packaging of location specific technologies, testing proven technologies in the farmers’ fields and training of farmers for its adoption with efficient management of natural resources. We have to feed the millions and also ensure what we feed them is nutritionally adequate. More than half of the women suffer from anaemia and more than 30 per cent of the children are born with low birth weight. Millions of children are undernourished in terms of protein, vitamin and mineral deficiency. Many suffer from malnutrition which is different from under-nutrition. Malnutrition is unbalanced nutrition and even includes over–nutrition or obesity. With fast socio–economic changes occurring in society, cereal intake is declining and fast food is finding increasing acceptance. This group is economically well-off, can afford everything nutritious but ignorant of healthy food habits.
Many traditional crops like grains and legumes are rich in micronutrients and vitamins and can provide balanced nutrition to tackle micronutrient deficiency in urban and rural areas. The adoption of mixed farming involving crops, livestock, poultry, piggery, horticulture along with efficient natural resource management and use of modern technologies may bring a quick and rapid improvement in farm income and ensure food and nutritional security at household level.
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