Q :  Who do you think is responsible for this condition?

A :  Everyone is responsible. Scientists state they never claimed that the Green Revolution formula could be applied in the same manner everywhere. They are saying this after the farmers have lost everything. Agriculture Department is also responsible and so are the agencies propagating the myth.

This is because of the over-enthusiasm that extensive rain-fed farming will yield bumper crops. Similar is the myth pertaining to the availability of a wide range of loans, which is supposed to yield excellent results. But, the way in which farmers are told to do farming in rain-fed areas and the total dependency on rains, the money will never be recovered even at zero percent interest. This calls for a change in technology.

If the farmers have to gamble with nature, they have to be provided with proper crop insurance. The farmers should know that if the money is not recovered due to the vagaries of nature, they could certainly rely on crop insurance. The Monopoly Procurement Cotton Scheme of Govt. of Maharashtra had been implemented in an efficient way. It was a revolutionary decision, which rescued the farmers from the clutches of middlemen and they fetched a good price. Unfortunately, the scheme came to an abrupt halt.                

Q :  What do you think about the results of Bt cotton cultivation?

A :  Bt cotton provides similar results as that of any other hybrid seed in an irrigated area. Cultivation of such hybrid seeds should be done only in irrigated areas, not rain-fed ones like the Vidarbha cotton belt. The farmer will get the desired result only with proper irrigation facilities. In Maharashtra, Bt cotton has yielded excellent results under protected and proper irrigation. Hence, this technology is useful only for irrigated areas.

Q :  What do you think should be done to improve this condition?

A :   We have to agree on the core issue that the technology used for rain-fed farming has to be different from the one used for irrigated farming. For rain-fed farming, there are straight varieties that provide good results in that area. Some traditional varieties, which are in use for years, have proved to be successful.

The farmers have realized that they would be under heavy debts by sowing expensive seeds and hence, they are going in for hybrid and traditional varities.

The emphasis should be more on the yield than the produce or productivity. Unfortunately, this has been neglected in the entire research. No scientist has revealed that a particular technology could earn the farmers a substantial sum of money. The scientists tell that on usage of a particular technology how much increase in productivity will be there. The emphasis in Green Revolution was only to increase production; the main plank of Green Revolution was to grow more food.

That is why the National Commission on agriculture was set up in 1978. Today, there is a National Commission for Farmers. At that time, the focus was on enhancing the crop yield. But today, the focus has to be on how farmers can earn their livelihood through farming.

Today, everyone is obsessed with productivity, which has made the farmers much poorer than before. There is no consensus on any appropriate technology to be used in non-irrigated areas.

In Maharashtra, the total irrigated area will never exceed beyond 30-35% in spite of all out efforts. We have to discover such technologies that provide excellent results in rain- fed areas. This calls for a complete U-turn in our present way of thinking.

Q: What should be the Government’s role?

A : The Government has the ultimate authority to make the nation’s agricultural policy.      

The discussion on Bt versus non-Bt is irrelevant. The pivotal point of discussion should be irrigated versus non-irrigated farming.

In irrigated areas, Bt crops give good results and so do hybrid crops. Experts and researchers are not unanimous in their opinion. Rain-fed areas call for low cost farming. This is called ‘LEISA’ (Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture) technology  and comprises natural, hybrid and biodynamic farming techniques.

Q :  What about Sustainable Agriculture?

A :  We have to see what our aim is. Do we go for short term gains or sustainable agriculture? In sustainable agriculture, the farmer has to strike a right balance with nature, preserve his land and get returns continuously. He has to use such a technology. He cannot use a technology that gives him earning for simply a few years, and then takes him back to where he was. Such a technology is not sustainable.

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