Sustainable Agriculture for Food Security

N.G. Hegde

Sustainable Agriculture for Food Security. Indian Farming. 49(12). Mar.: 4-11, 2000.

Population Growth leading to Scarcity

It is estimated that once the population in India crosses 1.38 billion in 2025 A.D., the country will have to import about 60 million tons of foodgrains annually. During this stage, the annual demand for food will have increased to 325 million tons/year, while the production might remain stagnant at 250 million tons/year. Surely that will mark the worst period in economic crisis, when the people might have to move around with begging bowls to ensure food supply for survival.

In a resource poor country like India, if we are dependent on others even for food, apart from other essential commodities, such as oil, natural gas, basic ingredients for fertilisers, heavy engineering materials, nuclear power and computer technologies, there will hardly be anything left in the country to export and settle the import bills. Presently about 50% of the petroleum consumed in the country is imported and by 2035 A.D., we are likely to exhaust the oil reserves as well. Coal is the major source of fossil fuel in India, which can last for some more period, but as the quality is poor, there will hardly be any takers. The opportunity for exporting other minerals is also insignificant. Thus without earning any foreign exchange, how can we import foodgrains to feed our population ?

Our only hope is that 35 years is a long period and there is some scope, if we wish to take some positive steps to ease the crisis. The immediate need is to address the problem faced by the year 2010,when the population will have reached 1150 million and the annual demand for food will have reached 240 million tons. To cope with the increasing demand, we need to enhance the agricultural production by 20%, from the present level of 198 million tons. Under normal circumstances, a target to maintain 2% growth can solve the problem. This should not be difficult as we have recorded a higher average annual growth of 2.37% during the last decade. However the strategy adopted in early 70’s to boost food production has been well-exploited so far and the productivity has now reached the level of saturation. We therefore need to look into various factors affecting the crop production and modify our strategy to address these problems, while making optimum use of the available resources and technologies to reach the new target.

Current Status of Crop Yields

Considering the current levels of agricultural crop yields in other regions as presented in Table 1, the task is within the reach of the Indian farmers. Presently the average cereal crop yield in India is 1935 kg/ha, as compared to 4329 kg/ha in China, 4040 kg/ha in United States and 2757 kg/ha in the world. With regard to per capita land holding and percentage of the crop lands covered under irrigation, India does not lag behind significantly. Regarding the use of fertilisers, the average use in India is significantly lower than in China, but closer to North America. Therefore it should be possible to increase the food production in India by adopting scientific methods and necessary inputs.

Table 2 shows crop-wise comparative data on cropping area, yield and production in 1980-81 and 1994-95 indicate that the adaptation of modern agricultural production technologies in the past to boost the yields were limited to only a few crops such as wheat, paddy and maize. It is only because of an increase in the yield of wheat that the average yield of cereal crops has increased during recent years. None of the other crops have exceeded this average cereal crop yield, although the potential yield of these crops is in the range of 2500 and 3500 kg/ha. Rice is the major crop with over 43 million ha, contributing about 42% of the total foodgrains produced in the country. Out of the total area, about 90% is under Kharif season with an average yield 1776 kg/ha, while 10% area under Rabi has been yielding 2761 kg/ha. This 40% increase in the yield, despite the possible water scarcities indicates the scope for increasing the Kharif crop yield with better management. The yield of other crops in rabi season has also been higher than that in Kharif season. Crops such as sorghum, bajra, gram and oil seeds cover over 35% cropping area, but the yields are extremely low. This could be due to inadequate inputs and inferior varieties

Application of higher doses of chemical fertilisers has a direct influence on the crop yields atleast upto 100 kg/ha. In China, where the cereal crop yield is 4329 kg/ha - the highest in the world, the average fertilisers applied for cereal crops is 284 kg/ha, whereas the world average is 96 kg/ha. However, the average cereal crop yield in Europe is 4295 kg/ha - only 1.0% lower as compared to China with over 30% lower doses of fertilisers. The average cereal yield in United States is 4040 kg/ha, with only 87 kg fertilisers per hectare. The reduction in the yield by 6.7% with over 70% reduction in fertiliser application highlights the scope for judicious use of external inputs for sustainable crop production.

In India, the average fertiliser application in advanced states like Punjab is 167.3 kg/ha, followed by Andhra Pradesh (137.3 kg/ha), Haryana (123.7 kg/ha) and Tamil Nadu (106.9 kg/ha), while the national average of fertiliser consumption is only 73 kg/ha. The average fertiliser consumption in Kerala, Gujarat and Maharashtra is lower than the national average, while several backward states lag far behind. This is because the farmers having irrigation facilities have only been making optimum use of chemical fertilisers, and four major crops, namely sugarcane, paddy, wheat and cotton consume over 80% of the total quantity of fertilisers used in the country. Even in these crops, the response to fertilizer application is not very encouraging like in United States. This can be due to improper nutritional balance, untimely application and other factors such as varieties, crop protection and inadequate management. It has been observed that as against the recommended N:P:K ratio of 4:2:1, Indian farmers have been applying fertiliser in 8.5:2.6:1 ratio, which induces initial vegetative growth, susceptible to pests, diseases, lodging and causes poor floral induction and delayed maturity, thereby reducing the yield. Such excessive use of nitrogenous fertilisers, while economising on P and K has been attributed to availability of N fertilisers at a subsidised cost, while P and K fertilisers are expensive. Organic matter content in the soil also plays a significant role in making efficient use of chemical fertilizers by the crops. This reflects also on lack of awareness among farmers about appropriate technologies for enhancing crop production.
In irrigated areas, where the water distribution has been undertaken by the State Irrigation Department, the irrigation tariff for different crops has been fixed on the basis of scientific water requirement, rather than actual quantity of water used by the farmers. As most of these irrigation schemes have been commissioned in the recent past, the farmers who were earlier practising dry farming, still believe that excessive use of water can increase the crop yields. Due to free access to water which does not cost more, there has been gross misuse and wastage of irrigation water. This surplus quantity of water has been causing soil salinity and drainage problems, leading to reduction in crop yields, while depriving many other farmers of irrigation. Excessive use of water for irrigation has also been causing nutrient loss and acceleration of pests and diseases.

While excessive use of water has been responsible for damaging over 9.0 million ha fertile farm lands and turning them into saline wastelands, rainwater in non-irrigated areas has been wasted to a great extent. Presently over 73% area under crop production is dependent on rainfall and more than one half of this area is located in a low rainfall zone. In these areas about 65% of the precipitation is lost through surface run off, while causing soil erosion and loss of mineral nutrients. In rain fed areas where soil moisture conditions are uncertain, farmers are unable to take any risk of cultivating improved varieties or applying higher doses of fertilisers. Hence the crop yields in these regions are extremely low. The problem is becoming more serious with recent climatic changes, when unexpected rains damage the crops and confuse the farmers in taking corrective measures. These problems can be handled more efficiently, if greater emphasis is given to watershed development and storage of rainwater in farm ponds and percolation tanks. With such facilities, the farmers can take up immediate sowing, with the confidence of providing initial irrigation to protect the new crop. They may also develop an attitude towards the application of optimum doses of fertilisers, if irrigation facilities are available in times of emergency.

Scope for Increasing Crop Yields

The factors responsible for higher yield are high soil productivity, supply of balanced crop nutrients, efficient water management, improved crops, better plant protection, post-production management for value addition and marketing. Warm weather and intensive sunlight are the other important inputs which are more favourable in India compared to most of the other countries.

Soil productivity is based on the mineral composition and structure of the soil, depth and drainage facilities, organic matter, intensity of earthworm and microbial activities. Fairly well productive soils in combination with assured irrigation and optimum supply of nutrients can enhance the crop yields by 200-300%, as compared to normal crops grown under rainfed conditions. Selection of suitable crops, improved varieties and efficient plant protection can also play a significant role in increasing the crop yields. Although the integration of these inputs is critical this has often been overlooked by most of the small and marginal farmers. In the absence of adequate extension education, even the large holders have been making grave mistakes and ending up in losses. Introduction of high yielding varieties without adequate investment on inputs and plant protection has been the major cause for failure of cotton crop in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra which has led to the recent death of several hundreds of farmers.

Rising cost of external inputs, disproportionate to the price for the produce is another problem faced by the farmers in India. Except for some crops like sugarcane, paddy and wheat, where the government has fixed minimum support price, most of the other commodities are subject to severe price fluctuations controlled by unfair market forces and traders. Even these support prices fail to satisfy the farmers, as they can hardly make some savings with such low prices. It is thus clear that food production cannot be increased merely by promoting the use of agrochemicals and other inputs, particularly by small farmers.

Focus on Small Farmers

Capability of the farmers to manage their own farms is another important factor influencing the crop yields. While the rich and elite farmers have been able to adapt improved agronomic practices to earn good returns, poor and uneducated farmers who receive incomplete information or cannot raise money on time to procure critical inputs, generally end up with lower crop yields and huge losses. Hence the strategy to enhance the food production should address the problems of such unsuccessful farmers, who represent over 75% of the total holders in the country. They own less than two ha land per family, mostly infertile and non-irrigated. They have been practising low-external input farming and the crop yields have been substantially low. Although their contribution to the national food production has been insignificant, it has been meeting a significant part of their food needs.

Increase in food production in the country does not necessarily ensure food security, if the poor do not have the buying power. Therefore participation of small farmers in food production is essential to achieve food security in the country. Most of them being illiterate and having failed earlier either in adapting new technologies or repaying the loan provided under various development schemes sponsored by the government, they have lost confidence both in themselves and the Extension Agencies. They need support not only to procure inputs but also to gain confidence.

Initially they should be exposed to various technologies and opportunities to improve the production and then encouraged to adapt improved practices gradually in several stages, without taking any risk to invest in expensive external inputs. Although such a strategy will take a long time for small holders to increase their crop yields at par with the elite practising improved agriculture, however it will help them to sustain their requirement. With increasing production, the foodgrain deficit within the community will be reduced and even the poor and landless can locally procure foodgrains at the farm gate price, at 30-40 % lower than the retail price. Thus most of the poor can afford to meet their needs inspite of lower income and escape starvation. This is the importance of production by the masses for ensuring food for the poor.

With initial support to develop their capabilities, skills and resources, small farmers can take their own decisions on cropping pattern and use of external inputs to enhance crop production. Simultaneously, the large holders can be encouraged to make necessary investments on external inputs with sound technological support to maximise the production. As the backward farmers generally follow the progressive and rich farmers, in this process of capacity building, both rich and poor can contribute their best to increase the food production.