Converting Gujarat into a farmer's paradise
Gujarat Series -2
Converting Gujarat into a Farmer’s Paradise
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has credited Gujarat’s overall development to the Gandhian model of public participation in development and said that mass movement for development will bring a change in the given situation.
While addressing the public at an event organised by Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini to mark 30 years of Prabodhini at Balgandharva Rangmandir, Pune, Modi added “The change in Gujarat happened because every Gujarati feels that he is part of the development process. The freedom struggle existed even before Gandhi. But it was Gandhi who made it a mass movement and made every individual aware of his role in the freedom struggle. He made even simple actions like weaving, sweeping and boycott of foreign clothes relevant to freedom struggle. Similarly Gujarat’s success lies in public participation.”
Modi stated that Gujarat leads in tourism, cotton export, solar energy, education and many other sectors and lamented that Cotton growing farmers in Gujarat are exporting cotton to the Chinese market. But here (in Maharashtra) farmers continue to commit suicide.
Expressing confidence that a turnaround was possible in every sphere of life on the lines of the ‘Gujarat model’, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the need of the hour was to emulate Mahatma Gandhi and turn development into a mass movement.
So what indeed is this Gujarat Model that Narendra Modi is talking about?
The country has tried and tested the governments from various parties including those of coalitions, but all models have failed. Whether it’s at the national level or state, BJP ruled govt. by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and now Narendra Modi in Gujarat has proved that it can deliver.
Modi’s Gujarat model stems from the conviction that for an allround growth of the state, the perspective has to be all encompassing and all inclusive. Modi has actually devoted a great deal of energy and resources to accelerating agricultural growth in the state through a broad spectrum of policy initiatives. Gujarat hasn’t allowed its keenness to promote industry overshadow its farming sector.
At first glance, the agricultural miracle in Gujarat seems to have been supported by factors such as good monsoon for most of the decade, increasing minimum support prices from the Centre and the spread of BT cotton, a lucrative cash crop. But all these benefits were available to other parts of the country as well and they all failed where Gujarat has succeeded.
Gujarat was early to amend the laws governing the marketing of agricultural produce and allow farmers to sell their output directly to private buyers. Even today, many states haven’t done so and keep the farmer tied to the official procurement hubs. But Gujarat opened up market access to farmers.
This also opened up contract farming. In 2004-05, Gujarat took an unusual step. It allowed companies to buy crops from farmers a year in advance. This helped the farmers’ hedge against price upheavals and guaranteed a minimum price. While it reduced market risks for the farmer, it also encouraged companies to invest in farming indirectly.
Gujarat has also stepped up its support services significantly in the last decade, taking knowledge from research campuses to the farms. In the last five years, Krushi Mahotsavs (Farm Festivals) have been started by Narendra Modi.
As many as 18,600 villages host the event on the Akshaya Tritiya day. University professors, government officers and even ministers spend time with farmers, listening to their problems and developing solutions.
But the big change in Gujarat has come from the conservation of the most crucial resource for farming – water.
Gujarat has embarked on a major exercise to conserve water and use it more efficiently in the fields. The most important turning point in the state’s agriculture has been the innovative management of its groundwater resources. The state has adopted a combination of rainwater harvesting – that traps water that would otherwise drain away – and micro irrigation – that supplies each drop of water more efficiently and directly to the plant. The movement has been a roaring success and stories are in vogue of conversion of barren lands into fertile farms, rising yields and falling costs of cultivation across the state.
Between 2001 and 2006, Chief Minister Narendra Modi ordered the building of check dams wherever possible. His slogan was that rain water in the fields should remain there and the water in rivulets should remain there too. There was little sense in letting all this water drain into the sea. The strategy worked. And farmers began to see a rise in water tables year after year.
Modi streamlined the supply of electricity to water pumps.
The foundation of the agricultural revolution in the State was laid between 2002 and 2003 when Chief Minister Narendra Modi decided to revamp the supply of electricity to farms and industries. Plagued by mounting power losses (caused by lines tripping and also by theft), he decided to supply quality power to the farms for at least four hours without any interruption — but only at night. He sold the idea to farmers thus: Accessing power at night would allow them to run their pumps on three-phase electricity, thus saving them the cost of diesel-powered pumps.
The government was still painfully aware that the key bottleneck would be availability of water. Higher water tables and taller dams could go only so far. The real need was to save water and use it more efficiently. There was a need to champion micro irrigation. That’s when the government formed Gujarat Green Revolution Company (GGRC).
The new company adopted a twin strategy. First, it made the subsidy for micro irrigation available to all farmers, not just the poor ones. The initial investment to install the plumbing for micro irrigation would be prohibitive for the poor famer, even after the subsidy. But for the richer ones, the subsidy made it a compelling proposition and they jumped in. This, in turn, showed the way for poorer farmers who followed.
Second, GGRC tightened norms for the subsidy scheme ensuring that companies didn’t focus on selling pipes only. It insisted that micro irrigation technology providers also offer extension services. To ensure compliance, it introduced a series of norms – like how many agronomists must be employed for a given expanse of land, how many field visits the experts must make and even the price at which the systems could be sold.
Now there is talk in Gujarat that the government will order that power connections will be granted only if a farm has micro irrigation facilities. This is so because drip, sprinkling and spraying systems that come under the definition of micro irrigation deliver water very close to the plant or even to the roots. They avoid delivering water where it is not needed, thus reducing the growth of weeds. They don’t allow water to seep too deep into earth.
Thus, Micro irrigation is spreading fast across Gujarat
The new and innovative approach adopted by Gujarat to rejuvenate its virtually defunct farm extension system involves bringing farm scientists and service providers on the same platform and taking them to the farmer’s doorstep, rather than the other way round. To galvanise the farming community, the State Government organises a month-long event called ‘Krushi Mahotsav’ every year where a team of officials from agricultural department accompanied by agricultural scientists visit each of the 18,000 villages and provide farmers with information and guidance about latest technology available, creating marketing linkages, micro-irrigation, use of pesticides etc.
Gujarat is the first State in the country which issues Soil Health Cards to farmers. Growers who used to grow one-to-two crops now cultivate three-to- four yields that give huge margins of profit. In addition, new concepts of contract farming and micro irrigation have helped farmers increase their earnings by more than double.
Gujarat’s success story in farm revolution has only just begun. In last seven years, the agriculture income rose over four times from Rs 14,000 crore to Rs 59,000 crore. The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2011 saw investments of Rs 37,000 crore pouring in for agro-based projects.
It is a remarkable achievement of the Government of Gujarat which initiated public-private partnership model to set up more than six lakh check dams, khet talavadis and bori bandh. This endeavour resulted in recharging of more than 10 lakh wells and bore-wells in the State during last decade. Due to this, irrigation facilities covered an additional land of 33 lakh ha and ground water level rose from three metres to 13 metres.
Till year 2001, drip and sprinkler irrigation technique was available in only 10 thousand ha land but now this figure has been increased to seven lakh ha. This technique has changed the face and fate of Kachch district. The region, once known to be a totally arid land, now produces fruits like Amla, date, fig, pomegranate, Kesar mango etc. Kachch alone exports more than 70,000 tonnes of the popular Kesar mango variety to West Asia.
Besides cereal production, Gujarat has become the topmost State in fruit and vegetable production with farmers producing 78 lakh tonnes of fruits and 73 lakh tonnes of vegetables.
Gujarat received a feather in its cap with an international organisation, Washington International Food Policy Research Institute, praising the State for attaining new heights in agriculture sector.
Even the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithiviraj Chavan recently accepted that his State is far behind in agri-sector as compared to Gujarat.
- Dayanand Nene
Converting Gujarat into a Farmer’s Paradise
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has credited Gujarat’s overall development to the Gandhian model of public participation in development and said that mass movement for development will bring a change in the given situation.
While addressing the public at an event organised by Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini to mark 30 years of Prabodhini at Balgandharva Rangmandir, Pune, Modi added “The change in Gujarat happened because every Gujarati feels that he is part of the development process. The freedom struggle existed even before Gandhi. But it was Gandhi who made it a mass movement and made every individual aware of his role in the freedom struggle. He made even simple actions like weaving, sweeping and boycott of foreign clothes relevant to freedom struggle. Similarly Gujarat’s success lies in public participation.”
Modi stated that Gujarat leads in tourism, cotton export, solar energy, education and many other sectors and lamented that Cotton growing farmers in Gujarat are exporting cotton to the Chinese market. But here (in Maharashtra) farmers continue to commit suicide.
Expressing confidence that a turnaround was possible in every sphere of life on the lines of the ‘Gujarat model’, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the need of the hour was to emulate Mahatma Gandhi and turn development into a mass movement.
So what indeed is this Gujarat Model that Narendra Modi is talking about?
The country has tried and tested the governments from various parties including those of coalitions, but all models have failed. Whether it’s at the national level or state, BJP ruled govt. by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and now Narendra Modi in Gujarat has proved that it can deliver.
Modi’s Gujarat model stems from the conviction that for an allround growth of the state, the perspective has to be all encompassing and all inclusive. Modi has actually devoted a great deal of energy and resources to accelerating agricultural growth in the state through a broad spectrum of policy initiatives. Gujarat hasn’t allowed its keenness to promote industry overshadow its farming sector.
At first glance, the agricultural miracle in Gujarat seems to have been supported by factors such as good monsoon for most of the decade, increasing minimum support prices from the Centre and the spread of BT cotton, a lucrative cash crop. But all these benefits were available to other parts of the country as well and they all failed where Gujarat has succeeded.
Gujarat was early to amend the laws governing the marketing of agricultural produce and allow farmers to sell their output directly to private buyers. Even today, many states haven’t done so and keep the farmer tied to the official procurement hubs. But Gujarat opened up market access to farmers.
This also opened up contract farming. In 2004-05, Gujarat took an unusual step. It allowed companies to buy crops from farmers a year in advance. This helped the farmers’ hedge against price upheavals and guaranteed a minimum price. While it reduced market risks for the farmer, it also encouraged companies to invest in farming indirectly.
Gujarat has also stepped up its support services significantly in the last decade, taking knowledge from research campuses to the farms. In the last five years, Krushi Mahotsavs (Farm Festivals) have been started by Narendra Modi.
As many as 18,600 villages host the event on the Akshaya Tritiya day. University professors, government officers and even ministers spend time with farmers, listening to their problems and developing solutions.
But the big change in Gujarat has come from the conservation of the most crucial resource for farming – water.
Gujarat has embarked on a major exercise to conserve water and use it more efficiently in the fields. The most important turning point in the state’s agriculture has been the innovative management of its groundwater resources. The state has adopted a combination of rainwater harvesting – that traps water that would otherwise drain away – and micro irrigation – that supplies each drop of water more efficiently and directly to the plant. The movement has been a roaring success and stories are in vogue of conversion of barren lands into fertile farms, rising yields and falling costs of cultivation across the state.
Between 2001 and 2006, Chief Minister Narendra Modi ordered the building of check dams wherever possible. His slogan was that rain water in the fields should remain there and the water in rivulets should remain there too. There was little sense in letting all this water drain into the sea. The strategy worked. And farmers began to see a rise in water tables year after year.
Modi streamlined the supply of electricity to water pumps.
The foundation of the agricultural revolution in the State was laid between 2002 and 2003 when Chief Minister Narendra Modi decided to revamp the supply of electricity to farms and industries. Plagued by mounting power losses (caused by lines tripping and also by theft), he decided to supply quality power to the farms for at least four hours without any interruption — but only at night. He sold the idea to farmers thus: Accessing power at night would allow them to run their pumps on three-phase electricity, thus saving them the cost of diesel-powered pumps.
The government was still painfully aware that the key bottleneck would be availability of water. Higher water tables and taller dams could go only so far. The real need was to save water and use it more efficiently. There was a need to champion micro irrigation. That’s when the government formed Gujarat Green Revolution Company (GGRC).
The new company adopted a twin strategy. First, it made the subsidy for micro irrigation available to all farmers, not just the poor ones. The initial investment to install the plumbing for micro irrigation would be prohibitive for the poor famer, even after the subsidy. But for the richer ones, the subsidy made it a compelling proposition and they jumped in. This, in turn, showed the way for poorer farmers who followed.
Second, GGRC tightened norms for the subsidy scheme ensuring that companies didn’t focus on selling pipes only. It insisted that micro irrigation technology providers also offer extension services. To ensure compliance, it introduced a series of norms – like how many agronomists must be employed for a given expanse of land, how many field visits the experts must make and even the price at which the systems could be sold.
Now there is talk in Gujarat that the government will order that power connections will be granted only if a farm has micro irrigation facilities. This is so because drip, sprinkling and spraying systems that come under the definition of micro irrigation deliver water very close to the plant or even to the roots. They avoid delivering water where it is not needed, thus reducing the growth of weeds. They don’t allow water to seep too deep into earth.
Thus, Micro irrigation is spreading fast across Gujarat
The new and innovative approach adopted by Gujarat to rejuvenate its virtually defunct farm extension system involves bringing farm scientists and service providers on the same platform and taking them to the farmer’s doorstep, rather than the other way round. To galvanise the farming community, the State Government organises a month-long event called ‘Krushi Mahotsav’ every year where a team of officials from agricultural department accompanied by agricultural scientists visit each of the 18,000 villages and provide farmers with information and guidance about latest technology available, creating marketing linkages, micro-irrigation, use of pesticides etc.
Gujarat is the first State in the country which issues Soil Health Cards to farmers. Growers who used to grow one-to-two crops now cultivate three-to- four yields that give huge margins of profit. In addition, new concepts of contract farming and micro irrigation have helped farmers increase their earnings by more than double.
Gujarat’s success story in farm revolution has only just begun. In last seven years, the agriculture income rose over four times from Rs 14,000 crore to Rs 59,000 crore. The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2011 saw investments of Rs 37,000 crore pouring in for agro-based projects.
It is a remarkable achievement of the Government of Gujarat which initiated public-private partnership model to set up more than six lakh check dams, khet talavadis and bori bandh. This endeavour resulted in recharging of more than 10 lakh wells and bore-wells in the State during last decade. Due to this, irrigation facilities covered an additional land of 33 lakh ha and ground water level rose from three metres to 13 metres.
Till year 2001, drip and sprinkler irrigation technique was available in only 10 thousand ha land but now this figure has been increased to seven lakh ha. This technique has changed the face and fate of Kachch district. The region, once known to be a totally arid land, now produces fruits like Amla, date, fig, pomegranate, Kesar mango etc. Kachch alone exports more than 70,000 tonnes of the popular Kesar mango variety to West Asia.
Besides cereal production, Gujarat has become the topmost State in fruit and vegetable production with farmers producing 78 lakh tonnes of fruits and 73 lakh tonnes of vegetables.
Gujarat received a feather in its cap with an international organisation, Washington International Food Policy Research Institute, praising the State for attaining new heights in agriculture sector.
Even the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithiviraj Chavan recently accepted that his State is far behind in agri-sector as compared to Gujarat.
- Dayanand Nene
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