There is a high price you are paying for putting food on the dinner table. And it's not just the money; experts say the environmental costs of producing food have been steadily rising. That, in the long term, is one of the biggest threats to food security in the country.
These costs aren't restricted to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with modern agriculture industry. In the past few decades, farming has led to depletion of resources, soil degradation and pollution. On all these counts, the country's "breadbasket" belt of Punjab and Haryana — the region that lifted India out of foodgrain shortages in the 1970s —has scored poorly. And, the scores aren't getting better.
As economist and Planning Commission member, Abhijit Sen, puts it, "In the case of Punjab and Haryana, we have actually mined the area. We knew the problems but ignored them as these states were producing the food."
Take the case of water. According to the Central Groundwater Board, the water table is receding in 80% of Punjab and 70% of Haryana. The average depletion rate per year is 30-40 cm and goes up to 1 metre at some places. In other words, a proportion of Indians consume food grown with water that belongs to our children. In the long term, the International Water Management Institute estimates shrinking of ground water will reduce India's grain output by one fourth.
Experts feel policy interventions should have come long back to soften the adverse environmental impact of agriculture. Says Ashok K Gulati, Asia director of International Food Policy Research Institute, "Much of the water depletion in Punjab and Haryana is due to water-sapping paddy cultivation. This is a semi-arid region not suited for paddy. High-yield paddy cultivation should shift east, where there's comparative advantage for the crop."
Ramesh Chand of National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research agrees that northwest India wasn't the most suited region for Green Revolution's thrust for raising paddy yields. "Punjab and Haryana farmers, through hard work, 'earned' the comparative advantage in paddy. But it has had its consequences. Now, farmers there should be encouraged to adopt the new rice intensification technique that needs less water. There has to be a gradual shift away from paddy."
Both Gulati and Chand stress that free power to farmers has also led to water wastage through indiscriminate pumping. In Punjab, there are over 10 lakh tubewell connections. "We have to have a policy that accounts for electricity used by farmers," says Gulati.
Water is one aspect of the problem. There's evidence that soil quality in these intensive farming areas is deteriorating. Says food analyst Devinder Sharma, "The micro-nutrient level in soils from Punjab has been found to be 0.1%. It should ideally be 2%." This has come about due to a skewed fertiliser policy that gives more subsidy to certain nutrients, leading to disproportionate use by farmers.
Then there are pesticides that enter the food cycle due to indiscriminate use. A study by PGIMER Chandigarh linked the growing number of cancer cases in some Punjab districts to pesticides. Says Sharma, "We have been using chemicals even where they aren't needed. For instance, the International Rice Research Institute has concluded that in Asia, pesticide use in rice was a waste of time and money."
Sharma says the country needs to rethink the high-input chemical-based Green Revolution model. Other experts say a gamut of measures and policy initiatives are needed for a shift towards sustainable agriculture – intensive linkages between researchers and farmers, and adoption of a holistic approach that looks at soil health, conservation and better quality of life for farmers.
Climate change predictions have injected urgency to these moves. A 2006 study by the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology says the rainfall pattern in India is changing, with more events of heavy rainfall replacing light rains. The implication is dire: Less light rainfall means less recharging of ground aquifers. More events of heavy rain will lead to an increase in natural disasters.
Last week, representatives from 90 countries met at Johannesburg for an intergovernmental plenary on agriculture. After sustained debate, the International Assessment of Agriculture Science and Technology for Development released 'blueprints' for agriculture's survival. The report on south Asia says: "Climate change and variability will emerge as major threats to the agricultural sector in most of the region. With a plateau of productivity in key Green Revolution areas, achieving increases in food and other agricultural production necessitates broadening the base of agricultural growth."
India was a signatory to the document. Now is the time to put the words into action.
Amit Bhattacharya
amit.bhattacharya@timesgroup.com
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Deep_Focus/Bitter_Harvest/articleshow/2964353.cms
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