Rural Employment Strategies for Food Security

1
Rural Employment Strategies for Food Security

• Regional Consultation on Mission 2007 Initiative
  for Hunger Free India
• Ahmedabad -- October 28, 2004
• Garry Jacobs
• The Mothers Service Society, Pondicherry

2
Prosperity 2000 Strategy

• Agriculture as engine for industrialization
  employment growth
• Shift focus from meeting minimum production needs
  to maximumizing profit per unit land water
• Projecting market growth based on nutritional
  requirements
• Raise productivity of soil water
• Shift to commercial crops which absorb more
  labour
• Develop industry linkages with industries
• Create 4.5 million direct 5.5 million indirect
  employment opportunities per annum

3
Crop Productivity Gap (kg/ha)

4
Low farm productivity results in

• High unit cost of production
• High priced food
• Low farm incomes purchasing power
• Low labour absorption
• High water consumption/unit of produce

5
Farmers Problems

• Poor quality inputs
• Lack of advanced production technology
• Poor access to credit
• No protection in case of crop failure
• Lack of assured markets
• Post-harvest losses of Rs 50,000 cr due to poor
  technology infrastructure
• Weak linkages with industry

6
Keys to Higher Productivity

• Technology
• Market
• Organization
• Finance
• People

7
Technology Strategies

• Raise crop yields
• Raise water productivity
• Improve post-harvest storage transport
• Expand upgrade processing industries
• Raising productivity can create millions of
  on-farm and off-farm employment opportunities.

8
Enhancing plant nutrition can double yields
incomes on all crops.

• Every Rs 1 of investment in plant nutrition
  returns Rs 5 of additional income Dr C.
  Lakshmanan, CACS
• One Tanjore paddy farmer reduced his production
  cost from Rs 3.50 to Rs 1.50 per kg

9
Soil Fertility (Tamil Nadu) after NKP treatment
Optimum Level Required by Plants
10
Impact of Improved Soil Nutrition
11
Comparative Tomato Yields

• India aver 8-12 tons per acre
• California aver 35-40 tons
• Achieved in Tamil Nadu 38 tons

12
Water Conservation

• 95 of water in India is consumed for agriculture
• Real problem is wastage, not shortage
• Water productivity in agriculture is extremely
  low
• California farmer produces 35 times more
  cotton/liter
• RWH can replenish 10 yrs consumption in one
  season
• Furrow irrigation can reduce water consumption
  50-70
• Deep chiseling can 2x crop yields ½ water usage

13
Tomato with furrows in TN

• Tomato consumed 33 of the water
• Achieved 217 higher yield (38 tons)

14
Normal Indian Soil
Rainwater cannot penetrate deepr or drain, so it
floods roots evaporates rapidly. The flooding
prevents plant roots from breathing, which is
essential for absorption of nutrients.
6
Crop
Roots cannot penetrate so plant growth is
stunted. Plants are small, weak, needs frequent
irrigation gives low yield.
Hard Pan
15
Deep Soil ploughing
Roots sink deep to reach perennial water supply
nutrients. Plant grows large, strong highly
productive.
36
Crop
Soft Pan
Rainwater stored deep down where it will not
easily evaporate is available to plants for
months
16
Deep Chiseling in TN
17
Market Strategies

• Commerical crops
• Energy crops
• Links with processing industries
• Exports

18
Horticulture

• Labour content 6 times cereals
• Generates 10-30 times earning / unit area
• Filling Indias nutritional gap requires 40
  growth
• Global share of processed food exports is rising
• India only 2 fruits vegetables processed
• Add 4M ha horticulture to raise production 40
• Generate 8 million jobs

19
Projected Power Demand by 2020
20
Biomass Power Generation

• Cultivate energy plantations -- casuarina,
  bamboo, prosopis on rain-fed irrigated lands
• Power plants 6-25 MW cost Rs 3 cr per MW
• Cost/unit Rs 2.50 on biomass at Rs 800 per ton
• Develop 10 million ha of energy plantation
• Establish 4000 units, 40,000 MW
• Reduce transmission losses
• Create 5 million jobs

21
Projected Oil Demand by 2020
22
Bio-diesel from Jatropa

• Develop 5 million ha
• Earn Rs 20,000 per acre from the 3rd year
• Establish 2500 oil expeller units
• Produce 10 MT of biodiesel
• Create 5 million jobs

23
Ethanol from Sugarbeet Sweet Sorghum

• Sugarbeet produces twice the sugar in 5½ mon
• Only 40 water consumption
• Add or shift 2 M ha for sugarbeet
• Additional 10 MT sugar for export or ethanol
• Raise sweet sorghum rest of year
• Produce 7 MT tons ethanol for domestic export
• Generate 2.5 million jobs

24
Edible Oil from Paradise Tree

• India imports Rs 6,000 cr of edible oil / year
• Paradise tree is rainfed, oil-seed crop from
  Brazil containing 50 edible oil
• Cultivate 5 million hectares of Paradise Tree on
  degraded forest lands
• Establish 2500 oil expeller units
• Produce 7. 5 MT of edible oil worth Rs 22,000
  crores
• Create 2.5 million year-round jobs

25
Cotton Textile Industry

• India is 3rd largest producer of cotton
• Domestic demand projected to grow 70 by 2010
• Export demand projected to triple by 2010
• Double yield area of irrigated cotton
• 12 million additional jobs in textile industry

26
Employment Potential
27
Organization for Rural Prosperity

• Self Help Groups
• Contract Farming
• Rural Information Centers
• Farm Schools

28
Self Help Groups

• 1 million created in 3 years
• 15 million members benefit
• 90 repayment of loans
• Mostly for non-farm activities
• Commodity-wise SHGs for agriculture
• Appachi Foundation ICICI 60 SHGs for cotton
  growers in Tamil Nadu

29
Contract Farming

• Successful Indian model -- sugar mills
• Organize SHGs of farmers
• Role of the Contractor
• Provide quality inputs
• Arrange credit with banks
• Arrange crop insurance
• Deliver extension services
• Operate farm schools
• Tie-up market with industry

30
Farm Schools cum Extension

• Objective double farm yields in 3 years
• Central satellite training institutes
• Contract agents/lead farmers act as field
  training extension staff
• Farm schools run by lead farmers on village lands
• Soil test labs
• Agro-service centres

31
Rural IT Knowledge Centres

• Soil analysis
• Expert system recommendations
• Multi-media farm training
• Input supply information
• Market information
• Other vocational training

32
Policy Issues

• Access to credit -- lend to SHGs on group
  guarantees post-dated checks include present
  defaulters.
• Repayment -- extend powers of Revenue Recovery
  Act for enforcement of loans to SHGs.
• Tax credits for contractors who raise farm
  productivity
• Strengthen crop insurance program
• Penalties for False Documentation by officials
• Penalties for Adulteration of ag inputs
• Railways to provide refrigerated storage
  transport