yuyutsavah

SOWING PROSPERITY Boosting agricultural

productivity

Team Details: 1. Anjani Kumar Mishra 2. Abhijeet Kumar 3. Keshav Chaudhary 4. Navraj Dixit 5. Sumit Kushwaha

INDIA: A BLESSED LANDMASS • India is the world’s seventh largest country as far area is considered.

• Its great Indo-Gangetic plains, Coastal plains, the Deccan's, Himalayan foothills composed of different types of soils like alluvial, black, red, laterite and mountain soils allow to grow a vast variety of crops.

• Its tropical and subtropical type of climatic features favors the farming of cereals, fruits, vegetables, spices. Hardly any nation of the world has such a great natural benefit.

• India enjoys annual rainfall of 1160 mm ( world average 1110 mm), water cover 4% of total world water.

• Almost 55-60% of total workforce is engaged in agriculture. India’s workforce is second largest in world just after China.

AGRICULTURAL CHALLENGES OF INDIA • Contribution of agriculture to the overall GDP of the country has fallen from about 30

percent in 1990-91 to less than 15 percent in 2011-12, a trend that is expected in the development process of any economy, agriculture yet forms the backbone of development.

• Rising number of small farms and fragmentation of farms.

• Agriculture is still not an organized sector due to lack of administrative support and awareness among farmers.

• Inadequate food storage facilities. Almost 21 million tons of wheat which is equivalent to Australia’s entire production is wasted every year in India. About 40% of fruits and vegetables perish before it reaches to the market due to lack of transportation and storage facilities.

• A nexus of middleman between farmer and market(both urban and rural), leading to improper payback to the farmer and weakening farmer’s position in market.

• Since 1970s there is decline in the irrigation potential development and its proper utilization.

• Regular hikes in the prices of fuels and other energy resources do not allow for energy intensive irrigation practices leading to regular downfall in the total irrigated land of India.

• Small farmers don’t have enough capital to use advanced technologies for sowing and harvesting of crops.

• Due to deficiencies in the Public Distribution System the subsidised seeds and fertilizers don’t reach to farmers .

• Farmers whose sole source of earning is farming if faces loss due to natural calamities like floods and droughts has to go through a very long administrative steps to get the compensation and that even don’t account for loss of labour and time.

• Lack in the farm mechanisation and tools for farming are also not very modern.

• Due to excess use of inorganic chemical fertilisers there is regular loss in the fertility of soil. Burnings of crop remains in the field damages the soil quality which has become a usual practice by farmers.

• Research and innovations in agriculture and allied areas is very limited in India as compared to China, USA and Brazil.

• Youths do not see agriculture as a good source of earning as compared to other sectors.

• Farmers lack the knowledge of business of food industries and hence are limited to growing and selling of the crops at household level. The best example is selling of sugarcane to sugar industries by farmers in which farmers always feel cheated for the amount they are paid by the industry.

• Minimum support price has been a great issue among farmers.

• A rapid increase in the rate of suicidal of famers has been observed in the previous few years which is very embarrassing for an agrarian economy like India.

• Agriculture has been a neglected area by private investors and political care in past few years.

SOLUTIONS Major Problems Proposed solutions Advantages over existing

system

1. Food storage •Construction of food storage infrastructure lashed with advanced refrigeration and preservation technology •Proper set up of network through information technology for easy access to quantity of crops in various parts of India.

•It will reduce the food waste which is approx 40% of total production as per World Bank data. •This will increase the food business and its allied industries.

2. Gap between farmer and market

• FOOD BANK: proper maintenance of record and detail of storage by each farmer.

• Transparency of total quantity of agro products.

3. Improper administration and management

•Introduction of a National agency for verification and inspection of agro products.

•Prevent the leaks in existing system .

4. Seepage of irrigation Water

•Use of soil stabilization techniques for retaining of water at upper layers . •Cotton soil/ alluvial soil is used in field to reduce the seepage of irrigation water

• Prevention of wastage of energy in pumping from ground .

CREATION OF WORKFORCE

FARMERS GRADUATES/ DIPLOMA

RESEARCHERS/ MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS

PRINCIPLE FOR CHOOSING THE GROUP

•Work experience in the field.

•Knowledge of agriculture and allied branches/Engineering •Able to built Resumes & deliver training skills.

•Doctorates in field of agriculture/ technology. •Impart relevant training through work experience.

Around 80 thousand Around Thirty thousand

Ten thousand

POTENTIAL SKILLS CONVEYED

•Good knowledge of traditional farming methods. •Hard work for long duration.

•Deliver training to farmers about new agricultural machines. •Language proficiency

• Managerial & innovative solutions. •Industrial operations/research.

BUILDING THE WORKFORCE

Need of skill assessment • Requirement of technical skills for engineering designs and project

management.

• Proper knowledge of Government policies and schemes.

• Knowledge of farming, water resources, IT sector, Laws.

Recruitment of the workforce

• Researchers/Engineering graduates from state, central institutions.

• Retired officers from Government Departments like Food Corporation of India, Ministry of Water Resource, Bank.

Awareness building • Utilization of social and print media.

• Campaigning in educational and commercial institutions.

PLANNING AND MAPPING

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

HELDING CONFERENCE AND SEMINAR ON THE

PROPOSED SOLUTION BY THE RESEARCHERS

AWARENESS PROGRAMS

TRAINING CAMPS AT COMMUNITY LEVEL

IMPARTING TRAINING TECHNICAL

INFORMATION TO THE GRADUATE

INSTITUTIONS / LABROTORIES

INDUSTERIES

RETIRED GOVRNMENT OFFICERS

BHARTIYA KISAN SANGH (FARMER

UNION)

IMPLEMENTATION

Training Delivery • Medium: Regional languages. • Training period: 6 months to 1 year. • Venue: Panchayat bhavan, Schools,

Agricultural farms. • Computerized vocational training

through video conference. • Distribution of recorded media files.

Curriculum • Knowledge/use of refrigeration,

transportation and food storage technologies and their advantages.

• Use of organic fertilizers, advance irrigation techniques like using alluvial soil in farm field and seeds and farming practices.

• Imparting education about government policies, laws, rules and regulations of the required field.

Social Support, Scalability and Sustainability • Recruitment of technical staff from

among the newly passed out graduates will help the model self driven.

• Support from social activists, local people and farmers.

IMPACT Economic benefits:

• Increase in employment.

• Boom in agricultural productivity.

• More raw materials for Agro-based Industries and Increase in export of agricultural products.

• Food Bank will ensure food security and control over sudden inflation

of essential commodities.

Social progress: • Reduction in suicidal rate of farmers and Increase in their living

standards.

• Rise in interest among youth towards agriculture.

Challenges and Mitigation Factors Uncertainties:

– This model needs huge cost hence government may not find it viable to invest.

– Several natural factors may damage the project implementation.

– Youth may not find it more efficient source of earning.

Implementation challenges: – To line up with different research

institutes of the country.

– Providing effective training at vast scale.

– Conducting large scale conferences and training camps.

Mitigation factors: – Tie up with National magazines

like YOJANA for awareness campaign.

– Bringing in private sector investments.

– PWD can provide free of cost venues like parks and National stadiums for seminars and conferences.

– Education and Research Councils can provide training curriculum.

REFERENCES

• World Bank report on Indian food productivity trends.

• Annual report on irrigation submitted by Ministry of Water resources of India.

• Food corporation of India report on annual food loss.

• Yojana magazine.