 |
|
| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, July 22, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
TREE TALK Make water
a tool Farm operations for August
|
|
|
Theory is fine, but it needs to work DIVERSIFICATION in Punjab is a topic that has been flogged to death in the Press as well as seminars, debates and group discussions. While that does not make it any the less important or challenging, things have not moved in the right direction or, say, beyond the discussion level. In the region’s context, simply put, the meaning of diversification is drastically cutting the area under wheat-paddy rotation by persuading the farmer to shift to alternative crops like vegetables, fruits, or oil seeds. However, by and large, the farming community is not yet mentally prepared to abandon the cycle. Why? This is a question that has remained unanswered yet, maybe because no one wants to look at the reality. Punjab’s farmers want diversification. They are well aware of the damage being caused to the mother earth—water table, environment, etc—because of the wheat-paddy rotation, especially paddy. They also know about the problems of plenty on the foodgrains front, which, though, is unreal in view of the fact that nearly 40 per cent of population has not enough money to have food twice a day. Moreover, two successive crop failures can not only lead to the exhausting of the entire buffer, but also force import of foodgrains. Farmers’ awareness notwithstanding, they are unable to diversify. The reason being that while in trying to diversify there is an inherent risk, farmers are passing through a critical phase. They are under heavy burden of debt. In fact, a majority of them are in a financially crippled state. Living cost has gone up because of changed lifestyles. The return from farming has come down, if the over-head costs on growing crops are calculated. Social customs, most of which have now become social evils, only add to the misery. Hence, the risk of farmers’ financial destabilisation is a major impediment. They do not have the capacity to risk growing vegetables, fruits, oil seeds, etc. There is no assured return from these alternative crops in the absence of an assured market. The chances of failure in these crops are many times higher than paddy and wheat, for which there is an assured market and a feasible return, at least until the Centre decides to withdraw the MSP. Ironically, Punjab was a leading state in growing oilseeds, maize, groundnut, pulses, etc, till the 1980s. Under paddy, it had only 3.90 lakh hectares of area producing just 10.27 lakh tonnes in 1970-71, compared to the current figure of 24.87 lakh hectares producing 131 lakh tonnes. The area under maize was 5.55 lakh hectares (producing 17.42 lakh tonnes) in 1970-71. It is now only 1.65 lakh hectares. In 1960-61 the area under wheat was only 14 lakh hectares (17.42 lakh tonnes), compared to the latest figure of 33.42 lakh hectares (154 lakh tonne). In 1960-61 the area under pulses in Punjab was 9 lakh hectares, which is now only 66 thousand hectares. Under groundnut, Punjab had 1.74 lakh hectares in 1971, whereas it is now only 4,000 hectares. In fact, the entire malwa region used to sow pulses, especially grams, moong and masr; paddy was only confined to the Amritsar-Gurdaspur belt. At one stage, Kurali was known as the cotton belt. The Green Revolution in the 70s that brought self-sufficiency to the country on the foodgrains front also changed the character of agriculture in states like Punjab. Farmers were quick to abandon pulses and other traditional crops to shift to wheat-paddy rotation, which ensured more returns because of the high yielding varieties and improved farming practices. With mechanisation, farmers quickly changed the natural character of soil in a vast area, especially in malwa, by removing sand dunes, which were fit to grow crops like groundnut and even grams, and brought these tracts under tubewell and canal irrigation. Punjab is now paying the price of the Green Revolution. Farmers cannot revert back to the traditional cropping pattern (of pre-70s) of growing pulses, groundnut, etc, and they are also not ready to take the risk of shifting to vegetables, fruits, and other crops as suggested by Dr S.S. Johl and others, owing to their weak financial position. In fact, on the oilseeds front they had a bitter experience by growing sunflower and so was the case with grapes and citrus fruits. There is a scope of bringing an additional five lakh hectares of area under the cotton crop if varieties immune to pest attack are made available in the Malwa belt, where farmers have tremendous faith cotton cultivation. The cotton yield in Punjab in 1991-92 touched a figure of 27 lakh bails, beating states like Mahrashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The second crop in which farmers have faith is sugarcane. They can increase the area under this crop, provided the exploitation of farmers by sugar mills is stopped and the functioning of cooperative mills is strengthened. While Dr Johl wanted to take away one million hectares from the paddy-wheat rotation, up to 70 per cent of the problem can be solved by sugarcane and cotton. The changed world economic order—under the WTO agreement and other related issues—has had its effect. The agriculture sector too, like the industry, is feeling the heat. Foodgrains, especially wheat, are available at much cheaper rates to coastal states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh from countries like Australia. Moreover, most of the Indian states, which were deficient in foodstocks earlier, have now become self-sufficient. In this no-demand situation, Punjab has become, at least for now, a liability instead of being an asset for the country. The Johl Committee presented its formulation to Capt Amarinder Singh’s government recently. He has made suggestions that seem to be impracticable—that the Union Government should support Punjab’s crop adjustment programme by providing Rs 1280 crore to be distributed among farmers (Rs 5000 per acre) who sign an undertaking not to sow wheat and paddy. However, it would not be possible for the Centre to take a policy decision in this connection. Once there is precedence, some other state can also ask for similar help. For the Centre to favour a particular state like Punjab, which has poor political clout at the national level as compared to states like Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, is beyond comprehension. Dr Sucha Singh, an eminent economist, commenting on Dr Johl ‘s recommendations, feels these are not implementable due to various reasons. Girdavari, a highly flawed system for recording crops sown, is to be handled by patwaris. He says there is a need for an integrated agriculture policy for diversification. A crop-specific bonus—which means that if a farmer grows mustard he gets a certain amount of bonus calculated per quintal on the total yield—could be more practicable. |
|
Farmer sticks to ‘safe options’ “FASAL da badal ta gallan he hagiyaan, sarkar eh ta dassay ke assi ke beejiay te kithey vechiay.” That is the common refrain from farmers who are at their wits’ end thinking of crops to beat the wheat-paddy cycle—as called upon by the government and agricultural experts. Farmers of Ludhiana district—both big and marginal—also express their reluctance to try something new till a minimum support price and effective marketing mechanism are in place. In an interaction with those tilling the soil, it was found that most are loath to take the advice of experts following past experiences when they did listen to them. Most said they were left with produce that was not in demand in the market or could not be sold for want of an effective market mechanism.
Experimenting Narrating an instance, he says, “I burnt my fingers while trying turmeric as an alternative. Since the soil of Ludhiana is right for it I recorded a high yield—70 quintals per acre—but found that there were no buyers. Ultimately, I had to sell it for just Rs 2.80 per kg and could not even recover the seed costs and chalked up huge losses, he added. “Other options like oilseeds, floriculture and pulses need to be examined before asking the farmers to opt for it. The market for them is so fluid that a person who earns huge dividends one year will have to make do with that for the next two seasons. I agree that farmers do not want to sow paddy, but then what are the alternatives?” he asks.
Reverse direction “I mostly grow potatoes, but the market in the past few years has become quite unpredictable. It is a bhed chaal for most farmers. If in one season tomatoes are expensive everybody opts for the same crop next time, resulting in a glut that year. We also suffer losses, but since we have been at it longer, our losses are offset after alternate years. The much-touted Apna Mandi concept—aimed at providing farmers a platform to sell their produce at their own rates—too is a failure,” he adds. The Johl Committee recommendations are good, but will Punjab be able to afford the compensation to farmers for not sowing paddy or offer them cash crop alternatives, he asks.
MSP is saviour Gurdev is a small farmer with a landholding of just 10 acres. On this land he grows wheat, paddy and fodder for his livestock. “I just manage a humble living and the only returns are from the minimum support price and the family’s labour. In the present cycle at least I know that I will be paid the sum fixed by the government. I have seen big farmers experimenting and lamenting later on. They can afford to do so, but for me any experimentation would be a sure call to disaster,” he stresses. “Cotton and maize are unsuitable for this area and maize is uneconomical. I tried dairy farming and bought a couple of Jersey cows, but their milk yield goes down if not taken care of properly. This year I will barely be able to break even as the diesel costs—due to the delayed monsoon—have eaten into my profits,” he laments.
Incentive wanted “To wean away the farmers the government will have to step in in a big way. Farmers have grown accustomed to the incentives that were given to make Green Revolution a success. No small farmer will sow crops other than the ones that have been feeding his family for more than 30 years,” he says. Though is agrees that if the government is serious about giving Rs 5,000 per acre compensation he would opt for other crops. At least I will know that I have something to fall back upon if the crop fails or is not sold, he adds. |
|
TREE
TALK DEODAR, or Cedrus
deodara, is on of Himalaya’s most beautiful trees. The crop growing on sunny warm southern aspects, raised and managed scientifically in pure stands, presents a unique enchantment to the eye. The deodar foliage presents a peculiar pattern like the systematic layers of the slate roof of a conventional house in the hills. A member of the evergreen plant family
Coniferae, its needles are one to two-inch long and it flowers during May-June. Its fruit, cone, appears in July-August and ripens by the next spring. The natural habitat of deodar is the Himalayan ranges from Kumaon in UP, running through Himachal, J&K, and extending to the Hazara region in Afghanistan in the West. It is found on altitudes ranging from 4000 to 10000 feet. Soil wise, it is fond of clayey loam above gneiss, granite and quartzite formations. The mixed stands of deodar and other trees have a lot of undergrowth of bushes and climbers while the pure crop of deodar, however, tends to remain free from undergrowth. Deodar reaches harvestable girth (4’-3” measured at breast height) of 6 feet and height approximately 100-120 feet in 100-150 years, depending upon soil and environmental conditions. Towards the end of the nineteenth century one British Indian Forest Officer named E. M. Forester located a deodar log of 23 feet girth in the Gokul forest in
Garhwal. He brought a section of the log to the then Imperial Forest College at Dehra Dun in 1898. This section has 665 annual rings, meaning that the main tree had lived and grown for nearly 700 years. This section—duly annotated with the dates of important events of Indian History corresponding to the birth, growth and the demise of the said tree—can be seen in the museum of the Indian Council of Forest Education and Research at New Forest, near Dehra Dun, even today. A tree with a girth of about 45 feet is standing n the premises of Chaurasi Shiva temple at Bharmaur in Chamba District. Similar big trees can also be seen at the Hadimba temple in Manali. The yellowish heartwood of deodar makes excellent timber for construction as well as furniture. It is light (18-20 kg per cubic foot) while being very sturdy. It is soft and uniform grained and takes polishing very well. Ceilings, wall panels and furniture of deodar with a coat of spirit polish look beautiful like gold. Deodar wood is also rich in natural oil, which, extracted by destructive distillation, is useful in a number of medicinal applications as also for cocking boats and coating buffalo skin used as swimming aid in river waters. The presence of oil in the wood gives it an appealing scent, which acts as an insect repellent and keeps clothes in deodar boxes safe. A 120 feet high and 6 feet in girth, a mature deodar tree yields nearly 60 cft of timber, which today fetches approximately Rs 50,000. In the olden days when the railway tracks were just being laid and there was no dearth of almost virgin forests full of all kinds trees, deodar was the first choice of the engineers for sleepers for bearing the rail track. Take a piece of its heartwood, weather a beam or a scantling or a plank and lay or fix it on any dry or wet, hot or cold surface, it will never deteriorate. That explains the literal meaning of its name deodar, i.e. god
(deo) among timbers (dars). Its other local names are diar, kailo or
keelon, etc. Regarding regeneration, deodar seedlings come up naturally under mother trees in the usual habitat of the species. At places where the regeneration fails naturally, foresters raise seedlings in polythene bags in nurseries. Nearly two-year-old seedlings are then transplanted to vacant gaps in deodar forests. |
|
Make water
a tool ONE of the major goals now to be achieved is to ‘break the nexus of wheat-paddy crop rotation.’ It I proposed that to start with at least 10 lakh acres of irrigated land would be taken out of the pattern. Among the various steps being considered, one is to pay an “inducement” to farmers who cultivate crops other than wheat and paddy but this is yet to be finalised. Instead, it is suggested that water management tools need to be deployed. In the latest Punjab budget it is proposed to set up an Agriculture Research and Development Board, comprising of experts, and for this purpose a provision of Rs 20 crores has been made. The board’s major task will be to undertake steps to diversify at least 10 per cent of area under wheat-paddy rotation. For this, the board should use water management as a tool. In Maharashtra, a number of canals are called “three-month canals,” which are operated such that in certain areas sugarcane cultivation becomes impossible, as this would be detrimental to the environment in these areas. While demarcating the area in Punjab under sugarcane, the location of sugar mills and their existing or proposed crushing capacities need be kept in view. Earlier, the location of a number of sugar mills was decided on political grounds. A similar exercise would be necessary for demarcating areas under oilseeds and horticulture. While demarcating such areas not only the soil health but also the ground-water resource will have to be considered. At present farmers mostly deploy centrifugal pumps, as these are sturdy and cheap. But in the water-table decline areas farmers have to keep lowering their pumps and for that they have to lower the dry-pit or masonry wells. During such operations many a times fatal accidents happen. If the farmers were to pay for the electricity consumed for pumping then they would prefer to go for submersible pumps combined with more efficient modes of irrigation than employed currently. |
|
Farm operations for August PADDY — Irrigation to rice crop may be applied two days after the ponded water has infiltrated into the soil but rice field should not be allowed to develop cracks. Last dose of nitrogen through 35 kg urea may be applied, if already not given. — Deficiency of zinc can be expected on kallar reclaimed soils or on those fields where zinc has not been applied to the previous crop. The same can be corrected by applying 25 kg zinc sulphate per acre mixed with equal quantity of dry soil. — Iron deficiency can be expected in sandy soils. The deficient plants show yellowing on younger leaves which ultimately turn white. To correct this malady, 1.0% ferrous sulphate solution (one kg ferrous sulphate in 100 litres of water) per acre may be sprayed 3 to 4 times at weekly intervals. Do not apply ferrous sulphate to soil. — In an early transplanted crop, drying of leaves due to bacterial leaf blight disease may be noticed. Spray with any chemical will not be helpful to control this disease. Do not pond water in the field. Addition of nitrogen will further increase the disease. Sheath blight may be noticed by the last week of August. The disease can be checked by spraying Bavistin 50 WP @ 200 g in 200 litres of water at boot stage. Keep the bunds clean by removing grass. Rice stem borer: The larvae bore into the stems of young plants and produce dead hearts. When they attack old plant of paddy, then empty and erect white ears make their appearance. The fields showing more than 5 per cent dead hearts should be sprayed with 250 ml of Dimecron/Cildon/Phamidon/Phosdon/Bilcron/ Kinadon 85 SL or 560 ml of Nuvacron/Monocil 36 SL or one litre of Coroban/ Dursban Lethal /Chlorguard/ Durmet/ Classic 20 EC or 800 ml Ekaylux 20 AF in 100 litres of water per acre. These insecticides may be repeated as and when damage reaches economic threshold level. The borers can also be controlled by using 7.5 kg Sevido 4:4 G per acre in standing water. Leaf folder: The larvae of this insect fold the leaves, eat out the green tissues and produce white streaks. Control this pest by spraying 250 ml of Folithion/ Sumithion: Accothion 50 EC or 150 ml of Lebaycid 1000 EC or one litre of Coroban/ Durmet 20 EC or 560 ml of Nuvacron/ Monocil 36 SL in 100 litres of water per acre. Application of Padan/Caldan/ Kritap/ Sanvex 4G or @ 10 kg/ acre recommended for control of stem borer in basmati rice also control leaf folder. Leaf hopper and plant hoppers can be controlled by spraying the crop with 40 ml Confidor 200 SL or 250 ml of Lebaycid 1000 EC or 800 ml of Ekalux/Quinguard 25 EC or 1000 ml Ekalux 20 AF or 560 ml of Thiodan 35 EC/Endocel/35 EC/ Nuvacron 36 SL or one litre Coroban/Dursban 20 EC in 100 litres of water.
— Progressive Farming, PAU |
 |
 |
Mr Maninder Gurm, a young and big farmer of Jhabewal village, near Ludhiana, tells The Tribune that he has been experimenting with various crops but is yet to strike the “right balance.” The absence of a marketing and price mechanism is really frustrating and has put paid to the best of his efforts. He is now into floriculture—“I will market my own produce”—and is busy setting up a florist’s shop in the city.
Another big farmer—Sarbjit Singh of Kasabad village—is planning the reverse of what is advised—to sow paddy from the next season. “My family has been growing vegetables for the past 40 years and I am carrying on the tradition, but in view of the intensive labour costs and uncertain returns will plant paddy next time. Right now, of my 80 acres, I have planted paddy on just three of them,” he reveals. 
In the case of small farmers, like Gurdev Singh of Chakkar village in Ludhiana, the options are even more limited. He cannot experiment and has to make do with the “safe option” of wheat and paddy. 
Lakhjinder Singh of Manjh Phaguwal, near Phillaur, is also sailing in the same boat. He too owns 10 acres and is skeptical of the diversification call.