Meeting of expert group on Agriculture indebtedness – Can Indira kranthi patham uplift farmers?

High land rental costs - land tenures uncertain, ‘informal’ tenancy High input costs – seed, fertilizers, chemical pesticides, irrigation Low productivity Farmer has no control over factors of production – all come from outside. Inputs – supply and quality uncertain Dryland farming – Highly risky Poor availability of institutional credit – high costs of credit Farmers’ organisations – non-existent Poor marketing support – tie up sales Major causes of agriculture distress

A big ‘yes’ strategy: –Build strong institutions of rural poor – landless, marginal and small farmers – through organising women from each household –Analyse livelihoods of each household – plan for stabilising existing key livelihoods, –Livelihoods diversification:2-3 livelihoods / family –New livelihoods for youth – higher education, skill upgradation, jobs in service sector in urban areas Can Indira kranthi patham uplift farmers?

Reduced Input costs: S.H.G-bank linkage – low cost finance Non pesticide management of agriculture - elimination of chemical pesticides in 500,000 acres Vermi composting and other natural means of enhancing soil fertility Higher productivity Farmer field schools, village agriculture activist, community owned extension system Farmer organisations and S.H.G federations Farmer field schools are emerging as nascent farmers organisations What has I.K.P done so far?

Better price realisation for produce Village procurement centres run by S.H.Gs Women trained in quality control, proper accounting, logistics management, etc. Simple value addition at village level Food security requirement – met by direct purchases from farmers – elimination of middlemen and better prices for farmers Risk management through diversification of livelihoods What has I.K.P done so far?

Build strong organisations of poor farmers, involving both men and women Enable farmers to have control over all inputs –Village seed banks –Community regulation of water drawal – water balance to be maintained –Reduce water consumption – promote SRI –Reduce evapo transpiration losses – mulching, etc. –Reduce tillage costs –Suitable incentives to promote natural means of fertility improvement – vermicomposting, etc What else needs to be done in agriculture?

Risk - reduce risks in dryland agriculture through suitable ‘insurance’ product Marketing: –Proper post-harvest facilities at village level –Village level infrastructure – storage, drying platforms, sieving facility, etc to be strengthened –Village level value addition Knowledge dissemination system requires paradigm shift –make farmers play the central role, not university or agriculture dept –Grassroots academy for farmer activists –Utilisation of indigenous knowledge and best practices What else needs to be done in agriculture?

Credit: –Farmers heavily indebted –Debt burden increasing due to crop failures, high cost of inputs, drilling of borewells, etc –Thus both heavy stock of high cost debt and high cost of working capital –Need for debt swap and a strategy to prevent further indebtedness What else needs to be done in agriculture?

S.H.G – bank linkages have led to diversification of livelihoods – dairy, non-farm, service sector,etc. - hence reduced dependence on agriculture Investment in younger generation - new livelihoods : –Investments in higher education –jobs for educated youth in urban areas – through skills upgradation –Future plan – investments in quality school education Farmers’ uplift - what else has I.K.P done?

Conviction in the capability of each poor family to come out of poverty Conviction in the social mobilisation process and institution building processes Building and nurturing institutions of poor, self managed and self reliant, essential for poor to come out of poverty Institution building – process intensive, adequate time and space required, no short cuts Scaling through community best practitioners Key lessons for Poverty Eradication from A.P experience