Land Acquisition Bill: Trust Modi. His vision worked in Gujarat
The suicide of a farmer and the murky debate on the Land Acquisition Bill has shifted the focus from the main question - whether the Narendra Modi government can turn around India’s farm sector. An answer to this question can be found in the progress of agronomy in Gujarat in the first decade of the Modi tenure when it clocked nine per cent growth rate at a time when the rest of India was limping at less than four per cent. Modi’s critics say he was lucky to have successive good monsoons during his rule, which spurred the growth.
But economists like Bibek Debroy and Arvind Panagariya, both drafted into the Modi government now, always believed that prime minister’s innovative way of spurring agriculture and horticulture growth by resorting to dissemination of scientific information, focused agro planning, sharp communication with the farmers using the latest technology to motivate them, creation of water storage, and streamlining power to the farmers through unprecedented power reforms played a very major role in Gujarat’s high agriculture growth between 2003 and 2013 bringing prosperity to the farmers, notwithstanding the good monsoons.
The fulcrum of Gujarat’s agriculture growth was the annual Krishi Mahotsav that Modi launched with great gusto in 2005. As many as 226 tractors turned into raths rolled out in 226 tehsils for a period of one month every may, each equipped with a scientist and two other officers and lot of agro literature specific to the farming patterns of the concerned areas. Each rath, also accompanied by agro officials in their vehicles, covered three villages in a day, giving scientific information to the farmers on crop patterns and innovative techniques to change crop patterns and also increase production. This became an annual affair, and when backed by aggressive watershed campaign in the form of a drive to build check dam, deepening of wells and making farm water ponds, it started producing fantastic results from 2007 onwards.
Many switched crop patterns to take up cash-rich BT cotton and while tribal farmers in central Gujarat took to horticulture in their small holdings which got them very good returns.The crop switch by farmers showing great enterprise following the feel-good atmosphere created by Modi through his communication pegged on creating pride and the slogan "You can do it" encapsulated Gujarat’s agro progress during this period. Kutch saw a unique revolution as farmers switched to Kesar mangoes, a fruit which till then was the charm of Saurashtra’s Junagadh district alone. Kutch also saw the birth of a mix of horticulture and green house farming and other modern techniques. In Banaskantha, another arid district, many farmers switched over to papaya, a fruit that the arid district had hardly scene before. The area under horticulture more than doubled under Modi rule in Gujarat to more than 15 lakh hectares and the production trebled.
Modi’s scientific approach was best reflected in his soil health card scheme under which the state farmers were given soil health cards after examining the health of the soil of their farmland. This enabled the farmers to use the exact fertiliser thus preventing wasteful and often harmful use of fertilisers and also helped them change crop patterns and increase production.
Salient features of Modi’s agro success in Gujarat:
The Gujarat Green Revolution Company floated by Modi for drip and sprinkler took the state’s micro irrigation cover from 1 to 11 lakh hectares in 2003-2013 earning praise from water experts. It now forms more than 12 per cent of the total cultivated area in the state. What’s more, micro irrigation schemes in India are known for huge corruption. Lots of claims, little on ground. Gujarat’s was the cleanest, according to experts and farmers.
His Krishi Rath experiment, agro officials say, was the first step towards establishing a two-way communication with the farmers at the village level in India’s or even world’s agro history. Till then the government’s Gramsevak was the only outreach of the agriculture department to the farmers in the country in what was a one-way communication that was indirect.
A key feature of Modi’s agro vision was creating an enabling culture for the farmers by creating good conditions and infrastructure as against the freebie culture prevailing in India’s agro sector so that agriculture became self sustainable. Communication with farmers to motivate them was one of his strengths in Gujarat in exactly the way he is using radio to reach out to the common people through his Mann ki Baat.
During the one-month long 2012 Krishi Mahotsav, he spoke to farmers at every tehsil from video for 30 minutes every day for 22 days, speaking on a new agro topic everyday , thus motivating them to a new level. He would understand the topic from the agro officials in Gandhinagar, do some study and then deliver the talk, almost like an expert. As farmers watched Modi speak sitting in Tehsil headquarters or on OB vans in select villages they felt encouraged and inspired. During these 22 days he spoke on a wide range like a agro expert : micro irrigation, bio fertilisers, high tech horticulture, good seeding and even agriculture credit. Significantly, Modi always found newer ways of motivating the farmers. In one particular instance he got 500 most progressive farmers of the state as Krishi Rishis (farmer saints) who shared their success stories with fellow farmers by delivering lectures in villages earmarked by agro officials and got Rs 500 as fee for each lecture. Each such Krishi Rishi was made to cover three villages in a day in a government vehicle.
Niche agro research under Modi also took a giant leap as he increased the number of agro universities from one to four and dedicated each such university to research in the main crop or fruit of the region it was located. On the other hand his government constantly tried to increase the cultivable area. Between 2003 and 2013, the state’s cultivable area went up from 83 to 89 lakh hectares. Successive good monsoons also played a role in this. What clearly came was that his approach to agriculture was refreshing in the Indian political and administrative system given to placating farmers by giving subsidies and freebies. His focus was on replacing freebie culture with science-based enabling culture aimed at helping farmers stand on their feet.
His vision focussed was on creating a win-win situation for all stakeholders through a multi-dimensional approach that was holistic. Interestingly, in a state where majority farmers are dependent on ground water Modi imaginatively used the energy sector and the water resources sector to complement agriculture. While creating water storage through various approaches he streamlined the energy sector by providing a separate feeder line for agriculture in each of the 18,000 Gujarat villages to separate it from the domestic line. On a third front he restructured the Gujarat Electricity Board to bring it on track after wiping out losses accumulated losses over the years to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore.
On the fourth platform he told the farmers not to steal power - power stealing by farmers led to massive supply interruptions which prevented water to crop in crucial time - telling them, “Your problem is not power supply but water. Give me some time. I will give you water but won’t allow you to steal power.” As a result, farmers started getting assured and quality power supply with improvement in power situation , energy department restructuring and a separate feeder line for agriculture backed by a drive to punish power theft by farmers. So he used both carrot and stick to streamline things. One can say Gujarat is not India and also ask how can he do so now as most of these measures are to be taken by the state governments.
But there is no bar on Modi sharing his Gujarat example with the country and inspiring the farmers to create hope and aspiration in them even while doing the same with state governments, of course without playing politics as a responsible leader which is what exactly he did when Gajendra Singh died. Modi's 2013 Vibrant Gujarat National Agriculture Summit that saw 7,000 enterprising farmers participating from across India had created a great atmosphere in the farm sector. On this platform, Modi got the most enterprising farmers of the country to interact with their counterparts in Gujarat and exposed both to the most modern technology through a massive international class exhibition. It led to creation of new ideas amongst farmers and also confidence as there was sharp dissemination of information. Many of the farmers who came to Gujarat to participate in that event still remember it as one of the most important events of their lives.
Modi could do the same at the national level now to create new hope and "We can do it" atmosphere.