What types of improvement should be bring in agriculture
Answers
Improve farming practices, rural infrastructure, and access to resources for food production to increase the productivity of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries, raise smallholder incomes, reduce environmental impacts, promote rural prosperity, and ensure resilience to climate change.
Global attention has been devoted to water scarcity and its effect on Indian farmers. However, new analysis from Indian researchers suggests that far more good could come if irrigation were combined with seed improvement.
Tata Trusts and Copenhagen Consensus have commissioned new research by noted experts from India and around the world, looking at measures that would help Indian states respond to major challenges and improve their competitiveness, economic performance, and the well-being and prosperity of citizens. The new research focuses on establishing how much different policies would cost, and what they would achieve overall in economic, environmental and societal benefits.
The annualized cost of the infrastructure and drainage required to fill the tanks is estimated to be about Rs4,500 per hectare, as well as another Rs2,000 for the annual operation and maintenance of the system. Assuming that the additional water will be used to irrigate around 65,000 hectares of paddy cultivated during winter, the overall annualized cost would be Rs43.2 crore.
Farmers, however, will earn more: The annual incremental net return is estimated to be about Rs9,000 per hectare. There would be further indirect benefits from energy savings because farmers wouldn’t need to pump groundwater, as well as from the incremental return from the increase in yield of wells and consequent expansion in the area served, and more intensive watering of irrigated crops. These benefits together add up to Rs15,000 per hectare per year, and the total annual benefits would be Rs159.2 crore.
The researcher looks at various methods of improving farm productivity and farmer income. One of these aims to help solve the problem of the high cost and unavailability of labour through an increase in the level of mechanization by using custom hiring centres, using public-private partnerships. Another approach focuses on relying on information and communication technology (ICT) enabled extension services, which play a crucial role in supporting agricultural activities by taking research, technology and know-how to farmers to improve adoption. Third, the author looks at improving soil health; and, finally, considers improving the availability of certified seeds.
This last idea would generate powerful returns. In India, farm-saved seed from previous crops remains the most prominent source of seeds, year after year, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all seed usage. This means low crop productivity as optimal yield potential is a function of the quality of seeds used.
Although many improved varieties of seeds have been released for cultivation, their full impact has not been realized owing to poor adoption rates as well as poor seed replacement rates.