Date : 6/12/2023

Relevance: GS Paper3 - Economy- Agriculture

Keywords: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Green Revolution, Food Corporation of India (FCI), National Food Security Act of 2013, 'Akkadi Saalu', Global South

Context-

• The agricultural landscape has witnessed remarkable transformations over the last few decades, particularly in countries like India, where intensive farming practices and monoculture have become the norm.
• A recent groundbreaking report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sheds light on the staggering hidden costs of global agri-food systems, exceeding a staggering $10 trillion.
• This comprehensive exploration looks into the impact of such systems on economies, the environment, and public health, emphasizing the urgent need for a transformative approach

The Unveiling of Hidden Costs

• The FAO report, published earlier this month, reveals the extensive hidden costs associated with global agri-food systems, amounting to over $10 trillion. In middle-income countries like India, these costs represent nearly 11% of the GDP, leading to higher poverty rates, environmental degradation, and adverse health impacts, including undernourishment and unhealthy dietary patterns.
• The report attributes these escalating costs to "unsustainable business-as-usual activities and practices," highlighting the pressing need to transform existing agri-food systems.

Impacts of Intensive Agriculture in India

• Over the past five decades, India has witnessed impressive improvements in agricultural productivity through the adoption of mono-cropping systems and chemical-intensive farming practices.
• The Green Revolution, with its focus on high-yielding varieties of paddy and wheat, has dominated agricultural production, constituting more than 70% of India's total output. However, this shift has undermined seed sovereignty, disrupted Indigenous knowledge systems, and led to the decline of diverse crop varieties and staples like pulses and millets.
• The privatization and deregulation of agricultural inputs have contributed to increased indebtedness among agrarian households, rendering agriculture economically unviable.
• The average monthly household income of a farming household in India stands at ₹10,816, reflecting the financial challenges faced by farmers.
• Moreover, the intensive use of groundwater in monoculture plantations has led to adverse ecological consequences, exacerbating environmental concerns.

Favoring Water-Intensive Cash Crops

• The cultivation of water-intensive cash crops, such as sugarcane and areca nut, has thrived under policies that prioritize investments in dams, and canal irrigation, and provide free electricity for borewells.
• The National Food Security Act of 2013 ensures subsidized food for 65% of households in India, primarily through the procurement of rice and wheat by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
• In 2019-2020, the FCI procured 341.32 lakh million tonnes of wheat and 514.27 lakh MT of rice, while only 3.49 lakh MT of coarse grains were approved for procurement.
• This skewed procurement policy has led to a decline in the cultivation of coarse grains like jowar, bajra, ragi, maize, and barley, negatively impacting biodiversity and food security.
• The expansion of sugarcane cultivation, in particular, poses threats to groundwater resources, and biodiversity, and contributes to pollution. Paradoxically, small and marginal farmers in India, who are among the most food and nutrition insecure, bear the brunt of these adverse effects.

Global Trade and Local Impact

• The structure of the global food system has direct repercussions on farmers and soil health at the local level.
• Fluctuations in global markets, such as those witnessed between 2012 and 2016 in soya prices, can have profound effects on local farmers.
• Additionally, historical global trade relations have influenced food production systems in the Global South, as seen in the pre-independence era when tax systems were introduced to support British-enforced exports of primary raw materials.

Crop Diversification as a Solution

• To address the complex systemic issues embedded in current agri-food systems, a systemic shift from local to global value chains is imperative. One viable solution lies in the promotion of diversified multi-cropping systems rooted in agroecology principles.
• Local practices like 'akkadi saalu' in Karnataka, involving intercropping with a combination of legumes, pulses, oilseeds, trees, shrubs, and livestock, can revitalize degraded land and soil.
• These diversified systems offer a range of benefits, including cash provision from commercial crops, food and fodder production, ecosystem services such as nitrogen fixation and pest traps, and support for local biodiversity.
• Moreover, practices rooted in agroecology contribute to improving soil health, a critical factor for sustainable agriculture.

Hidden Costs of Current Systems

• Critics of alternative farming systems have often argued that they may lead to a decline in farmer income, despite potential environmental improvements.
• However, the FAO report emphasizes that there are substantial "hidden costs" associated with the current systems, which must be factored into long-term evaluations of income.
• Millets, for instance, offer comparable yields to rice and wheat per hectare, are more nutritious, and can grow in semi-arid conditions without burdening groundwater tables.
• By redirecting subsidies from corporations to farmers, we can recognize and reward their contribution to sustaining natural capital, rather than incentivizing practices that deplete it.

Transitioning to Sustainable Agriculture

• While expecting farmers to shift away from the mono-cultivation of rice and wheat overnight is unrealistic, a systematic and gradual transition is essential.
• Initiatives such as moving from chemical-intensive practices to non-pesticide management, adopting natural farming practices, and incorporating livestock and poultry can help reduce input costs and diversify income.
• A proposed visual representation of a diversified farm allocates 70% for commercial crops, 20% for food and fodder, and 10% for environmental services like oilseeds acting as trap crops.
• Over time, the fraction of commercial crops could be lowered to 50%, with border crops replaced by locally suitable tree species for fruits and fodder.
• Integrating livestock rearing further improves incomes. Preliminary economic modeling of these pathways indicates the potential to enhance ecological outcomes for the landscape and sustain farm incomes in both the short and long run.

Challenges and the Way Forward

• Addressing challenges related to local seeds, institutional arrangements for market access, reducing drudgery, and providing adequate farm labor support are crucial elements of envisioning a successful transition.
• Scaling up these practices requires collaboration among institutions, policymakers, and social groups to articulate economic incentives for farmers to shift from high-input monoculture to diversified cropping.

Conclusion

The FAO report serves as a wake-up call, urging the global community to recognize the hidden costs of current agri-food systems and advocate for transformative changes. Crop diversification, rooted in agroecology principles, emerges as a sustainable solution that not only addresses environmental concerns but also enhances the well-being of farmers and local communities. The proposed transition pathways provide a blueprint for a systematic shift towards sustainable agriculture, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and support from various stakeholders. It is time to prioritize the long-term health of our ecosystems, the livelihoods of farmers, and the nutritional well-being of our communities over short-term gains.

Source- The Hindu