Date: 23/08/2022
Relevance: GS-3: Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
Key Phrases: solar energy, third crop, Amrit Kaal, Indian agriculture, Low-access to credit, Lack of innovation, Unsustainable farming, PM-KUSUM, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Production, Marketing, Consumption, Nutritional outcomes.
Why in News?
- By making solar energy the ‘third crop’, and promoting this innovation on a mission mode, the government can double farmers’ income.
What is 'Amrit Kaal?
- Last year, during the 75th Independence Day celebrations, PM Modi had unveiled a new roadmap for the country for the next 25 years, and termed it as 'amrit kaal'.
- This is a reference to deriving the best in every field, making it imperative for everyone to make 'prayas' for this.
- The purpose of amrit kaal is to better the lives of citizens, lessen the developmental divide between villages and cities, and reduce government interference in public life.
- It also entails the development or acquisition of the latest technologies for the country to have a well-fed India, with zero hunger, almost no malnutrition, climate resilience, and high incomes for our farmers.
- Minimum government and maximum governance, reduction of overlapping compliances will increase compliance- critical for case of doing business in India.
- Trust-based governance is the planned theme during Amrit Kaal of the next 25 years-from India at 75 to India at 100.
Do you know?
- The term comes from vedic astrology, where 'Amrit Kaal is a critical time slot where the gate of greater pleasure is opened for the inhuman, angels and human beings. It is considered to be the best and most auspicious time to start any new task.
Major constraints in Indian agriculture are:
- Declining average holding size:
- In the backdrop of continuously declining average holding size from 2.3 hectares in 1970-71 to just 1.08 hectares in 2015-16, cereals cannot give high incomes to farmers even when their productivity is increased.
- Of the total holdings, 85 per cent are in marginal and small farm categories of less than 2 ha.
- Low access to credit:
- Low-access to credit and the prominent role of unorganized creditors affecting decisions of farmers in purchasing of inputs and selling of outputs.
- Lack of innovation:
- Less use of technology, mechanisation and poor productivity for which first two points are of major concern.
- Very less value addition as compared to developed countries and negligible primary-level processing at farmers level.
- Poor infrastructure:
- Poor infrastructure for farming, more dependence on weather, lack of marketing and supply chain are other major concerns.
- Unsustainable farming:
- Indian agriculture suffers from a bad pattern of mono-cropping, water-intensive cropping choices, and chemical-laden cultivation.
- These harmful practices, in fact, find their roots in the Green Revolution when the government widely supported cropping practices that gave massive output on minimum input.
Solar Energy a Third crop
- One out-of-the-box innovation which can almost double farmers’ incomes is to have “solar as a third crop” on fields.
- On one acre of cultivated land, which grows two crops a year, one can have more than 400 solar panels (trees) of 10 to 12 feet in height, with due spacing for regular cultivation to continue.
- Solar energy generated from 400 panels will be the “third crop” that can be bought by the power companies and incorporated into the grid for distribution.
- A pilot programme in the Najafgarh KVK area revealed that farmers could earn additional income of up to Rs one lakh/acre, when the capital cost is being incurred by another entrepreneur.
- This concept needs wider validation in different states with good sunshine.
- This is the “inclusive growth, green growth” model that needs to supplement the solar parks model being developed by big entrepreneurs.
PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan)
- PM-KUSUM Scheme is aimed at ensuring energy security for farmers in India, along with honouring India’s commitment to increase the share of installed capacity of electric power from non-fossil-fuel sources to 40% by 2030 as part of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).
- It was launched by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in 2019.
- It consists of three components with the aims to add a solar capacity
of 30.8 GW by 2022:
- Component-A: 10,000 MW of decentralised ground-mounted grid-connected renewable power plants.
- Component-B: Installation of two million standalone solar-powered agriculture pumps.
- Component-C: Solarisation of 1.5 million grid-connected solar-powered agriculture pumps.
Way Forward:
- Future of agriculture is a very important question for the planners and all other stakeholders.
- Government and other organisations are trying to address the key challenges of agriculture in India, including small holdings of farmers, primary and secondary processing, supply chain, and infrastructure supporting the efficient use of resources and marketing, reducing intermediaries in the market.
- There is a need for work on cost-effective technologies with environmental protection and on conserving our natural resources.
- In the next 25 years, we need to go beyond just increasing production. We need to focus on the food system as a composite entity.
- It has five dimensions-
- Production,
- Marketing,
- Consumption is the traditional part of the food system
- Environmental sustainability of our food systems
- Nutritional outcomes.
- The digitisation of agriculture can help with this. We need to become a nation of innovators in agriculture like Israel, Holland, and the US.
- Diversification toward high-value crops is a must as we move forward. It will require building efficient value chains by the private sector. Policies need to create an ecosystem to promote this form of high-value agriculture and reduce the risks attached to it.
Source: Indian Express
Mains Question:
Q. “Helping farmers to produce solar energy can help realise the government's target of doubling farmers' incomes.” Illustrate the statement with example. (250 words).
