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MAO TSE-TUNG is credited with instructing agricultural officers that "before advising farmers, listen to them." The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) has been following this advice by holding consultations with farm women and men in different parts of the country. As a part of the consultative process, discussions were held with a large number of farmers and farmers' organisations from the Cauvery delta at Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, on June 22, 2005. Their advice on what needs to be done to halt the expanding agrarian crisis is summarised in this article, since their views are of national relevance.

Among the serious problems confronting farmers, access to water, credit, technology, and market are the most important. Farmers can prepare alternative land use plans only if they know in advance whether or not water will be available. Unfortunately, the State Land Use Boards are not structured to assist farmers with pro-active advice on land use. Since land use decisions are also water use decisions, it is essential that farmers have access to proactive advice based upon the best available information on meteorological and marketing factors.

Urgent action needed

Urgent action is also needed in the following areas. Modernisation of the water delivery system. Renovation of farm ponds, tanks and wells, and implementing immediately the suggestion given by the NCF in its first report that credit subsidy may be provided for renovating a million wells during this year. The policy of the Government should be to foster a "store water and grain everywhere" movement. This will help also to conserve local grain such as ragi and other millets and thereby enlarge the composition of the food basket. The Rural Godown and Community Food Bank schemes should be implemented speedily.

Since most of the rainfall in our country falls within 100 hours, there is need for a mandatory water-harvesting programme. Tamil Nadu's example in this respect could be emulated by other States.

Drainage and irrigation should get concurrent attention. At the moment drainage has become a serious problem in many irrigated areas.

Water going into the sea should be harvested. Techniques of storing water in the aquifer should be popularised. A water literacy movement should be launched.

Micro-irrigation with the help of drip, sprinkler and other methods should be adopted on a wider scale. This can be facilitated through an integrated subsidy-cum-low interest loan system.

Water saving methods of rice cultivation such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) adapted from Madagascar, should be perfected and popularised through lab-to-land programmes.

Farmers realise that the Cauvery Tribunal is now finalising its report. Land and water use planning should be done for the Cauvery basin as a whole so that farmers in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu benefit from the available water in a fair and equitable manner.

The Thanjavur delta, once regarded as the granary of Tamil Nadu, is becoming Prosopis land, like Ramanathapuram district. This should serve as a wake-up call to political leaders.

The interest rate on loans taken by farmers is now 9 per cent. This should be brought down to 4 per cent immediately.

Insurance and contract farming: A more effective insurance system for individual farmers should be developed in conjunction with the National Horticulture Mission. In particular, there is need to cover banana, coconut and other crops with insurance. The Horticulture Mission should give the highest priority to good seeds and planting material and improved post-harvest technology. A code of conduct should be developed for contract farming; at the moment the contract is often one-sided with farmers at the losing end.

Tsunami-affected farm and fisher families: Over 5,500 hectares of good farmland has been damaged in Tamil Nadu by the tsunami. In some cases, sea water is still standing in crop fields. In other cases, there is a heavy deposit of sand and clay. Various ad hoc remedies are being suggested. Farmers need a carefully designed and scientifically sound agronomic rehabilitation strategy.

In the case of fisheries, artesenal fishermen are afraid that far too many mechanised boats will now be deployed for fishing. This will further aggravate the already prevailing unsustainable exploitation of the sea. Fisher women and men would like scientific training on all aspects of fisheries ranging from capture to consumption. For this purpose a "Fish for All Training and Resource Centre" may be set up at Nagapattinam on the pedagogic principle of techniracy, ie., learning the latest technical skills by doing.

Improving linkages between lab and land: Extension services have become ineffective and hence the recommendations of the NCF in its first report that 50,000 farm schools may be established in the fields of small farmers, who are role models for other farmers, needs to be implemented without further delay. Again, as suggested by the NCF, there is need for introducing immediately a post-harvest technology wing in every Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

An effective method of providing useful agricultural implements on a nominal rent needs to be introduced. There is also need for a grid of reliable soil testing laboratories for identifying micronutrient deficiencies. Hidden hunger in the soil caused by micronutrient deficiencies is an important cause for the rapid decline in factor productivity.

Prawn culture is causing considerable ecological and social problems to delta farmers. The growing conflict between aquaculture and agriculture should be reconciled soon. There is need for an aquarian policy that will help to harmonise mechanised and artesenal fishing and agriculture and aquaculture.

Crop diversification: Although cotton, sunflower, soybean, various pulses and vegetables are all being recommended in the place of paddy, market access is often uncertain. Hereafter, staff of agricultural universities and departments should present their data on the basis of net income per hectare and not gross yield.

Animal husbandry: For farmers, livestock and livelihoods are intimately interrelated. They are facing serious problems of deficiency of fodder, feed and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Farm animal productivity can go up only if these basic needs are met.

Unfortunately, many of these responsibilities are divided between agricultural and veterinary departments and the agricultural and veterinary/animal science universities. A farming systems approach in research, education, and extension is urgently needed.

Farmer-centric marketing systems: Farmers welcome the market reforms recently initiated by the Government of India. All department officials should be instructed that their advice to farmers should be based on a careful study of market and income opportunities. There must be a method of ensuring minimum support price for the substitute crops recommended in the place of rice.

Organic farming: Both research and extension in the field of organic and natural farming need intensification. Unfortunately, there is no premium price for organic produce. Also there is no effective certification machinery. Unless these deficiencies are overcome, farmers may lose in yield, but not gain in income.

Dry farming: Rainfed areas are neglected. The various technology missions that are supposed to help farmers appear to be ineffective and inactive. There must be a convergence of technology missions, like those dealing with cotton, pulses and oil seeds in a watershed, so that dryland farmers can derive integrated support.

World Trade Organisation: The Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance has assured Indian farmers that their interests will be protected. There is no level playing field in the agriculture sector in the world today between capital, subsidy and technology-driven agriculture, and small farmers struggling to survive without such support. Adjustments in tariffs should be made continuously to protect farmers' interests. The growing import of pulses and oil seeds is hurting farmers in dry farming areas where these low water requiring crops are cultivated.

Subsidies are needed for purposes of spreading new technologies. However, subsidies should not lead to self-defeating results like the unsustainable exploitation of the aquifer since these hurt farmers in the long term. It is better to provide credit at low interest rates and also promote programmes such as renovation of wells and tanks on the basis of interest subsidy.

Disaster management: There is need for establishing a village knowledge centre in every village that can give training in disaster management as well as in other vital areas relating to health, government schemes, and markets. The bio-shield programme should be promoted all along the coast. In addition to mangroves, casuarinas and other crops, vetiver cultivation should be promoted on a large scale.

New deal for women in farming: Farm women require help in the area of credit and women-friendly implements. They are denied facilities such as credit and extension because they do not have patta to land.

Engendering agricultural policies is an urgent necessity. Women's self-help groups will be sustainable only if there are backward linkages with technology and credit, and forward linkages with market and management. Special training centres for equipping rural women and men in organising and operating sustainable SHGs should be established.

The Ministry of Agriculture should be re-designated Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. This will help to emphasise that farmers' well being should be the bottom line of all agricultural policies.

Our consultations reveal that farm families are in a mood of despair. They do not know what the future holds for them. They constitute over two-thirds of India's population but are yet to receive adequate support both from policy and investment. If farming as a profession and as a way of life is not to collapse, there is need for attention today to their needs in the areas of water, credit, technology, market, and land and aquarian reforms.

Source: The Hindu