The division of such land must be in the name of the wife or in the joint names of the husband and wife. This is the imperative need for conservation agriculture. ii) All existing wells and ponds should be renovated. iii) Demand management through improved irrigation practices, including sprinkler and drip irrigation, should be given priority attention. iv) A water education movement should be started and regulations should be drawn up for the sustainable use of groundwater. v) The joint use of rain, river, land, sea and treated sewage should become the main method for the effective use of available water resources and for increasing the income for each water point. vi).
Fisheries
Special attention to the training needs of fishwomen who handle the harvested catch. vii) Inland aquaculture, including cultivation of ornamental and air-breathing fish, for additional income by providing the necessary space in ponds and reservoirs. viii) Artificial coral reefs to compensate for the loss of natural coral reefs to revive fishing. ix) Integrated coastal zone management policy should simultaneously pay attention to the management of approx. 10 km of land surface and 10 km of sea surface from the coastline to ensure that land-based industries do not cause damage to marine fisheries due to discharge of sewage and other pollutants.. x) The coastal communities can also be enabled to erect bio-shields comprising mangroves, casuarina, salicornia, atriplex and other halophytic plants to secure the lives and livelihood of coastal fishermen and farming families in the event of cyclonic storms and seawater inundation, such as the one caused by the tsunami in December xi) The National Aquaculture Authority and the NFDB should work together so that capture fisheries and aquaculture become mutually reinforcing to improve the economic well-being of the fishing families and the nutritional well - . be of consumers. Fishing families can be trained to take up additional income-generating activities such as poultry farming, fish pickle preparation, agar production, pearl oyster culture and other enterprises.
Bioresources
A movement for genetic and legal literacy should be launched in areas rich in agrobiodiversity such as the Northeast, Western and Eastern Ghats and the Arid Zone. vii) Genome clubs can be organized in rural schools and colleges to provide insight into the importance of conservation of genetic resources. viii). Legal knowledge would help tribal and rural families understand the provisions of the PVPFR and the Biodiversity Acts with regard to their rights. ix) Farmers and tribal families should be trained in methods to prevent gene erosion.
Animal Genetic Resources
- Agricultural Biosecurity
- Climate Change
- Inputs and Services
- Credit and Insurance
- Cooperatives
- Extension, Training and Knowledge Connectivity
- Social Security
- Assured and Remunerative Marketing Opportunities
- The Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) should be an autonomous statutory organization with its primary mandate being the recommendation
It must be conducted autonomously and professionally so that risks and benefits can be objectively assessed. The core of any biotechnology regulatory policy must be: .. i) The safety of the environment ii) The well-being of farming families. iii) The ecological and economic sustainability of farming systems iv). In planning for crop diversification, especially from food to non-food crops, such as for the production of biofuel, the food security of the country must be kept in mind.
In all cases of health and food security, social inclusion must be the guiding factor in the development of intellectual property rights. It should be possible to reduce transaction costs by eliminating all forms of waste and inefficiency in the operation of the banking system. The credit cooperatives hold an important position in the rural financial system and priority should be given to implementing the recommendations of the Vaidyanathan Committee.
What farmers are looking for is greater protection against market fluctuations. i) The Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism should be developed, protected and effectively implemented across the country. The establishment of Community Food Grain Banks will help in the marketing of underutilized crops and thereby generate an economic interest in the conservation of agro-biodiversity. iv) Indian farmers can produce a wide range of health foods and herbal medicines and market them under strict quality control and certification procedures. v) The Public Distribution System (PDS) should be universal and should undertake the task of increasing the food security basket by storing and selling nutritious millets and other underutilized crops. Due care should be taken for the cost escalation after the announcement of the MSP in its operationalization.
Curriculum Reform
Agricultural / Animal Sciences Universities
Special Categories of Farmers .1 Tribal Farmers
Pastoralists
Many Joint Forest Management Committees are designed to provide opportunities for tribal families and pastoralists to access non-timber forest products. Whenever a tree planting program is to be implemented, the authorities concerned should provide alternative grazing and drinking water sources for the animals. Prior consent of forest-dependent communities, including pastoralists, should be mandatorily obtained by the implementing agency before starting afforestation.
Rotational system of grazing should be encouraged instead of complete closure of forest zones for tree plantation purposes. iv) In-depth documentation and characterization of indigenous livestock breeds should be carried out to recognize and protect the IPR of the local communities/individuals who conserve these livestock breeds. v) Pastoralists should be involved in all local natural resource management programmes, including village forest committees. vi) Common land allotted to forest departments and unutilized or encroached land should be acquired and brought under the control of village level committees or grass root institutions for grazing development.
Other Categories
Home nutritional gardens could be set up for low-income groups in such a way as to provide horticultural treatment for major nutritional ailments. There will be a need for support services in the form of good seeds and plant material and safe plant protection techniques. Urban slums need special attention from the point of view of combating malnutrition through nutrition gardens.
Special Categories of Farming .1 Organic Farming
Green Agriculture
Genetically Modified (GM) crops
Protected (Greenhouse) Agriculture
Special Regions .1 Distress Hotspots
Megabiodiversity areas
Islands
Farmers of the future
With the growing reduction in the size of farm holdings, it will be helpful to promote the SHGs at the production end of the agricultural business by encouraging groups to lease farm land. Improving productivity, reducing production costs and entering into marketing contracts with textile mills, food processing industries, pharmaceutical companies and fish marketing agencies will be some of the benefits. Contract farming based on a well-defined code of conduct will be helpful to small producers in getting good quality inputs, fair price and prompt payment for their produce.
The available evidence suggests that a direct contract between the manufacturer. and the buyer with the state, since as a third party to mediate in case of legal disputes, it is more favorable for small farmers than an indirect contract through intermediary agencies. A monitoring committee consisting of farmers and relevant officials may be established at the state level to ensure the spread of non-exploitative pattern of contract farming. v) Farming companies – limited liability companies registered under the Companies (Amendment) Act 2002 are now emerging in the field of seed production and production of biofertilizers, biopesticides and other forms of biological software essential for sustainable agriculture. Small farmers and SHGs should be associated as stakeholders in such enterprises and not just as shareholders. vi) State Farms – In the 1950s, there was a great emphasis on the development of large state farms along the lines of those promoted by the former Soviet Union.
Also, state farms can be used for the development of gene banks of living microplasm heritage of local breeds of cattle, sheep and poultry, in order to preserve our animal genetic wealth.
Attracting Youth
Most such farms are now used for purposes other than food crop production. The land available through State Farms could be made available to women SHGs for production of hybrid and improved crop and fodder seeds, vegetables, fruits and flowers, for example. This is an area where symbiotic partnerships between young entrepreneurs and the private sector will be beneficial.
Public Policies for Sustainable Livelihoods
Food security with home-grown foodgrains alone can eradicate widespread poverty and malnutrition in rural areas as agriculture is the backbone of the livelihood system in rural India. This will enable the government to remain at the highest level of the national food security system. The food and medicine based approach to healthcare must become an integral part of the National Rural Health Mission.
The membership of the Commission must include all the main stakeholders in the farming enterprise. Along with production growth rates, income growth rates should also be measured and published by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Union Ministry of Agriculture. There is now a need to spread messages of hope and information about the agricultural bright spots of the country.
With the inclusion of agriculture in the concurrent list, serving farmers and saving farming becomes a joint responsibility of the center and the states, i.e.
Matching National Policy with Local Diversity
Jai Kisan
The National Commission for Farmers expressed its gratitude to the Hon'ble Union Minister for Agriculture, Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Shri Sharad Pawar, for taking keen interest in the work of the Commission and for providing overall guidance to its activities. Thanks to the Planning Commission and the Ministers of Finance, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj for their valuable suggestions. The National Commission for Farmers would like to thank the Chief Ministers of various states and their ministers for their valuable suggestions.
Sincere thanks also go to the senior officials of the State Governments for the courtesy extended to the NCF teams and for organizing the interaction with the farmers and other stakeholders in the States. The NCF thanks Shrimata Sonia Gandhi, former President and other members of the National Advisory Council for giving the opportunity to present the NCF recommendation to the NAC. The entire national agricultural research system actively contributed to the Commission's deliberations and enriched the quality of its work.
The Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries are all to be commended for their support.
