<p><em>Only if the agricultural sector is in a healthy state, will the economy grow at a more rapid pace, says <strong>Manish Kumar Pathak</strong></em><br><br>Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often said that he dreams of kick-starting a second green revolution. In a critical step towards this path, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has pushed through two crucial policy decisions last week as it approved the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana ( PMKSY) and the National Market for Agricultural Produce. These two measures will go a long way in minimising the uncertainties and the various risks the agricultural sector particularly in the rural areas face. These instruments will also ensure that the farmers receive a steady income; and this will only transpire if the agricultural productivity improves.<br><br>The agricultural produce has generally been low over the past few years. For instance, the productivity of rice is much lower than in Brazil and China, inspite of the fact that the area of land that we have under agriculture is much greater than these countries. The main impeding factor that still plagues our produce is the uncertain rainfall, and our over-dependence on it. Also, the irrigation facilities provided are very obsolete. As per the SECC (Socio-economic and Caste Census), only 37 per cent of the land in rural areas has been provided with assured irrigation for at least two crops every year. This is an abysmally low figure.<br><br>This is the scenario that the PMKSY is ideally rolled out to change. The main focus of this mission will be to converge the investments that are aimed at crop irrigation. Also, there is a strategy that will be aimed primarily at improving the water cycle. Under this, the irrigation which is carried out will be discussed extensively with the concerned Zila Parishad and accordingly funds will be released to the state governments. ‘More crop per drop’ is the water saving mantra that will ensure more area under irrigation.<br><br><strong>PMSKY & Second Green Revolution</strong><br>PMKSY will aim at a decentralised implementation with state level planning and execution. The state and district administrations would be preparing the State Action Plan (SAP) and District Action Plan (DAP) respectively. These plans would be medium to long term documents that focus specifically on three areas – water sources, distribution network and water use application. The Prime Minister had earlier suggested that MNREGA should be merged with PMSKY for more extensive execution at the micro-level irrigation projects. The success of PMSKY will go a long way in reducing the dependence of the farmers on ground water. Also, the integrated programme will help reduce the dependence of the agricultural sector on the erratic monsoons.<br><br>The government had declared in the Union Budget that they want the farmers to extract best possible price for their products. The announcement of an electronic portal that integrates 585 APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee ) all across the country is an implementation of the budget proposal. A package of Rs 200 crore has been announced for setting up this portal, which will enable farmers a greater market, and create an opportunity to avail best price for their products. This step will enable setting up of a unified national market for agricultural produce, which will help both buyers and sellers to trade across the country.<br><br>Only if the agricultural sector is in a healthy state, will the economy grow at a more rapid pace, and the target of achieving a double digit growth rate can be realised. The policies for a second green revolution are very promising, and now the execution at the ground level will dictate their success.</p>
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