Three Major Challenges for the government on Agri and Rural Front
Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic in India, nations agriculture and rural sector is facing three biggest challenges, namely maintenance of supply to mandis, careful selection of items and services for flawless harvesting and sowing and above all management of rural employment with thousands of migrants coming back to rural areas.
Government of India has planned to enable farmers for direct selling to mandi's via E-NAM. Assuming that the decision will manage to curb uncertainty arising out of pandemic and it's adverse effect on crops from the current season. This may enable farmers to get engaged directly with mandi but a sudden expectation of remedy from this machanism may not be practical.
The other important development can be seen from the prism of input items and required for both harvesting and upcoming sowing season. While the lobby of farm machinery groups appears to successfully communicate their demand of including them in exceptions. Such decisions are still varying from state to state. Impact on fertilizer sector will also draw an attention when supplies of ingredients will start to suffer from International restrictions. It is important to notice that India still buys many important input items essential to produce NPK fertilizer and Urea within the nation.
The commitment by union government to transfer 2, 000 Rs benifit via PM Kisan scheme is underway but a large number of migrants to villages from metropolitan cities may create another issue for the government. Experts suggest that government may have to excercise a massive practice for the identification of such migrants.
A 22 Rs increase in the wages of MGNREGA workers' may be a suitable option for the government to engage a massive migrant workforce. But, identification may pose a challenge for the government to engage a new group while existing beneficiaries have there own set of issues in such schemes.
Sources in the states on condition of anonymity have also raised concerns as the same administrative workforce is engaged 24*7 for the implication of various relief measures arising out of the outbreak of novel coronavirus, may not be able to pay desired attention for the collection of real time information of migrants to villages.
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