Prof. (Dr.)M.K.Ghadoliya
Food grains Production
Performance:
It may be recalled that increased
availability of food is necessary condition for achieving food security in
India. Since dependence on the imported food grains for long is not desirable.
Table- 1 reveals that food grains production in India, which was only 50.82
million tons in 1950-51 doubled in 1969-70 to 108.42 million tons because of
adoption of HYV seeds and irrigation popularly known as Green Revolution. In 1980-81
the total food grains production was 129.59 m. tons that increased to 176.39
million tons in the year 1990-91. After reaching a record level it declined to
196.81 m. tons in the year 2000-01. The food grains production at present is at
comfortable level but any one or two bad monsoon years may change the entire
scenario.
Table: 1 Agriculture
production-Food grains (Million Tons)
Year
|
Cereals
|
Pulses
|
Total
(5+7)
|
|||
Rice
|
Wheat
|
Coarse Cereals
|
Total (2 to 4)
|
|||
1952-52
|
22.90
|
7.50
|
19.61
|
50.01
|
9.19
|
59.20
|
1955-56
|
27.56
|
8.76
|
19.49
|
55.81
|
11.04
|
66.85
|
1960-61
|
34.58
|
11.00
|
23.74
|
69.32
|
12.70
|
82.02
|
1965-66
|
30.59
|
10.40
|
21.42
|
62.41
|
9.94
|
72.35
|
1970-71
|
42.22
|
23.83
|
30.55
|
96.60
|
11.82
|
108.42
|
1975-76
|
48.74
|
28.84
|
30.41
|
107.99
|
13.04
|
121.03
|
1980-81
|
53.63
|
36.31
|
29.02
|
118.96
|
10.63
|
129.59
|
1985-85
|
63.83
|
47.05
|
26.20
|
137.08
|
13.36
|
150.44
|
1990-91
|
74.29
|
55.14
|
32.70
|
162.13
|
14.26
|
176.39
|
1995-96
|
76.98
|
62.10
|
29.03
|
168.11
|
12.31
|
180.42
|
2000-01
|
84.98
|
69.68
|
31.08
|
185.74
|
11.07
|
196.81
|
2005-06
|
91.79
|
69.35
|
34.06
|
195.20
|
13.39
|
208.59
|
2010-11
|
95.32
|
85.93
|
42.22
|
223.47
|
18.09
|
241.56
|
Data for
2010-11 are based on advance estimates
Source:
Compiled by the author from the data of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government
of India
Experts are of the
opinion that there is a limit to increasing the food grains production through
increase in area under cultivation because the country has already reached a
plateau in so far as cultivable land is concerned. The HYV seed which has been
the basis of Green Revolution in seventies has now slowed down. Food grains production increased annually by
3.22 percent during fifties mainly because of the area expansion. Sixties
recorded a low annual growth rate of 1.72 percent and again a growth rate of
2.08 per cent was recorded in seventies. The technological advancement pushed
up the growth rate during eighties and an annual growth rate of 3.5 per cent in
food grains production was witnessed that was above the population growth rate.
The growth momentum could not be maintained and during 1990-91to 2010-11 it
again fell to only 1.46 per cent which is much less than the population growth
rate.
Table: 2 Annual compound Growth
rates of food grains Production
(Base
triennium ending 1980-81=100)
(Percent
Per annum)
Crop
|
1950-51 to
1959-60
|
1960-61 to
1969-70
|
1970-71 to
1979-80
|
1980-81 to
1989-90
|
1990-91 to
1997-98
|
Rice
|
3.28
|
-8.05
|
1.91
|
4.29
|
1.53
|
wheat
|
4.51
|
5.90
|
4.69
|
4.24
|
3.67
|
Coarse cereals
|
2.75
|
1.48
|
0.74
|
0.74
|
-0.49
|
Total cereals
|
3.00
|
2.51
|
2.37
|
3.63
|
1.84
|
Pulses
|
2.72
|
1.35
|
-0.54
|
2.78
|
0.76
|
Total food grains
|
3.22
|
1.72
|
2.08
|
3.54
|
1.66
|
In fact, the growth rate of food
grain production during the 1990s and thereafter has been close to the annual
population growth rate, which implies a stagnant per capita production level.
Further, this growth rate has been achieved with the strategy popularly known
as green revolution with the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides
including heavy dependence on ground water irrigation. This is dangerous from
the point of view of environment. The strategy adopted in the green revolution
period has led to concentration of incremental increases in wheat and rice
output and marketed surplus in few states namely Punjab and Haryana. The
revolution was not wide spread in area terms as well as in terms of crops. In
order to take advantage of the large scale procurement for the government PDS
programme the political pressure groups in these states have used the MSP as
the remunerative price as there seems to be no correlation between the price
declared by Agricultural Costs and Price Commission and procurement prices.[1]
The government under pressure of
these groups and the demand by the
regional political parties have yielded
continuously to fulfil the demands for higher and higher prices tor the
government purchases what has been
referred as Greed Revolution by the
famous agricultural scientist Swaminathan.
M.S. Swaminathan has drawn our
attention towards environmental problems
associated with the recent phase of
agriculture due to excessive and unscientific use of chemical pesticides and
fertilizers and ground water. He calls it the exploitative agriculture. This phenomenon of increased use of water
and pesticides is unsustainable and is not in the interest of long term food
security for the country. The declining water availability for irrigation has
serious repercussions on food production, demand, trade, and prices. Given the
current trends of our water use and water wastage patterns, a severe crisis can
evolve in future. All of us know very well that the biggest user of the water
is agriculture sector particularly irrigation, which accounts for nearly 80 per
cent of global water consumption. In developing countries, the percentage is
even more. So for any policy for food security should also look into this
aspect and should improve the irrigation management. Further the age old
traditions and methods of water conservation strategies to cope up with the
adverse consequences should be popularized for any such contingencies.
[1] Swaminathan M.S.(1996)
“Science and Technology for Sustainable food security”, Indian Journal of
Agricultural Economics. Vol.51 No. 1&2 ,pp 60-75
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