This drastic change in one sector – agriculture – is propelling the entire economy of the state.Here are some key drivers of agricultural growth in Madhya Pradesh and the lessons that the state holds for other large ones of India.
The farmers in MP have seen their cumulative income rise by 32 per cent in the past one year mainly due to diversification of farm activities to high value crops from cereals, and better road infrastructure.
This drastic change in one sector – agriculture – is propelling the entire economy of the state so much so that from the per capita net state domestic product of Rs 15,400 in 2004-05, MP finally breached the Rs 50,000 mark in 2014-15 at current prices, registering a three-and-a-half times higher growth on the key economic metric.
Given this tremendous record, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was asked to give a presentation during the governing council meet of NITI Aayog which was held recently. He presented a road map to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022.
In his presentation, Chouhan mentioned five areas where the governments need to focus on: decreasing the cost of cultivation; increasing productivity, shift in farm activities towards high value crops; better prices for farm produce; and risk mitigation through a comprehensive system of insurance and timely compensation.
An excellent paper , authored by India’s preeminent agriculture scientist Ashok Gulati and his team came in handy for us to understand the key drivers of agricultural growth in Madhya Pradesh and the lessons that it holds for other major states of India with somewhat similar characteristics.
Diversification
Diversification from cereals and pulses towards high value crops, livestock and fisheries is one of the major factors behind the agricultural growth in MP. In the last five years alone, the state’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) in animal husbandry has grown from Rs 8,976 crore to Rs 33,751 crore and in fisheries from Rs 650 crore to 1,805 crore.
Apart from this, milk production recorded an increase from 6.4 million tonnes in 2006-07 to 10.8 million tonnes in 2014-15. Vegetable production increased from 3.6 million tonnes in 2010-11 to 14.2 million tonnes in 2013-14, taking the state from thirteenth to fourth place in vegetable production. Meat production tripled from 20,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes.
The following charts from the ICRIER paper illustrate the success of MP in diversifying farm produce.
Fruits and Vegetables
Milk production
Meat Production
Fish Production
Irrigation
Irrigation has played a pivotal role in scripting the spectacular success story of agriculture in the state. Gross irrigated area increased from a meager 4.3 million hectares in 2000-01 to an impressive 10.3 million hectares in 2014-15. In 2000-01, the irrigation ratio in MP was 24 per cent, was 17.2 percentage points lower than the all India average. By 2013-14, the ratio dramatically increased to 41.2 per cent, reducing the gap with the all India average to just 6.2 per cent, which is a pointer to impressive irrigation infrastructure the state has developed. By 2014-15, the irrigation ratio in MP reached 42.8 per cent.
The MP government managed to establish an impressive network of irrigation infrastructure comprising dug wells, tube wells, tanks/ponds and government canals, through a combination of public investment and incentivising private sector investment. Area covered under tube well irrigation increased from 0.9 million hectares in 2000-01 to 3.2 million hectares in 2013-14, dug wells from 1.9 million hectares to 3.3 million hectares, irrigation facilities though government canals increased from 0.9 million hectares in 2000-01 to 1.8 million hectares in 2013-14, and irrigation through tanks increased from 0.1 million hectares to 0.3 million hectares.
Electricity
The government made the following interventions to improve the electricity situation for agriculture use in the state:
- Ensured 24 hour power supply in the state, out of which eight hours was exclusively for agriculture purpose.
- Provided power to agriculture on a flat rate of Rs 1,200 per year, with the provision to pay in two installments.
- Provided separate rural feeders for agriculture; 43,517 villages have been provided with a separate feeder of 11 KW line comprising 71,688 Km and 1,516 transformers of 21 KW.
- Aggressively implementing Deen Dayal Upadhaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) a centrally sponsored scheme, which was initiated in 2014 with separation of feeders for agricultural and non-agricultural consumers.
The share of agriculture in total power consumption in MP is around 33.7 per cent, which is much higher than the national average of 20.8 per cent and higher than in states like Karnataka (33.7 per cent), Punjab (30 per cent), Gujarat (23.6 per cent), and Maharashtra (22 per cent).
Roads
The third important factor that has contributed to agricultural growth was the building of all-weather roads. Road density in MP had increased from 526.8 per thousand sq km in 2000-01 to around 742.3 per thousand sq km in 2012-13.
The surfaced roads as a percentage of total roads have increased from 49 per cent to 68 per cent during same period. This enabled farmers to access markets over a larger area, and thereby reducing their market risk.
Procurement
Due to availability of better roads, more power and increased irrigation, the productivity of farms increased. This was especially true for wheat production as shown in the chart below. This was mainly because the state government gave a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal on the minimum support prices (MSP) for wheat over and above the centre’s MSP between 2007-08 and 2012-13 and Rs 150 per quintal in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
The result of this was that once a paltry contributor to the procurement pool, the state became the second largest contributor in just one decade.
However, this was achieved through various steps taken by the government.
- Compared to two other big contributors to wheat procurement pool, Haryana and Punjab, MP kept taxes on MSP low which meant private players bought more from MP than Haryana and Punjab.
- Unlike Haryana and Punjab, MP decentralised its procurement process. It chose to do procurement through co-operative societies instead of arhatiyas.
- More production meant more wheat started coming into mandis choking the roads. Manual payments to farmers was a slow and corruption-prone process. MP digitised the process through ‘e-Uparajan’ initiative with an aim to enable a smooth and efficient procurement.
- Increase in production and procurement meant that the state needed more storage facilities. It has greatly expanded its capacity. The government is also focusing on opening more cold storages for perishable produce.
Mechanisation and farm credit
Mechanisation enhances productivity. However, small land holdings have proved to be a lacuna in universalisation of mechanisation. To make it more affordable to small farmers, MP launched yantradoot scheme under which farmers can rent farm equipment instead of paying big buck to buy them. The government also encouraged youth to open custom hiring centres by giving subsidy and lucrative bank loans. The government has also provided some small equipment to farmers free of cost.
This has resulted in a spurt in use of agriculture machinery as the charts below show.
Non-availability of credit is a big problem for farmers. In 2012-13, MP launched a new loan scheme through state owned co-operative banks, bringing the interest rate from a high of 16-17 per cent in 2006-07 to zero. As a result, disbursement increased from Rs.33.3 billion in 2006-017 to Rs.112.1 billion in 2013-14.
Madhya Pradesh’s agriculture success story is a lesson worth learning for many states of India who are struggling to get their agriculture moving. The literally central state of India has many lessons which may prove central to the country’s agricultural story in the twenty-first century.
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[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]2021 WEF Global Gender Gap report, which confirmed its 2016 finding of a decline in worldwide progress towards gender parity.
Over 2.8 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. As many as 104 countries still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 countries have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and it is astonishing that a handful of countries still allow husbands to legally stop their wives from working.
Globally, women’s participation in the labour force is estimated at 63% (as against 94% of men who participate), but India’s is at a dismal 25% or so currently. Most women are in informal and vulnerable employment—domestic help, agriculture, etc—and are always paid less than men.
Recent reports from Assam suggest that women workers in plantations are paid much less than men and never promoted to supervisory roles. The gender wage gap is about 24% globally, and women have lost far more jobs than men during lockdowns.
The problem of gender disparity is compounded by hurdles put up by governments, society and businesses: unequal access to social security schemes, banking services, education, digital services and so on, even as a glass ceiling has kept leadership roles out of women’s reach.
Yes, many governments and businesses had been working on parity before the pandemic struck. But the global gender gap, defined by differences reflected in the social, political, intellectual, cultural and economic attainments or attitudes of men and women, will not narrow in the near future without all major stakeholders working together on a clear agenda—that of economic growth by inclusion.
The WEF report estimates 135 years to close the gap at our current rate of progress based on four pillars: educational attainment, health, economic participation and political empowerment.
India has slipped from rank 112 to 140 in a single year, confirming how hard women were hit by the pandemic. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two Asian countries that fared worse.
Here are a few things we must do:
One, frame policies for equal-opportunity employment. Use technology and artificial intelligence to eliminate biases of gender, caste, etc, and select candidates at all levels on merit. Numerous surveys indicate that women in general have a better chance of landing jobs if their gender is not known to recruiters.
Two, foster a culture of gender sensitivity. Take a review of current policies and move from gender-neutral to gender-sensitive. Encourage and insist on diversity and inclusion at all levels, and promote more women internally to leadership roles. Demolish silos to let women grab potential opportunities in hitherto male-dominant roles. Work-from-home has taught us how efficiently women can manage flex-timings and productivity.
Three, deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the education and skilling of women and girls at the bottom of the pyramid. CSR allocations to toilet building, the PM-Cares fund and firms’ own trusts could be re-channelled for this.
Four, get more women into research and development (R&D) roles. A study of over 4,000 companies found that more women in R&D jobs resulted in radical innovation. It appears women score far higher than men in championing change. If you seek growth from affordable products and services for low-income groups, women often have the best ideas.
Five, break barriers to allow progress. Cultural and structural issues must be fixed. Unconscious biases and discrimination are rampant even in highly-esteemed organizations. Establish fair and transparent human resource policies.
Six, get involved in local communities to engage them. As Michael Porter said, it is not possible for businesses to sustain long-term shareholder value without ensuring the welfare of the communities they exist in. It is in the best interest of enterprises to engage with local communities to understand and work towards lowering cultural and other barriers in society. It will also help connect with potential customers, employees and special interest groups driving the gender-equity agenda and achieve better diversity.