The Green plants’ wonderful ability to trap solar energy to feed living beings needs to be strengthened and sustained to ensure food security of the planet.
The Indian agriculture harbours about 56% of the population and its present share in national GDP is 17% as against 30% in 1990. The agricultural economy which grew at an annual rate of 3.7% in 2007-2012, is projected to achieve an annual growth rate of 4% in 2012-2017 with the growth rate of national GDP set to reach 8%. The agricultural production in 2013 was an all time high of 264 million tonnes but with the population set to touch 1.65 million in 2050, food and water requirements needs to be up scaled by 40%. At the same time the per capita land availability of Indians will get reduced to 0.09 ha in place of 0.13 ha recorded in 2011.
In 1970-71, agriculture was the growth engine of Kerala economy as it contributed almost 50% of state income. It came down to 17% in 2005 and further declined to 9% in 2014. Per capita land availability in Kerala is estimated to decline to 10 cents from the current 26 cents and with the large scale conversion of agricultural lands and ever increasing labour charges, agricultural production is further endangered. The one and only obvious choice is increase in productivity, without compromising on farm biodiversity and quality of natural resources. Conservation agriculture, a land use practice which can sustain itself without degrading land and environment, will become more relevant in the coming years.
Sufficiency and efficiency of manpower is a very important factor in sustainable agriculture. The paradigm shift towards education and service sector created a big gap between demand and availability of manpower in agriculture. Yet the oft decried shortage of manpower in farming sector also offers an opportunity to create an army of trained youth induced with interest, involvement and scientific knowhow in agricultural operations. Superficial skills of migrant workers being sketchy and insufficient in the context of our agronomic practices and emerging scenario, technology oriented training to our youth and women should be a priority to boost productivity.
Having conceived Food safety as an integral part of food security in the wake of various developments and awareness campaigns, backyard farming and kitchen gardening has now become a fad in the society. Economically viable and environmentally sound farming practices will help to empower the society towards food and nutritional security. Harnessing advancements in IT and launching more MOOCs to provide more opportunities is another sure step to ensure such empowerment.
Minimising post-harvest losses is another area which deserves our attention. Improved efforts in value addition, product diversification and branding of farm produces, especially that of traditional fruits like Jack, Mango and Banana and re-introduction of ethnic vegetables offer a variety of choices for the urban and rural population. New health foods for juveniles and diabetic patients can also emerge from such an approach.
The research and educational activities also have to be reformed to adapt to the challenges confronting agriculture. Shedding complacency and evolving out of the Box ideas is a must to achieve improved efficiency, performance and service delivery. The efficacy and quality of practical training given to students needs to be revisited. Internship and industrial attachment programmes needs to be reorganised with renewed purpose and direction. Inbreeding has to be eradicated by prompting students to acquire different degrees from different universities. We have to explore the possibilities of using nanotechnology, IT, BT, GM technology etc to enhance productivity and sustainability of crops. Such a paradigm shift should be reflected in curriculum as well.
As Kerala agriculture is gearing up to become Organic by 2016, weather based crop modelling and soil based farming technology has to be top prioities.Varieties suitable for climate resilient agriculture, realistic measures for conservation of soil and water resources and solar powered farm implements are some important steps towards this objective. A holistic approach is also imperative for sustainable agriculture, which would not materialise without the integration of different components such as plants, animals, poultry and fish. The future of agriculture rests on such an indispensable integration.
