Telangana State agriculture needs all-out govt support

Agriculture in India is the pivotal sector for ensuring food and nutritional security, sustainable development and for alleviation of poverty. It is a key sector for generating employment opportunities for the vast majority of population. For quite some time, agriculture sector, as a whole, has been confronted with numerous challenges linked to food and energy crisis coupled with climate change and degradation of natural resources.

At A Glance

• Govts in integrated AP did not invest enough in Telangana
• In Telangana, about 61.8% agriculture households are illiterate
• 95.5% are either illiterate or studied below secondary
• 86.8 % of agriculture households have cultivation as major income
• State govt aiming to make agriculture totally drought-proof
• It aims at irrigation to 25 lakh acres under tanks in 5 yrs

While agriculture’s share in India’s economy has progressively declined to less than 15% due to the high growth rates of the industrial and services sectors, the sector’s importance in India’s economic and social fabric goes well beyond this indicator. First, nearly three-quarters of India’s families depend on rural incomes.

Secondly, the majority of India’s poor (about 70 per cent) are found in rural areas. And thirdly, India’s food security depends on producing cereal crops, as well as increasing its production of fruits, vegetables and milk to meet the demands of a growing population with rising incomes. To do so, a productive, competitive, diversified and sustainable agricultural sector will need to emerge at an accelerated pace.

Observers of Telangana and political activists in the region often argue that the state government in integrated Andhra Pradesh has not invested enough for irrigation in the Telanana region. The sparse investment that has gone into Telangana is contrasted with the lavish investment that has gone into irrigation in coastal Andhra, which was already a more developed region when the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed.

During times of intense agrarian change, like that which Telangana seems to be going through right now, it is reasonable to expect that instability of output might increase. It is important to examine if this has actually been the case. The agriculture sector challenges should be met for overall development and improved welfare of rural poor.

Raising productivity per unit of land will need to be the main engine of agricultural growth as virtually all cultivable land is farmed. Water resources are also limited and water for irrigation must contend with increasing industrial and urban needs. All measures to increase productivity will need, amongst others, increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops, and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs.

The NSSO conducted a survey in its 70th Round during the year 2014 and the survey results obtained are presented below to understand the agriculture and farmers development:

• The total estimated rural households (in ’00) in Telangana State are 49,309, of which agricultural households (in ’00) are 25,389 which constitutes a share of 51.5%.
• The maximum proportion of agricultural households i.e., 40.5% of Telangana State is possessing agriculture land in range of 0.41-1.00 hectares.
• The least proportion of agricultural households i.e., 0.8% of Telangana State is possessing agriculture land in range of 10.00+ hectares.
• About 84.5% of agricultural households are in possession of agriculture land in the range of 0.41 to 4.00 hectares.
• It is worth observing that 9.5% and 5.9% of agricultural households of the State are possessing land up to 0.40 hectares and more than 4.00 hectares.

It is a well-known fact that education /literacy play a vital role in development of a society. In Telangana State, about 61.8 per cent persons of agriculture households are illiterate and, gender-wise, 51% males and 73.9% females of agricultural households are illiterates. Further, it is much visible that about 33.7% persons in agricultural househols have attained the below secondary educational level.

This implies that 95.5% of total agricultural househols in the State are either illiterate or studied below Secondary and only 4.8% of agricultural households have attained education above secondary level. The agricultural households involve themselves in multiple economical activities having possessed land, so as to compensate the income needed for household expenditure.

The estimates reflect that having possessed land, 86.8 % of agriculture households pursue the cultivation activity and a major source of income is from cultivation only. But 6.2% of agricultural households having land are involved in wage salaried employment and about 2.9 are involved other activities also.

Class-wise, it is seen that the major share of income for more than 90% of agricultural households with 0.41hectares and above is from cultivation /agriculture only. However, a meagre per cent of agriculture households is involved in other activities other than agriculture.

The estimates reveal that more than 99% of agricultural households having land are residing in owned dwellings. A meager 0.6% of agricultural households are still residing in hired dwellings. About 62.9% of agricultural households are residing in pucca dwellings, 33.9% in semi pucca and still 3.1% are residing in Kutcha dwellings.

The Government of India has been implementing 51 schemes for development of agriculture and welfare of farmers. The present government after the formation of state of Telangana has taken an initiative to provide immediate relief as well as a lasting solution to end the plight of farmers once and for all, and to make agriculture in Telangana totally drought-proof.

Three instalments of farm loan waiver have already been deposited into the bank accounts of farmers and the last instalment has been assured to be released in 2017-18, for which a sum of Rs 4,000 crore has been proposed in the Budget. Another programme Mission Kakatiya aims to restore around 46,000 tanks in five years to provide irrigation source to as many as 25 lakh acres.

A spending of Rs 22,000 crore has been initiated with an objective to improve the ground water table, reduce power consumption by farm sector, get higher yields, spur the growth of livestock and rejuvenate rural economy on a whole. The change in situation of farmers’ life is still awaited. (Writer is former Assistant Director, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Telangana)

By Syed Saleemuddin