Chitale said the government should invest in infrastructure for the agriculture sector to help double production.
Mumbai: Water
management expert Dr Madhav Chitale believes a loan waiver is not a
solution to agrarian crisis. He says such populist measures often
pitched by politicians never serve the larger objective of farmer
welfare. “If any government is attempting such a decision, it can be
best described as ‘tatpurta malam patti’ (temporary ointment and bandage
to cover a wound’,” says Chitale.
The former chairman of the
special investigation team (SIT) formed to look into the multi-crore
irrigation scam and evolve guidelines for the irrigation sector says:
“If we look at the global agriculture scenario, nowhere do we find this
short-term approach towards tackling farm crisis. As such decisions
taken due to political pressure do not bring long term results for
farmers.”
Reflecting on the complexities of the agrarian crisis
and challenges confronting the government, he said it is time to “switch
over to scientific farming”.
“Every district will have its
geographical and climatic conditions, which have to be factored to
decide crop pattern. We have to adopt to new challenges of climatic
changes coupled with our dependence on rain-fed agriculture,” says
Chitale.
Citing the example of Japan, Europe and other nations,
he says: “They are not dependent on rain. They have put in place
mechanism to hold sufficient water to cater to their 12 months’
agriculture activities through new innovations and technology.”
Please click here to read more.