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NEED FOR THE PROJECT |
Need for development
of Agriculture has been clearly spelt out by the Report of the
Commission on WTO concerns in Agriculture, headed by
Dr.M.S.Swaminathan, currently the Chairman of National Commission on
Farmers. In its report titled “Building a Sustainable Agricultural
Trade Security System for Kerala” the commission observes,
“The substrate conditions essential for building a sustainable
Agricultural Trade System relate to the following parameters:
a. Proactive State Policy, which while building a response to the
WTO, must defend and extend the economic and developmental gains
achieved through state intervention and public action in the past.
The state cannot afford to withdraw in the new, WTO-regulated phase
of Kerala’s development. It must continue to play a role in public
investment (in agricultural extension, and infrastructure
development, for example) as well as in protecting the lives and
livelihoods of those, particularly the poor peasantry and
agricultural labour, threatened by the new trade regime.
b. Productivity enhancement by bridging the prevailing gap between
potential and actual yields with technologies on the shelf.
c. Quality Improvement through a quality literacy movement for
producers and consumers, and by strengthening the infrastructure for
sanitary and phytosanitary measures for both domestic and export
markets.
d. Profitability Enhancement through concurrent attention to
production efficiency and higher factor productivity, as well as to
improved post-harvest technology, value addition and
agro-processing. Measures for value-addition will also include
organic farming and the production and marketing of organic spices,
tea, coffee and fruits.
e. Sustainability Improvement, through attention to the ecological
foundations essential for improving productivity in perpetuity, such
as soil health care, water harvesting and efficient use and forest
and agro-biodiversity conservation.
f. Stability of production and income through proactive advice on
trends in home and external markets and through appropriate public
policy measures like market stabilization fund and insurance.
Further, the first meeting of the World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS), with participation of the World
Bank and held under the high patronage of the UN Secretary-General,
took place in Geneva on December 10-12, 2003, and discussed
mechanisms for harnessing the potential of Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) to promote the development goals of
the Millennium Declaration, through cooperative efforts among the
donor community, the private sector and government. It also sought
to chart a path towards the Summit’s second phase, scheduled for
2005 in Tunis, as outlined in its draft plan of action.
In this Action Plan, under section C7. ICT applications: benefits in
all aspects of life , and numbered 21. E-agriculture, it is proposed
to
a) Ensure the systematic dissemination of information using ICTs on
agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry and food, in
order to provide ready access to comprehensive, up-to-date and
detailed knowledge and information, particularly in rural areas.
b) Public-private partnerships should seek to maximize the use of
ICTs as an instrument to improve production (quantity and quality).
On 16 June 2004, in Rome F A O Director-General Jacques Diouf
outlined his views on use of biotechnology. ”Regarding the fight
against hunger, the 1996 World Food Summit committed FAO Members to
reducing by half the number of hungry persons in the world by 2015.
There has been enough stress in focusing on “Implementation of
concrete projects in poor communities in rural and peri-urban areas
are the priority for ensuring food production, employment and
income, and thus achieving sustainable food security.”
These projects should emphasize:
• Small water harvesting, irrigation and drainage works (wells,
canals, impoundments, treadle pumps, etc.). The other FAO annual
report, The State of Food Insecurity 2003, indicated that 80% of
food crises are related in some way to water, especially to drought.
• The use of improved seeds and seedlings, particularly those issued
from the Green Revolution and conventional plant breeding and tissue
culture; the combination of organic and chemical fertilizer in soils
that are no longer placed under fallow and are now depleted due to
population pressure and clearly deficient in plant-available
phosphorus; the integrated biological control of pests, insects and
plant diseases without making excessive use of pesticides and
complying with the PIC Agreement negotiated under the auspices of
UNEP and FAO; and simple post-harvest technologies;
• Diversification of village and household farming systems, with the
introduction of short-cycle animal production (poultry, sheep,
goats, pigs) and the provision of feed, vaccine and shelter;
artisanal fisheries and small-scale aquaculture;
• The construction of rural roads, local markets and storage and
packing facilities, meeting quality and sanitary standards;
• The negotiation of more equitable terms for international
agricultural trade.
Improved seeds and plant material generated by international
agricultural research centres, particularly within the framework of
the Green Revolution and by national research systems, including
hybrids and varieties from inter-specific breeding are barely used
by the smallholders of the Third World.
There are a number of initiatives going on in Kerala at present;
primarily driven by initiatives of progressive farmers. While they
contribute to the fact that value addition methodologies like
Organic and Biodynamic agriculture do have the potential to develop
in Kerala, conventional agriculture is resulting in overexploitation
of the natural resources.
Much is required to be done for a concerted move. In the Knowledge
driven economies of the future, sustainable practices that leverage
natural advantages of the region calls for integrated action to be
promoted. Good Agricultural Practices as is being considered by UN
FAO assures IPM (Integrated Pest Management), INM (Integrated
nutrient management), efficient use of water resources through micro
irrigation, extensive documentation for the purpose of certification
and labeling along with stringent laboratory backed monitoring of
Chemical and Microbial residues in plant and animal products will
become the Global norm.
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