India's growth amid regional tension

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India's growth amid regional tension

The declining contribution of agriculture sector to the national Gross Domestic Production is a matter of serious concern. Agriculture called backbone of our country’s economy is losing its position and the ultimate sufferers are the farmers. The cases of suicides by the farmers across the country in the events of the crop failures are increasing day by day as they are left with no option when crop failure leads them to the dark tunnel of indebtness. In Jammu and Kashmir the picture too is gloomy. Continuously existing dry spell for the last two years has totally broken the back of the farming community. The worst sufferers are the farmers following rain-fed agriculture. The kandi belt has suffered a lot from the long run dry spell. The last years Rabi season and then Kharif season have faded the faces of the farmers. Paddy crop in the field is being harvested but it has produced far less yield much below the expected level. Paddy cultivation involves too much labour. In many cases farmers are complaining that they have not been getting even the cost involved in the cultivation of the paddy crop. With the onset of the Kharif season, farmers had to face the wrath of the weather with no rains and delayed monsoon showers resulting in the delayed showing of the major Kharif crops.

In a situation mirroring the change in the national economy, the tertiary sector in Jammu and Kashmir is fast threatening to overtake the primary sector. Agriculture, once the mainstay of the economy, is being increasingly abandoned by people in favour of jobs in the private sector leading to a marked slump in the primary sector in the last few years. As per official figures, the contribution of the primary sector, which includes forestry, livestock and agricultural sector, to the State Domestic Product has witnessed a decline between 2001 and 2007. Sources attribute this decrease to the growing urbanization of J&K. They added that even though the actual growth rate of agriculture in the state had shown a consistent increase, it had lagged behind the national average. The rate has been 5.13 per cent in 2002-03, 5.17 per cent in 2003-04, 5.23 per cent in 2004-05, 5.73 per cent in 2005-06 and 6 per cent in 2006-07. A major change in the cropping system has been observed with the farmers following the sowing of Kharif pulses and oilseeds at the places where they used to grow paddy during the normal monsoon season. Many farmers followed the sowing of fodder and even many kept the fields fallow so that they may sow the toria crop during the month of September. But the rain again betrayed them and gave them sheer disappointment. In the lower intermediate region the rains only occurred at the time of late Kharif season which resulted in the late sowing of Kharif crops and during the entire crop period no showers have been observed.

	The rain-fed agriculture is risk prone and during the times of Monsoon this season remained very weak fading the faces of the farmers. The crops sown during the Kharif season failed to get irrigations at the critical stages and resulted in poor crop stand, poor vegetative growth. Poor flowering, poor grain formation and grain filling thereby resulting in the poor yield. Farmers had hopes from the Kharif season but it failed to meet up to the expectations and ultimately now the farmers have eyed all hopes on the ensuing Rabi season. But unfortunately the beginning is not good. By now the major rains as required to bring the soil moisture to the level sufficient for following the sowing of the crops has not taken place. Farmers have harvested their Kharif crops and many places the fields were already fallow and are waiting with all inputs at their disposal for the shower to take place. At this stage the needed strategies are formulated by the scientists is formulation of contingent cropping plans and the schemes which would ensure at least some sowing by the farmers and minimizing the losses to be incurred in the event of failed rainfall? During the cropping period in the times of drought, the revenue and agriculture officials are engaged for the calculation of the losses to the crops due to drought so a s to calculate the intensity of the compensation to be given to the farmers. This is reactive approach. Why the pro-active approach in this direction shouldn’t is followed? The farmers should be trained in the moisture conservation practices. Digging of the ground water wells or tube wells is a alternative means to grow crops. The question is for how long we will be able to irrigate the land with the ground water? A viable long run solution is needed that can mitigate the problems of the farming community for a longer period. It has also been seen that the youth is losing interest inn the noble vocation of agriculture. In view of the changing pattern of the rainfall, there is a dire need to change the strategies of the farming also. Utilization of preserved moisture is very crucial besides there is need to develop cropping sequences and cropping systems suitable for the changing climatic scenario. Work should be done to evaluate the use of surface mulches, both organic and inorganic for short term moisture conservation, to determine ideal fertilizer doses and improving fertilizer use efficiency, to test new planting materials for introduction/substitution after they have proved their superiority over existing ones. Developing strategies for meeting the challenges of an aberrant weather like skip or catch cropping etc. Even after utilizing all the available water resources, about 50% of our culturable area will still depend on rains. Therefore, our agricultural scientists, policy formulators and farmers should appropriately realize the magnitude of role that rain-fed agriculture or dryland farming can play. They should thoroughly examine the problems of dry land agriculture from different view points and evolve appropriate technologies, crop varieties, etc. for these areas to better the economic position of the farmers