Context :
Govt
sets up 28-member committee to make MSP effective /
Business Line / 19 July 2022
Extract :
Eight months after
announcing the repeal of farm laws, the Centre has set up a 29-member
committee, as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that will look into / study
:
# how to make the minimum support price ( MSP ) more effective and transparent.
# measures to promote zero-budget natural farming and crop
diversification
# the practicality of giving more autonomy to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
# suggest measures to make MSP more SCIENTIFIC
# reforms to
the Agricultural Marketing System to ensure farmers get
higher value for their produce
# suggest
programmes and schemes for Value Chain Development and
for Area Expansion under the Indian
Natural Farming System
# mapping for
existing Cropping Patterns in agro-ecological
zones of producer and consumer States will be
done separately so that a SYSTEM is worked out
to ensure remunerative prices for different crops
MY
TAKE :
In the past , I have sent following e-mails to Shri
Tomarji ( Agriculture Minister ) :
Ø Influence
farmers and win Votes ? …………………………………….[ 04 Feb 2019 ]
Extract :
Can we take
help of Technology to solve these problems ?
Yes , of course !
What
Technology ?
We need
technologies which will , dynamically / automatically , compute for each crop ,
# the costs of all the “ INPUTS “ (water-fertilizer-seeds-power –labour ), based
on NORMS
# “ Output
“ from the area of land owned by these farmers ( in Kg )
# MSP
( since INPUTS will vary from crop-to-crop and area-to-area )
# transfer the
amount to Jan Dhan bank accounts of each beneficiary farmer ( DBT )
It is
possible to get our constellation of 7 NaviC
satellites to “ map / geotag “ , each and every farm ( with a resolution of 1
meter ) and calculate its area
This can be
verified by using technology offered by…. what3words
For each
type of crop , INPUT NORMS are already established , using historical data
OUTPUTS NORMS ( kg / acre ) for different
crops , are statistically established figures
“ Agricultural Crop Assessment “ is
being offered by Planet , BlackSky, Satellogic
“ Humidity Sensors “ developed by Dr Shalini Prasad
Ø Selling
Farm Laws before selling Farm Crops…………………… [ 24 Sept 2020
]
Extract :
Dear Shri Tomarji
[ nstomaroffice@gmail.com / ns.tomar@sansad.nic.in ],
I am sure those farmer
organizations would send their delegates to meet you. When they do, I request
you to consider telling them following :
Ø Around
the world, companies employing new technologies have started “ revolutionizing “ the agriculture
Ø On your own,
you may not be able to get these companies to “ License “ their technologies to
individual
Indian farmer but they would readily license
Indian Companies who sign an agreement with you for
CONTRACT FARMING . In turn, these Indian Companies
can train you on implementing these technologies
on your farms
Ø On part of the Central Government, we will
undertake following PRO-ACTIVE actions for bringing these
technologies to India
:
# We will
incentivize our 75 Agriculture Universities
and 700 + Agriculture
Colleges , to set up on
their premises, AGRI-TECH INNOVATION CENTRES, which will
offer subjects on “NEW
AGRI-TECH“,
collaborate with Agri- Tech Companies /
Universities around the World and train our farmers
# We will
incentivize these foreign AGRI-TECH companies to set up “ PROTOTYPE “ operations in
India for
DEMO purposes. We will offer them
free land / electricity + expenses incurred in
training Indian farmers . There
will be one such demo-center in each of our 718 districts
# We will
urge companies entering into CONTRACT FARMING agreements with a farmer, to construct
on the farm premises of that farmer, GRAIN STORAGE SILOS / COLD STORAGE ROOMS, to
enable a farmer to store his produce for a longer period, without perishing under
our harsh climate
We
will allow the concerned companies to set off expenses incurred in
constructing these
facilities towards their CSR obligations.
Alternatively , we will consider use of already
announced Agri Fund of Rs 1 Lakh x Crore , for this
purpose . We have also provided Rs
700 crore for setting up COLD CHAIN across the country
===============================================================
Ø Thank
You, Shri Tomarji……………………………. [ 20 Nov 2020 ]
Extract :
Dear Shri Tomarji,
Various Farmers Unions have expressed
following fears in respect of the FARM LAWS just passed :
Ø The Contract Farming law will make them vulnerable
to exploitation by Corporations
Ø If Contract Farming picks up in a BIG WAY, Govt may
stop buying at MSP – might even scrap MSP
Now, if the CONTRACT FARMING Act carries a clause
that no contract can be valid / legal ( not even allowed to be registered on
e-NAM portal ) if it is below the MSP ( relevant to the contracted crop ), then
the farmers fears will get satisfactorily addressed
On top of this, you may want to give
assurance following assurance to the farmers :
Ø For
the crops which are currently not covered by MSP, we
will, in consultation with the Farmers’ Unions
come up with MSPs in each case ( for CONTRACT FARMING only ) , over the
next 5 years. Such MSPs will be 100 % above the COST of
PRODUCTION
Ø The INPUT
COSTS ( for each such crop ) will get determined by AI technology as
described at :
Influence farmers and win Votes ? ……………………………..[
04 Feb 2019 ]
Ø How
about introducing a PLI for agricultural produce ?....................[
08 Dec 2020 ]
Extract :
Dear Shri Tomarji,
I suggest introduction of a Production Linked Incentive ( PLI ) for farm produce , by treating agriculture
as an INDUSTRY
Logic :
As compared with
rest of the world ( other countries ), productivity
of major crops in India is very low ,
as can be seen in following table ( source : TOI / 8 Dec 2020 )
Can we come up with
a FORMULA ( obviously, to be devised by Farm Experts ) whereby :
# A farmer gets a certain ( graded ) INCENTIVE for each SLAB
of “ Increased output “ , over the BASE
OUTPUT for the BASE YEAR ?
We already know :
Ø Each farmer (
by Aadhar / Jan Dhan a/c / Mobile etc )
Ø Farm holding ( hectares ) of each farm
Ø Each
farmer’s output
( ave of past 3 years )
We
can take help of NaVIC satellite based technology to automatically compute the yield of
each and every farm , compute the INCENTIVE AMOUNT and automatically transfer ( DBT ) into each farmer’s bank account . Absolutely NO human intervention /
no middlemen ( adatiyas ) !
By
no means, I am suggesting that this mechanism ( to incentivize the farmers to
raise the productivity and catch-up with the World ), is meant to replace MSP , which should continue as before
Nor
would this PLI scheme bind the farmers to sell their produce within and outside
of APMC mandis or prevent the Govt to buy it at MSP
Ø Production
Linked Incentive for Rice ( Paddy )……………………. [ 08 Dec 2020 ]
Extract :
Here is a
Conceptual Frame-work :
Ø Through
the proposed INCENTIVE FORMULA , we want to INCENTIVIZE all farmers to
implement latest
technology and DOUBLE the “ Ave Yield ( Kg /
Hactare ) “
Ø In
such a scheme, we want MORE INCENTIVE for marginal / small farm-holdings and
LESS INCENTIVE for
medium
/ large farm-holdings
Ø For
Rice , ( Paddy – A grade ) ( taken for demonstration purpose ) :
# Current
MSP is Rs 1888 / quintal ( Rs 18.88 / Kg )
# Average
Output / Hactare is > 4679 Kg ( World Ave
) and > 2638 Kg ( India Ave )
====================================================================
INCENTIVE MATRIX
====================================================================
Incentive
Amount in Rs / Kg ( for incremental output over India Ave of 2638 Kg / Hactare,
is shown below
[ For
calculations, click : Production Linked Incentive for Rice ( Paddy ) ]
There
will be NIL incentive for a farm whose yield is below the India average
Implication
for a Marginal Farmer who manages to raise his yield from India Ave ( 2638 Kg /
hectare ) , all the way upto ( say ) 4900 Kg / hectare [ see first row of this
table ] :
(
A ) for the BASE figure ( 2638 Kg ) > NIL incentive
(
B ) for next 200 Kg ( reaching 2900 Kg ) > Rs 13 x 200 = Rs 2600 / -
(
C ) for next 400 Kg ( reaching 3300 Kg ) > Rs 14 x 400 = Rs 5600
/ -
(
D ) for next 400 Kg ( reaching 3700 Kg ) > Rs 15 x 400 = Rs 6000
/ -
(
F ) for next 400 kg ( reaching 4100 Kg ) > Rs 16 x 400
= Rs 6400 / -
(
G ) for next 400 Kg ( reaching 4500 Kg ) > Rs 17 x 400 = Rs 6800
/ -
(
H ) for next 400 Kg ( exceed World Ave ) > Rs 18 x 400 = Rs 7200 / -
Total
…………………………………………………………… Rs 34,600 / -
In
the topmost slab ( 4900 kg / hectare ), a farmer gets :
Ø Rs
18.88 / kg by way of MSP, and
Ø Rs
18.00 / Kg by way of PLI
Hence DOUBLING of income !
Of course, this is merely a CONCEPTUAL FRAME-WORK for getting the farmers to quickly adopt
latest technologies in order to increase farm yield in line with the rest of
the world
This incentive
scheme will eliminate all
resistance to introduction of technology .
In fact, this will make the farmers to pro-actively
engage with various government “ Agricultural Research “ Agencies for help /
assistance
To sell this idea [ to farm experts and to general
public ] , Government should carefully calculate and widely publish, how “ Per Kg
“ Cost of Production would dramatically FALL , due to “
Economies of Scale ( factory-like mass-production ) “
And when there is huge decrease in per kg “ Cost of Production “ , that
will make our agricultural produce “ price
competitive “ with international prices and give a huge boost to Agri-Exports !
I assume PLI will not attract any sanctions from WTO as any kind of
“Farm Subsidy “ – which USA – EU etc are giving to their farmers
This incentive scheme will spur “ Farm Mechanization “and boost use of
Tractors – Harvesters – Combines etc ( a big boost to the Farm Machinery
Industry, without having to subsidize its production )
Related Readings :
Ø e-NAM
; reimagined to resolve farmer agitation …………………..[ 10 Dec 2020 ]
Ø Kisan
Sabha gets Constructive ……………………………………………….[ 20 Feb 2021 ]
Ø Digital
Farming ?.............................................................
[ 15 Apr 2021 ]
Ø Finally
Announced : Agri Infra Fund to APMC………………………… [ 08 July 2021 ]
Ø “
Tractor-Pulled “ to “ Technology-Pushed “……………………………[ 20 Sept 2021 ]
Ø A Grass-Root Revolution ………………………………………………………….[
11 Mar 2019 ]
Ø Locusts are invading !......................................................
[ 24 Mar 2020 ]
Ø Agristack: The New Digital Push in Agriculture ……………………….[ 26 June 2021 ]
Ø
Centre inks 5 deals for digital agri
push / HT / [ 15 Sept 2021 ]
Ø Agri
Reforms : an Ongoing Process …………………………………………..[ 20 Nov 2021 ]
Ø Dear
Kisan Leaders / Shri Tomarji : It is time to Shake Hands.. [ 07 Dec
2021 ]
================================================================
Ø Point
: Counter-Point // MSP : MPQ …………………………………………..[ 28 Nov 2021 ]
Extract :
23
∬ msp_1 x mpq_1 = Funds needed for Crop 1………..( insert data for all 23 crops, one
by one )
0
====================================================================
Ø Agricultural wastage is India’s problem
No 1 – Here is why
Ø This is how AI could feed the world’s hungry while
sustaining the planet
Companies Innovating
Agri-practices :
Prospera
Root AI
Not Co
Fazenda Futuro