A fresh start for agriculture? What Modi 3.0 must do differently

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office for a record third time, the first order of business was farmers. The prime minister  signed  his first file authorising release of 17th installment of PM Kisan Nidhi, of around Rs 20,000 crore, benefiting an estimated 9.3 crore farmers. The PM emphasised on the vision by stating, “Ours is a government fully committed to Kisan Kalyan.” Now, does this herald a new era of agrarian policy thinking; or, is this just business as usual?

To recap, the Modi government, since 2015, has been up against deep agrarian challenges: hyper-food inflation (onions, tomatoes, dal, etc), fuel and input price volatility, erratic weather events like El Niño, cyclones, drought, and flood-like conditions, and dampened harvests. The Covid lockdowns also exacerbated the problem of agrarian supply management, while the government was also besieged by thousands of farmers from the northern regions over the three farm laws. There is no doubt that Modi’s agrarian policy advisors did a poor job of steering the government clear of agrarian quagmires.

However, questionable policy advice has also led to questions about the implementation of flagship schemes like doubling farmers’ incomes, PM Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance), and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (organic farming mission). So, how is Modi 3.0 changing this scenario?

All journeys begin with a first step, and the PM’s first step, releasing PM Kisan Nidhi, is definitely in the right direction. The country is still reeling under an agrarian crisis and the direct bank transfers come as a relief to many farmers. Yet, a lot more needs to done if agriculture is to remain a “beacon of hope” in dark times.

Modi 3.0 has taken another step forward by appointing senior leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the new agriculture minister. Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh’s longest-serving chief minister, has ample experience in agrarian matters. Madhya Pradesh’s track record of wheat production, along with its government’s wheat procurement policies and special bonuses, may prove helpful in dealing with national challenges.

What is needed of Modi 3.0

To address the falling farm income problem, Modi 3.0 needs to address the climate issue. Since the Covid lockdowns, the weather has been quite erratic, resulting in damage to lives, property, and crippling our agriculture. Consequently, our harvests have suffered significantly. From wheat to tomatoes, all daily essentials have experienced hyperinflation due to reduced yields. Heavy rains and storms have blocked vital roads, while cyclones have caused drought-like conditions in August and September. Flood-like situations have worsened from Himachal to Punjab.

Now with the current heatwaves from March and Cyclone Remal hitting India’s eastern coasts, it wouldn’t be surprising if this year’s Kharif monsoon fails to bring timely rainfall. This climatic anomaly reaffirms that India is experiencing a shift in agricultural seasons. Farmers who plant according to conventional seasons stand to incur significant losses. Therefore, there is an urgent need to enhance the crop insurance scheme, as most farmers report that insurance premiums are deducted from their KCC accounts, yet many rarely receive compensation.

PM Modi needs to focus on the efficiency of this scheme, firstly for the benefit of farmers, and secondly because crop insurance is a flagship program of the Modi government. Indian farmers require a safety net to cushion the climatic losses. In the long term, this will aid in revitalising the rural economy.

Now the next challenge is the rising input costs in agriculture. The prices of chemical fertilisers and fuel, since the Ukraine-Russia conflict, have thrown agriculture production around the world into disarray. DAP, urea, and phosphate prices have skyrocketed. While farmers around the world are suffering, it’s the Indian taxpayer who is bearing the brunt of expensive fertiliser imports for farming. The excessive use of these agri-chemicals is leading to soil degradation; hence it is not good for our soil and ecosystem health.

This problem can be solved by galvanising the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana in a serious way. There needs to be more budget allocation for this scheme and at least three million new organic clusters need to be created across the country. By establishing a new supply chain for organic inputs and trading organic produce, the Modi government could significantly alleviate the economic burden on taxpayers and farmers. The mission’s vision should focus on achieving self-sufficiency at the farm and village levels, enabling farmers to produce seeds and fertilisers locally. This straightforward step would reduce input costs and increase real-time farmers’ incomes.

For the third big step, the government needs to take its program to double farming incomes seriously. It should internalise findings from previous committees on doubling farmers’ incomes and initiate discussions with all stakeholders including farmers, industry, labourers, and traders to chart out a roadmap for the next five years. Strengthening crop insurance and promoting natural farming missions could effectively reduce costs and risks for farmers. Additionally, implementing a market access-driven program with price floors on various key agricultural commodities beyond rice and wheat could address national food and agrarian challenges simultaneously.

With a new agriculture minister, Modi 3.0 has a chance to chart a new course and learn from past mistakes. It is time for Modi 3.0 to invite fresh thinking on agriculture and move beyond outdated policies.

The author is an independent agri-policy analyst and former director – Policy and Outreach, National Seed Association of India. He tweets at @Indrassingh. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.