First, the farmers’ suicides hit the new government. Even as we write there is a young farmer had committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh in Prakasam district, ironically when the Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi was on the AP soil laying he bhoomi puja for the new state capital. The CM and other state heavyweights are all celebrating the great vent.
Is this not a greater irony when the development of the states, the country’s development dialogue is the topic of the day.
So, a pulses price that has another skyrocketing season is on us.
What sort of an agriculture system, ministry, and administration we are having.
We don’t have even a proper monitoring system. Where do we turn to when we want to know the sate of agriculture and progress of rains, sowing and cropping patterns?
Where is our achievement in the progress of science and technology?
Now, our digital India must help us first to do these priority issues.
In fact, what are our development priorities?
Have we really spelt out yet?
We are afraid we haven’t done anything in such serious manner/
We talk of UN reforms? What are our credentials?
We have to open our world, our country, and our world concerns in a big way. Our media both print and TV channels are still primitive, in the sense we are timid about many things.
Unless our Dhoordharshan is liberalised, unless we aspire for some poor imitation, even if it comes to that, we have to spire to imitate, say BBC. If Al-Zazaara can world fame and recognise where are we, a big nation and a very big tradition of tolerance etc. See the ground reality now? Is it wrong if the world laughs at us, the way we conduct our affairs?
Anyway, let us turn to agriculture and here we like to say that we need a vigorous agri media space.
Vadamalai Media, our company is the pioneer in agri media; we publish three magazines, in three languages besides an online media (www.agricultureinformation.com).
Indian agriculture system must have an updated weather monitoring system.
Rain patters and related cropping areas and other information must be made available at the farmers’ doorsteps.
This is now possible through our man y mobile applications.
Pulses prices have caught pubic attention because of the urban consumers’ concerns.
India is the world’s biggest pulses producer and also the largest consumer. So, we need a very well-organised pulses growth plan.
In Karnataka, in Kalaburgi district, there used to be four lakh hectares of toor dal crop, this year unfortunately, this year the crop extant fell to one lakh hectares, owing to deficient rain fall.
But then the agriculture minister must be a vigorous person, he must visit such regions, agri officials too must be seen touring the major pulses growing areas of the country.
Pulses traders are the cleverest of the traders. They hoard and raise prices.
This time, by using stringent laws, food and civil supplies ministry had turned the department into a law and order sector.
We have imported this year from all major pulses growing countries, from USA to Australia to Myanmar to Russia and of course in a major way from Canada.
Let the government make a new plan, let us turn this crisis into an opportunity to make better planning and better forecasting.
It is easy to criticise, but we also know unless we point out the alternatives none benefit. Our plea is to use the latest available technological tools so that farmer stands to benefit by growing the various essential commodities of mass consumption.
Private trade in India is very much in the pulses import and distribution picture. So, it becomes more important the ministry and various state departments become active partners in administering a corruption-free regime.