Food security: Silver lining in dark clouds?

Is it not a major victory for India? Washington and New Delhi have resolved differences over the food-stock piling issue at the WTO, paving the way for implementation of the pending trade facilitation agreement to ease customs norms. It has been agreed between the two countries that the 'peace clause', crucial for uninterrupted implementation of India's food security programme, will continue indefinitely till a permanent solution is found by the WTO. It may be mentioned here that as per the WTO Bali Agreement, the peace clause, which gives legal security to member countries and protects them from being challenged under other WTO agreements, was to continue till 2017.  As the two sides have successfully resolved their differences relating to the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes, this will end the impasse at the WTO and also open the way for implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
As the prolonged delay is over, the path is clear now to move forward with full implementation of the Bali package. Following the agreement between the two important players of the WTO, the General Council, the highest decision making body of the WTO,  will shortly review the proposal of the two countries and  hopefully  the Council would clear the way for India to sign a protocol for implementation of  the trade accord. India has been demanding extension of the peace clause so that it could continue providing subsidised food-grains to its poor without being challenged in the WTO.
Actually we are into a difficult stage globally and nationally in agriculture. Agricultural output will need to double by 2050 to feed a growing world. Produce more; conserve more and improve farmers' lives and that is sustainable agriculture! Given the pattern and trends in land use, time is ripe to seriously think over intensive farm practises so that the demand and supply forces get treated simultaneously. The farm sector is still to go a long way before a satisfactory position is arrived at.
The ongoing situation, thus necessarily, calls for giving a big push to farm investment, especially keeping in view the plight of the entire developing world. Though 60 per cent of the South Asian countries are still dependent on this sector, yet the growth rate of this sector, in particular, leaves much to be desired. In the entire developing block this is the reality emanating mainly from inadequate investment, rural infrastructure, research and development and inadequate diversification to high value crops. Side by side, non-availability of quality and cost effective inputs, low efficiency of inputs use and fast deteriorating soil health and water resources remain as the critical concerns. Agriculture requires a big push so as to realise the much coveted high growth rate vis-à-vis food security.
Clearly, if the current trends are of any indication, the food and agricultural policy system itself is in disarray. The symptoms of such a disarray  are not difficult to locate - incoherent / inadequate response to exploding food prices; slowdown in agricultural  productivity growth; water problems; a disorderly response to continuously disturbing energy prices; rapid concentration in multinational agri-business corporations without adequate institutional innovation aiming at properly guiding them; lack of progress in addressing scarcity; widespread nutritional problems [ hunger / obesity / chronic diseases ] plus agriculture related health hazards [avian influenza, etc ] and adverse impacts on climatic fluctuations.
Underinvestment in areas related to food, nutrition / agriculture [research / infrastructure / rural institutions] invite spill over effect / global impacts, among others.
Actually, the real challenge that comes in the way of making agriculture an instrument of development lies outside agriculture - managing the political risks (political economy of agricultural policies and simultaneously strengthening governance for implementation of these policies). The crucial need is there to share the ideas, experience and expertise, setting up of a common seed bank, joint research centre, surveillance and early warning system between the nations. Investment and regional cooperation in research and development must be at the top of regional meets be it north or south. Building up partnership with the scientists and research bodies have now become more essential than ever before - rapid technological innovation.
Positive signals also should not lose sight of. So far fast emerging economies like India are concerned, the fact remains that the ongoing trend is steadily moving in terms of registering quicker growth in agricultural productivity. Good going - growth and modern farm practices and inclusive technologies are being implemented  in order to foster the rural growth process.
It is also a fact that cellular technologies, wireless communication networks as well as GIS based agro-software technologies are reaching rural India to disseminate vital information and updates on weather, farming technologies, fertilisers, livestock, commodity prices as well as stock markets. Still, a huge number of villages do not have access to advanced farming technologies and interactive communication networks, not to speak of rural electrification and  clean drinking water availability. Is it not the appropriate time to broaden the sight and look at vital aspects - re-identifying policy dimensions and initiatives; capacity building through PPP, individual initiatives and joint ventures; boosting agri-business and agri-marketing; GIS mapping and harvesting trends; mitigating climatic change hazards; precision farming - optimum utilisation of resources; leaning heavily on most modern agri-practises; micro-finance and micro credit and attaching top importance to food security? Needless to say the responsibilities are to be shouldered not only by banks, but also the government departments, NGOs, Commodity Exchanges, agri-marketing and State Marketing Boards and of course the Extension Departments of various States.
Time is, thus, ripe for a more well-knitted coordinated actions so as to : initiate inter-sectoral-linkages; progressive decision making, information sharing and performance improvement; capacity building; creating more opportunities for partnership building, development reorganisation and capacity enhancement for the rural stakeholders.
More delay means more damage - no planning is better than wrong planning. Time has come when this myopic tendency must be done away with. A non-traditional approach is also experienced when the ongoing process is supplemented steadily. Fast creation of self-help-groups does mean a little, if not corrective / supportive measures are taken to resist the same from breaking down. What is the failure rate is never looked into.
It is better to remember that under a comprehensive environment two and two does not always make four. Potato cultivation is better financed when food-processing activities extend friendly hands!   It is not to be forgotten that the under-privileged section is bearing the brunt of climate impact as they are neither equipped enough to prefigure meteorological  changes nor do they have the capacity to mitigate the impact caused by climatic hazards and no specific early warning system to forecast natural disasters.
Farming feeds the world, which, in turn, depends on vital natural resources and as such we will need to do a lot with the solution that nature already provides incessantly - rain water. The main challenge for farmers is squeezing most out of unpredictable rainfall, which, in turn, depends on putting the latest science-backed tools in farmers' hands, inclusive of advanced hybrid and bio-tech seeds - the seeds which can increase the yield significantly and can effectively extend a helping hand to the farmers -- to use one-third less water per unit produced, as rightly observed by the leading agri-experts.
The challenge remains how can we squeeze more food from a raindrop in as much as non-irrigated agriculture produces still 60 per cent of the world's food, and judging by the ongoing facts and circumstances it will definitely need to do more.
Rightly, the Bangkok Conference referred to boosting renewable energy, combating wide-scale deforestation and improving the drives for energy efficiency so that the very issue of climate change could be tackled to the extent practicable.
It is high time that sincere collaborative programmes resumed among countries in order to adequately address opportunities and challenges. Intensive agriculture has to lead the process keeping in view the intense pressure on land, crop-wise [intra-sectoral] and activity-wise [inter-sectoral]. The very recent development definitely raises hopes.

Dr. B K Mukhopadhyay is a Management Economist.
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