‘Increasing food production is the challenge’

Prabhakar Deshmukh is the Agriculture Commissioner for Maharashtra. He has the distinction of being felicitated by the prime minister for excellence in administration during his tenure as the CEO of the Kolhapur municipal council. Earlier, he had been the District Collector for Pune. An M.Sc is agriculture, he has introduced several innovative concepts in his department like making it mandatory for his staff to attend the Gram Sabhas and brief the farmers about various schemes of the government. His personal initiative to promote organic farming led to his department receiving a global award during his tenure. He is now encouraging group farming. Hailing from a small village, Lodwade in Man taluka - a dryland area, his efforts in watershed development have now made the village self-sufficient in water. ABHAY KHAIRNAR spoke to him

What is the status of agriculture in Maharashtra ?

We have become self sufficient in food grain production despite increase in population. Production in 2010-11 was 152 lakh metric tonnes. But the record was established in 2007-08 when it registered 154 lakh metric tonnes.

However, self-sufficiency in agriculture is not the only aim of the State government. Assurance of increased net income to the farmers through the efficient and sustainable use of available resources is more important.

To achieve this, we need to practice commercial agriculture. Different schemes are being implemented to increase agricultural production, promote exports and encourage agro-processing industry with a view to take advantage of the liberalised economy.

We are now aiming to achieve an important position in the global agriculture produce market. Maharashtra has done the remarkable work in the horticulture sector.

What are the challenges in front of the Agriculture Department?

Productivity - that is the main challenge. The land holdings are decreasing day by day in Maharashtra. Earlier, the average land holding in Maharashtra was 4.24 hectares per farmer but now it is only 1.33 hectares. This shows that the number of marginal farmers are increasing in the state.

Earlier in 1960, there were only 7 lakh hectares of non-agricultural land in the State. Due to urbanisation and industrialisation, the figure has gone up to 14 lakh hectares. This shows that while land under cultivation is decreasing, the demand for food grains is increasing due to increasing population.

It is very clear that area under cultivation is going to decrease further. The only option that remains is to increase the productivity of all crops to match future demands. The State is taking initiatives to develop high yield varieties and better farming practices.

Although there is ample production of fruits and vegetables, neither farmers are getting remunerative prices for their produce nor consumers are getting these at reasonable and affordable prices. What is your department doing to allay the situation ?

Maharashtra ranks foremost on the horticulture map of the country and is a forerunner in increasing the area under horticulture by more than 600 percent within a span of a decade. As a result, consumers now have better access to nutritious fruits and vegetables. But people are not getting these at affordable prices and the farmer is not satisfied with the remuneration he is getting because of one main factor - the high perishability of horticulture produce.

To resolve the issue, the government of India has launched a vegetables initiative scheme for urban clusters. In Maharashtra, Mumbai has been selected as an urban cluster and it has been decided to increase the production of vegetables in areas close to Mumbai, for which the agricultural department has identified Thane and Raigad districts. At the same time, the state government will also develop Pune and Nashik districts as collection centers for fruits and vegetables to be supplied to Mumbai. The total cost of this project is Rs17 crores. The agricultural department will also develop outlets for marketing horticulture produce in Mumbai under this project.

The aim of the project is to make available fresh fruits and vegetables to consumers at affordable prices, develop and strengthen the supply chain, eliminate the middleman and minimise losses during transit and also create adequate storage and post-harvest facilities.

Earlier jowar was the poor man's foodgrain, but today the price of jowar is so high that it has become the most expensive foodgrain. What is the cause for this and what is the government doing in this regard ?

Yes, the cost of jowar has shot up because of the increase in demand for this foodgrain. Recently the Union government launched an integrated cereal development programme to increase the production of cereals. For the first time, the government of India is giving financial assistance to increase the productivity of cereals like jowar and bajra. The Union government has earmarked a package of Rs 300 crore for this programme and Maharashtra has received Rs 91 crores for it.