From CK Nayak
New Delhi: The peculiar case of Meghalaya receiving the highest rainfall in the world but not being able to utilize the gift to nurture rain-fed farming was highlighted at a high-level workshop convened by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at Rashtrapati Bhawan which was attended by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and several of his Cabinet colleagues, besides state governors and chief ministers including from the Hill State.
Addressing the workshop, President Patil emphasized on ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions for enhancing productivity in rain-fed and dry land farming areas that form majority of the agriculture land and called for greater thrust on these regions in the 12th Five-Year plan. About 60 per cent of India’s cultivated areas come under farming which provides 44 per cent of food production in the country and includes 87 per cent of coarse cereals and pulses, 80 per cent oil seeds and 65 per cent cotton, she said.
These areas support about 40 per cent of the population, mostly belonging to the poorer sections of the society, besides, accounting for 60 per cent of the livestock population, she added.
Speaking at the workshop, Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said that agriculture has special importance in the Northeast for alleviation of poverty since the region’s economy was largely agrarian. Meghalaya, in particular, is dependent largely on rain-fed farming which remains at the mercy of the vagaries and unpredictability of the monsoons, he said.
As a result, farmers in the State experience both flash floods and dry spells in the same season, Dr Sangma said, adding that ultimately the farming undergoes severe water stress conditions reducing both the yield and the income.
Echoing the President, Dr Sangma mentioned that rain-fed areas in Meghalaya account for about 75 of the cultivable land which is much higher than the rest of the country. On top of this most of the rain water is lost as run-off into the plains of Bangladesh and the Assam valley, he said.
Dr Sangma spoke on the need for rainwater harvesting and minor irrigation in the Hill State to impound the rain water and recharge the ground water for use during dry spells. He also informed the gathering about the Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Programme to undertaken by the State Government as a flagship programme.
Earlier, inaugurating the workshop, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, said that despite all odds, the country registered a record food grain production exceeding 250 million tonnes this year. But the farmers were not getting much benefit because of the multi-layered marketing of agricultural products, he said.
Agreeing with the views of the Prime Minister, Dr Sangma said that rural market infrastructure was in poor shape in Meghalaya, but added that the State was in the process of integrating the farmers market on a new model.
The inaugural session was also addressed by Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing, Sharad Pawar and the Governor of Punjab and Rajasthan and the Chairman of the Committee of Governors, Shivraj Patil, besides Central and state government officials, Vice-Chancellors of Agricultural Universities as well as representatives of private companies and entrepreneurs.