Agriculture in Maharashtra

Strengths
Diverse agro climatic condition suitable to cultivation of a wide range of crops Large urban population with high purchasing power Well trained extension machinery Strong industrial base with scope for agro processing and agro export Well developed basic infrastructure Enterprising and innovative farmers

Strengths
Four Agriculture Universities and a chain of agriculture research institutions Vibrant crop based farmers organization like Mahagrape, Maha mango etc. Predominance of cash crops in irrigated area The Major horticulture state in India with more than 1.3 million ha under different fruit crops Strong cooperative movement

Share in national production

Maharashtra is the largest producer of Jowar, Tur, cotton, onion,cashew nut, grapes, banana, orange, pomegranate and long stem cut flowers Second largest producer of soya bean and sugarcane Has highest per ha productivity in Soyabean and second highest yield in sugar cane

The single most important constraint

Limited irrigation potential is the single most important constraint to bountiful agriculture. When country as a whole has 40 percent of its area under irrigation despite massive investment Maharashtra has been able to bring only 16 percent of its area under irrigation Water being scarce where ever available is used for irrigating commercial crops. Food grain oil seed and cotton have to live with rain fed condition

Leader in use of micro irrigation technology

Maharastra pioneered and is leader in use of water shaving technology like drip and sprinkler irrigation. Accounts for 60 percent of total area under drip irrigation in the country. 100 % grape area and more than 60 percent of area under banana has access to drip irrigation.

Maharashtra is the largest exporter of Thompson seedless grapes, Alphanso mango, onion and long stem cut flowers Pioneered in high-tech green house cultivation of long stem cut flowers like roses, carnation, gerbera for export Has highly specialized pesticide residue testing laboratory to test residue levels before export.

The enterprising and innovative farmers

Maharashtra farmers are very enterprising. They produce a wide range fruits and vegetables not only for the large urban centers in the state but also for dispatch to all parts of country as well as for export. Commercial farming in irrigated tract of western Maharashtra nearer to Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur has ushered in prosperity in rural hinterlands

Sugar industry nucleus to development of rural area

Maharashtra is not the largest producer of sugarcane but is largest producer of sugar due to high recovery rate. Sugar cooperative became the nucleus for development diversifying to alcohol, paper manufacturing, particle board, synthetic chemical,cogeneration, fruit rocessing, consumerism, spread of health and education infrastructure. The cooperatives received strong state support Sugarcane is water intensive and that limits scope to increase area under sugarcane

Agriculture in state falls to three categories

Green revolution agriculture in irrigated area is technology intensive Industrial agriculture -sugarcane for processing to sugar Resource poor agriculture the real problem area and center of focus for the state Govt. Lakhs of farmers have small size holding, low quality land and little or no access to credit or irrigation. Have to negotiate with consistent drought. 148 of the 355 talukas in the state are consistently drought prone

Dealing with problems of rain fed farming is the real challenge

84 % of cultivable area is rain fed Has to live with vagaries of monsoon Year to year production fluctuations are pronounced Limits scope for diversification and commercialization Margins extremely low or even negative Attendance in EGS in lean season is very high

Watershed development the top most priority in rain fed area

Maharashtra is the pioneer in country in implementing successful watershed development. Many rain fed villages have been transformed through watershed development Technology mission on watershed development has now been designed and is being implemented in backward regions of Marathwada and Vidabha

Horticulture Development
Till 1990 state had only 2.42 lakh ha area under horticulture. The state Govt. implemented an ambitious scheme of EGS linked horticulture development program.Over past 14 years area has increased to more than 13 lakh ha. Maharashtra now is a major horticulture state. Apart from 16 major fruit crops spices, medicinal and aromatic plant plantations have also been allowed under horticulture. Govt. bears the entire cost. Now we are implementing the National Horticulture Mission in GOI approved dists.

Irrigation development
41 Lakh ha irrigation potential developed till end of 2005-06 Ongoing projects require 36850 crore for completion Irrigation is given top priority in plan fund allocation Special provisions are made to remove backlog in irrigation development in backward Marathawada and Vidarbha region 422 projects are in last mile before completion and would require 4809 crore

Ground water irrigation

50 % irrigation is through 15 lakh wells There are 24 lakh agriculture energy connections Agriculture consumes 25 to 30 percent of states total power Highly subsidized power tarrif. State spends 1600 crore on agriculture power subsidy

Agriculture Credit
The state had a vibrant cooperative credit network. Over the years they have suffered reverses. 11 DCC banks are under sec. 11 of B.R. Act. Three tier structure forces high interest rate. Insufficient resouce affects lending ability. Poor recovery prevents recycling of fund The state has decided to implement Vaidyanathan committee report for revitalising the cooperative credit institutions

Agriculture credit
GOI announced to provide short term loan at 7 percent. Being encouraged state declared one percent more rebate to make it 6 percent. As an incentive further rebate will be given if the loan is repaid in time. In Maharashtra 70 percent of crop loan is given by cooperative banks. Under the GoI scheme 2 percent subsidy would be available to commercial banks. For co -operative banks only NABARD refinance will be given at concessional rate. Their own resource would not get any subvention. This would put a heavier burden on states where cooperatives account for major part of the crop loan. Maharashtra is one such state. We request GOI to give 2 % subvention to cooprative banks own resource

Policy decisions in last two years

Farmers are to be given loan at 6 percent interest from current Kharif season 22 Lakh flood affected farmers last year were given 417 crore as relief Maharashtra Agriculture productivity improvement campaign launched to increase per ha yield Cooperative banks were restricted from charging interest more than the principal A package of 1495 cr announced to address issues relating to farmers suicide in Vidabha

Policy decisions in last two years

Factories act not to be applicable to green house and cold storages used for horticulture, floriculture, nurseries and tissue culture labs. Increase in milk procurement price to improve margin for farmer producer Integrated diary development program for Marathwada districts. Export zone for bananas and oranges Waiver of interest on medium term loans of orchard owner farmers in drought hit area Amendment to APMC Act permitting private markets and contract farming

Issues
Increase tariff on import of cotton to discourage import Bt cotton seeds sale at exorbitant rate. High cost prompts sale of spurious seeds. Andhra and Maharashtra went before MRTP and got price reduced. There should be national policy on this It is stated Bt cotton is not suitable for rain fed condition. ICAR should give clear guidelines on this. Suitable amendment to seed act need to be effected at the earliest to control sale of spurious seeds under label of research material

Issues
Govt. of India may consider establishment of a price stabilization fund to support crops facing severe market fluctuation. State Govt. would agree to participate. Different ministry in GoI implement watershed development program with different guidelines. All of them should be integrated to one program under one dept. Implementation would be lot more easier and effective Irrigation projects should be given expeditious clearance from different ministries of Govt. of India

Issues
Comprehensive crop insurance scheme in its present shape is not very helpful to farmer. It does not cover the risk adequately. It should be modified suitably to be more meaningful. The removal of development backlog of backward region has become the sole responsibility of states. Being a constitutional obligation GOI also should chip in in a big way