Agricultural Progress and Ecological

Degradation: a case study of Punjab, India

IUCN World Conservation Congress

Sept, 2012, Jeju, Korea

Lalit Kumar,
Assistant Professor
Department of Business
Economic Delhi University , India
 Punjab in India’s Map

Punjab lies in the semi-arid part of India

with annual rainfall of around 600-700
mm per year. It has a very good irrigation
system which is fed by the perennial rivers
from the Himalayas.

In 1965 India imported around 14.5

millions tones of food grain, mostly from
USA. This situation was called ‘Ship to
Mouth” condition and at one point of
time , the then prime minister of India
asked the countrymen to skip meal once a
day. Than scientific breakthrough occurred
in wheat and rice production in Mexico
(Norman Borlaug and others) and India
rapidly embraced the new High Yielding
varities (HYV) with Punjab in the forefront
of what came to be known as “Green
Revolution” .
 India-a statistical profile
Variable 1951 1971 1991 2001 2009

Population 363 551 852 1033 1221

(million)
Per capita 118 215 400 700 1100
Income ($)
Cereal 49 95 153 180 208
Production
(million
Tons)
Per capita 395 468 510 416 444
availability
of Cereals
(Kg)
 Estimates of future demand, production and
supply for 2020
Study Estimated Estimated Estimated
Demand for Production of Availability of
Cereals in 2020 Cereals in 2020 Cereals in 2020
(million tons) (million tons) (million tons)

G S Bhalla et al 296 251 237

US department of 267 240 222
agriculture

P S Rangi et al (wheat 208-209 188-218 174-202

and rice only)

Parduman Kumar 254 269-309 249-285

 Agriculture in Punjab
• Rice-Wheat cropping pattern dominates the cropping pattern of the
state.
• Reliance on High Yielding Varieties (HYV’s) which are water,
fertilizers,
pesticides and capital intensive.
• Produces almost 10% of India’s total food grain production against
only having 2% of the total cropped area.
• Contributes 50% -70% wheat and 40-50% rice to the Central pool.
• 83% area is under cultivation
• Cropping Intensity is 188%
• 97% of net area sown is irrigated
• 80% of water resources are used for irrigation
• More than 90% of food grains procured for Public Distribution
System comes from Punjab, thus forms the base of food security in
 Agriculture in Punjab
Intensively cultivated area with dominance of rice-wheat crop pattern,
double cropped, irrigated & high use of chemical fertilizers & pesticides

• Geographical area: 5.03 m ha

• Net sown area: 4.2 m ha
• Gross Cropped area:7.9 m ha
• Cropping intensity: 190%
• Irrigated area: 98%
o Through surface water: 27%
o Through groundwater:73%
• N+P+K use: 409 kg/ha
• Area under rice-wheat rotation: 80%
of cropped area
• Productivity/annum of rice+ wheat:
8.3 t/ha
Source: Official Statistics, Govt. of Punjab
 Agricultu ral Growth in Punjab

Share in G rowth Rates

Agriculture
Sectors State Domestic
Product (SDP)
Percent Growth Rates
1990’s
1980’s 2000’s

Agriculture 100 5.0 2.6 0.8

Crops 66.8 4.8 1.3 -0.3

Livestock 32 5.6 5.3 3.1

Fishery 0.9 12.8 18.0 15.1

Forestry 0.3 -0.1 2.8 -4.0

 Pattern of Agricultural Growth
Yield i n kg/ha productivit )
Year Yield in kg/ha
( (productivity)
y

Wheat Rice Cotton Pulses Oilseeds

1970-71 2,237 1,765 371 744 790

1980-81 2,730 2,733 309 598 754

1990-91 3,715 3,229 463 745 965

2000-01 4563 3506 430 750 -

2005-06 4265 3858 731

2009-10 4307 3810 673 842 1355

 Pattern of Agricultural Growth
Year Fertilizer Use Irrigated Pesticides Tube- Tractors Crop
Area (%) use wells Intensity
(%)
Total Kg in Total Total
Nutrients technical (‘000) (‘000)
nutrient in grade
(N+P+K) kg (‘000) kg
per
ha of
cropped
area
1970-71 213 38 71 N/A 192 5.3 140

1980-81 762 113 81 3200 600 119 161

1990-91 1,220 163 93 6500 800 289 178

2000-01 1314 168 95 6970 1073 - 187

2009-10 1767 225 98 5760 1355 499 190

Shifts in the Cropping Pattern
 Trade offs

Regulating provisioning services

can increase to
ecosystem quite high levels
services before
B regulating services
decline

with increases in
provisioning services
regulating services linearly
decrease
A

increase in provisioning services produces

a rapid loss of regulating services
Provisioning ecosystem services
 Adverse Impact of Intensive Agriculture
Crop failure in Sangrur, Punjab, August, 2012
• Falling Diversity
• Land degradation:
physical, chemical and
biological
• Faster Ground Water
Depletion
• Rising Incidences of
Nutrient Deficiency in
Soils
• Rising Humidity and
Incidence of Insect-
Pests and Diseases
 Decline in Diversification Index
Prior to the green revolution, 41 varieties of wheat, 37 varieties of rice, 4 varieties
of maize, 3 varieties of bajra, 16 varieties of sugarcane, 19 varieties of pulses, 9
varieties of oil seeds and 10 varieties of cotton were reported to be in use in
Punjab. Data indicates that post green revolution, only 5 varieties of wheat and 8
varieties of rice are currently in use

D i v e r s i f i c a t i o n I n d e x In P u n j a b

0.8

0.75

0.7
D
I

0.65

0.6

0.55
1970-71 1975-76 1980-81 1985-86 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01 2001-02 2006-07

Ye a r
 Impact on Water Resources

Declining rainfall and fall in groundwater level over the years.

• Avg. Annual Rainfall 1998-

2007 is 430 mm
• Long-term average
600 mm
• Frequency of
years
drought increased
1997, 2002,
1987, 2007,
2012 2009,
• However, no
impact
adverse on agricultural
production as
entire
almostarea is irrigated

Rice Wheat
 2002: 8.8mt 15.5m
t
2009: 9.1mt 15.6mt
 Degradation of Water resources

• The total demand of water for agriculture (based on

cropping pattern & practices) presently stands at
4.38 mham (million ha meter) against the
total availability of 3.13 mham.

• Hence, the deficit of 1.25 mham is met through

over-exploitation of under ground water reserves
through tube wells, resulting in rapid decline of
water table in the entire state.
 Status of Groundwater Resources

Over Exploitation of Groundwater Resources

Year Percentage area Percentage area Percentage area
>10m >15 m > 20 m

1973 3.7 0.56 0.39

1980 5.7 0.57 0.38
1990 26.7 2.95 0.38
2000 53.2 14.11 0.12
2001 65.7 21.73 1.22
2002 72.7 26.15 4.26
2003 79.9 32.73 5.73
2004 84.6 36.57 12.47
2007 93.0 46.0 19.0
Original tube well (40-50 feet) and the new submersible
(250-300 feet) pump nearby
 Extent of Degraded Land in Punjab

Punjab has about 4.2 million hectare of land under agriculture. In

addition, 6.0 per cent area is under forests and about two million
hectare is degraded land.
Trends in available organic carbon content in soils of
Punjab (1981-2001)

78% soils of Punjab were low (<0.4% SOC) in organic carbon, 21%
medium (0.4%-0.75% SOC) and 0.5% high (>75% SOC) in soil organic
carbon
 Forms of land degradation

Soil salinity, August, 2012 Degraded land, August, 2012

 Returns from agriculture
Profitability of farming: Real Farm Business Income on 1993-94 prices
29000

28217 28054
28000

27000 27173

26000 25949
25645
25228
25000

24000
23705
(Rs/ha)

23212
23000
22695
FBI

22000

21000 20828

20000
19699
19000 19042
18715
18000

17000
1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07

The incidence of poverty among Punjab farmers increased from 8.65

per cent during 1995-96 to 11.36 per cent in 2005-06.
 Economics of debt and suicides
• The cost of inputs in agriculture is increasing day-by-day;
• Land holdings are simultaneously decreasing making
agriculture unviable for majority of farmers;
• Baring some big farmers, almost all are caught in the debt trap and
are unable to repay their loans; (average loan/debt per farmer is
more than US 2000 $)
• The land is mortgaged with the moneylenders, who some times use
hard tactics for recovery;
• Farmers live in the fear of loosing their lands;
• It is not surprising that Panchayat of Harkishanpurain
Bathinda and Mal district Singh Wala in
resolution announcing that the
Mansa village
district was up for sale;
had passed a
More than 8000 farmers have committed suicides in the last
ten years
 Initiative by Government of India

• Punjab Government has banned pesticide causing cancer

• Implementation of nutrient based subsidy and policy
for
coated fertilizers
• A comprehensive proposal amounting to Rs. 3498.40 Crores
(700 million US $) for management of declining ground water
resources to sustain food production , submitted to Ministry
of Water Resources , Government of India for providing
financial aid in March 2009
Role of State and Private sector in relieving stress on
the overburdened agriculture

• Diversification of Agriculture- Moving away

from
Rice-Wheat system of cropping

• For sustainability and local economy reasons, regional

decision makers in Punjab are encouraging
diversification from crops such as paddy and wheat to
high-value crops (HVCs) such as potato, sunflower,
basmati and garlic.
• Demand and export prospects are favorable for HVCs,
in whose production the state has a comparative
 Advantage in alternative crops (Horticulture)
• Despite the fact that Punjab is a minor producer in
fruits and vegetables, yields for most horticulture
products are among the highest in the country,
clearly highlighting the potential of such products
in the state.
• Yields for onions (21.5 tons per ha) and peas (6.2
tons per ha) are double the all-India average (9.9
tons per ha and 3.2 tons per ha, respectively),
while the productivity of potatoes, cauliflower,
mangoes, chilies, guavas, grapes, and tomatoes are
all well-above all-India norms.
 Promotion of alternative crops
• Promoting value-added processing, for example
1. to convert grains such as wheat and dairy (mainly milk
and butter) into bakery items,
2. citrus fruits such as kinnows and oranges into juice,
3. convert maize into fuel.

• One vision of Punjab is that 60 percent of the

area could be covered by citrus in 20 years—replacing
California and Florida as the highest producing
areas and developing better yielding, better tasting,
more disease-resistant varieties of HVC along the
lines of what was done for wheat and rice.
 Promotion of Dairy Farming
• Dairying has assumed particular significance for small land
holders since it uses little land and is labor-intensive.

• Dairy production contributed 54.6 percent of farm business

income on marginal farms and 37.4 percent on small farms in
Punjab during 2000–03.

• The dairy sector generated 186 man-days of

employment
farm on marginal farms and 213 man-days on small
farms compared with 82 man-days and 163 man-
days, respectively, in the crop production sector

• It is also important for women who account for over 90

percent of the labor force working with farm animals,
including dairy.
 Role of Corporate Farming

• Punjab has been corporatizing its farming sector since the

1990s.
• Field Fresh – an equal partnership venture between Bharti
Enterprises and Rothschild – has acquired 300 acres of land
from the state government for its model research and
development (R&D) farm called Field Fresh Agri Centre of
Excellence near Ludhiana.

• It has also leased 4,000 acres of land and employs the

former owner-cultivators as farm managers.

• Fresh fruits and vegetables from Field Fresh are exported to

the European Union, Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) countries, eastern Europe, south-east Asia and west
Asia.
 Some Examples of Contract Farming

• Satluj Agriculture leased land at Rs 17,000 (300 US $) per

acre for 2.5 years with the lessors providing all farm
machines and operators.
• Nijjer Agro, Amritsar, which is into bulk supply of tomato
paste to Nestle and vegetables to the National Dairy
Development Board’s (NDDB) Safal project in Delhi and
many big and small farmers have leased thousands of
acres of land in Punjab for corporate farming.
• The latter group includes many of the state’s so-called
progressive farmers, who own more than 50 acres, are
educated and eager to increase their incomes through
diversification and new technologies.
Crop and Agency-wise Average Size of Holding of Contract
Growers in Punjab
 Corporate Farming by the State
• As part of a diversification plan, four
special purpose vehicles (SPVs) were created in the
state –
• the Council for Citrus and Agri Juicing,
• the Organic Farming Council of Punjab (OFCP),
• the Council for Value Added Horticulture and
• the Viticulture Council of Punjab.
• Set up in 2006 as a joint venture by Pepsico and the
state government’s Punjab Agro Foodgrains
Corporation (PAFC), the Council for Citrus and Agro
Juicing leased land and undertook corporate
 Rationalization of Input Subsidies
• The total input subsidy in Punjab in 2007–08 was Rs 40,104 million
(800 million US $), of which 60 percent was due to electricity, 38 %
due to fertilizers and 2% due to irrigation.

• Total input subsidies accounted for about 10.2 percent of the GSDP
originating from agriculture and allied activities in the state and two
times the combined public capital and current expenditures by the
state government.

• Subsidies averaged Rs 6,769 (140 US $) per ha of cropped land, and

over 15 percent of the average net profits of wheat–rice rotation.

• It is clear that subsidies have contributed to increased wheat and rice

production in Punjab. However, the costs of these subsidies have
Back to the Basics-Return to traditional style of
farming patterns
• In the last 10-15 years, in many villages farmers
have started to revive some of the local, open
pollinated varieties.

• These varieties have evolved over time, have a

strong resilience to local conditions, vagaries of
climate, pest and disease attacks and less intensive
management in terms of labor and costs.
 Hybrids Vs. local varities

• Hybrids and other High Yielding Varities (HYVs) need

more inputs also in terms of fertilizer and water; both
are becoming scarce and costly now. Thus the concept
of “location specific” seeds and related technology is
now getting increasingly significant.

• Some of the researches have shown that

varieties
traditionalare nutrient rich and can help develop
immunity to many chronic diseases. The organic
markets in the country have already started
selling such produce, and there is an increasing
demand
 Promotion of Agroforestry
• Having lowest forest cover in the country, Punjab has introduced a
concept of “green panchayats” to promote social forestry and forest
cover in the state.

• To increase the area under forests and tree cover from present 6.3%
to 15% of the State’s geographical area by 2017.

• To protect, conserve and improve the State’s forests and other natural
resources for improving the quality of soil, air and water.

• Encourage people’s participation in protection and management of

State’s forests and other natural resources.

• Industry should also be encouraged to raise forest raw material for its
own requirement through contract tree farming with private
Social Forestry in the midst of Sugarcane Crop in
Punjab
 Consequences of Business as Usual Scenario
1. Large parts of the soil and land (almost half) of the
total arable land available has become unsuitable
for wheat and rice cultivation.
2. Punjab has become the cancer capital of India due
to rising use of pesticides and fertilizers.
3. High cost of production and diminishing economic
returns from agricultural practices are affecting the
socioeconomic condition of farmers leading to
highest level of indebtness and farmers suicide in
the country.
Thank You