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"Agriculture
need not always be a loss-making proposition.
There is money to be made if a farmer can diversify into niche crops
and not
stick to staples. Considering India's
varied landscape and climatic conditions there is immense potential to
cultivate a variety of crops that can fetch a good price in the world
market.
Farmers need to maximize yield from the farms without excessive
exploitation of
soil and water. Disproportionate importance was given to cereals,
particularly
rice and wheat, in the urge to achieve food security. There is a need
to shift
focus now. Crop diversification is necessary if farmers are to protect
themselves from price fluctuations in the global market as well as the
vagaries
of weather. As with flowers, cultivating vegetables and fruits for
niche
markets could enable farmers to increase incomes. The way forward is to
promote
a variety of crops and, wherever possible, livestock and fisheries. A
slow, but
certain, change is taking place in the food basket of Indian homes.
Much more
poultry, fish and fruit are consumed domestically than ever before, and
the
demand is expected to grow." [1]
Here
the focus of the author is on methods to increase exports and earn
foreign
exchange. This may increase the farm income but this perspective may
not lead
to lowering of the emissions.
Crop diversity plays a significant role in the metabolism of a
traditional
agricultural ecosystem and thereby contributes to its productivity. If
traditional small farmers plant such a wide diversity of crops, it is
not
primarily to maximize yields, but to reduce vulnerability to
discontinuities
such as droughts, floods and plant epidemics. As James Scott, who was
an
authority on peasant agriculture writes
"the local tradition of seed varieties, planting techniques and timing
was
designed over centuries of trial and error to produce the most stable
and
reliable yield possible under the circumstances... "
Typically, the peasant seeks to avoid the failure "that will ruin him
rather than attempting a big but risky killing", and this he largely
achieves by cultivating a carefully chosen diversity of crops and crop
varieties, whose exact composition he is well capable of adapting
whenever
necessary to changing environmental requirements. [2]
Intensive agriculture development around high yielding varieties
fuelled the
green revolution. Systems for large-scale multiplication of HYV seeds,
programs
of seed replacement, seed villages etc., are the dominant support
systems
established for the purpose. Private companies and corporate firms came
into
picture with the advent of hybrid seeds. Unfortunately, the same
systems are
extended to rainfed areas and are expected to support agriculture
growth. The
requirement of seed systems in rainfed areas are however, strikingly
different.
The following factors define the contours of the seed system
requirements:
- Local
availability and
access to diversified seed is the key to resilient farming systems.
- Diversity in
crops/
varieties to adapt to different soils, topography and rainfall pattern
(early /
late) is a major requirement in rainfed areas.
- Seeds for
different crops
(intercrops, green manure crops, contingency crops etc.) and different
types of
varieties are needed.
- Seed losses
due to
fluctuating rainfall is a common phenomenon, high cost of seeds in such
situations impose higher risks.
- Timely
availability of
seeds, easy access, and diversity in seed and redundancy in seed supply
are
critical parameters of rainfed seed systems.
- Genotype -
environment
interaction is higher in rainfed areas; more stable varieties are
needed that
can be multiplied locally.
- Many of these
seeds may
not be viable as commercial enterprises. Community control/ management
over
this complex seed system therefore, are pertinent. [3]
Diversity in crops helps food security. As we do not
know which variety of crop will survive in changing climatic conditions
such as
floods, drought, heat waves and cold waves, it is better that we try
heterogeneous variety of crops rather than planting only one
variety of
crops on the large patch of land. There is heavy risk in opting for
homogeneous
variety of crops in case of its failure or lack of resistance to
climatic
condition. Therefore, using genetically modified crops bear a risk. GM
varieties are immune to certain climatic conditions or particular types
of
pest. GM variety fails to adapt to the climate for which it is not
immune to
and as a result crop fails. GM variety needs a laboratory treatment by
farmers,
the irrigation has to be on time, and certain amount of delay may
result in
crop failure. Therefore, we need to develop a variety of seed and crops
with
diverse characteristics. Crops need to be more flexible though it may
not give
high yield still we can avoid the situation such as starvation due to
adverse
climatic condition. [4]
[5]
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