No options: Farmers focus on diversifying crops

Foodgrains lose ground, water and soil suffer as threats of climate change and food insecurity loom large

A farmer spreads a harvested crop of maize for drying on the outskirts of Bengaluru. AFP

Insight City Box_ 8 May

The water came back to Kakola, an arid village in Haveri district in the 2000s. Community-led water conservation initiatives, with an emphasis on opting for locally suitable crops, were pursued in the village.

“The village turned green over the next three-four years,” says seventy-year-old farmer Karibasanagowda who is a resident of the village.

In 2004-05, villagers formed a collective to build a network of drains and channels to feed the open wells and tanks. The way the village sustained through long spells of drought was something that motivated farmers near and far.

Two decades later, this hope has vanished into thin air. The village is bone dry again. “Cotton returned with a vengeance. We came full circle as we couldn’t resist the lure of the water-intensive crops,” he explains. The temptation of reaping the benefits of market prices prompted many villagers to turn towards water-guzzling crops.

Villages across Karnataka are bleeding water and leaching soil. And often, they face the fate of Kakola. But farmers have few options. Caught between inflation, low returns and surviving the vagaries of the monsoon, their last resort is to opt for crops that are valued in the country’s markets.

A senior scientist from Haveri Krishi Vigyan Kendra said, even after suffering due to the switch to cotton from regional crops like green and red grams, jowar and maize, Kakola farmers are now embracing riskier options.

“Over the decades, Kakola and the rest of Ranebennur taluk have become a seed bowl. Farmers are growing vegetables to produce seeds for companies. The assured income has made them overlook the after-effects of high fertiliser and pesticide use. The results, however, will be seen years later,” he added.

As per a recent report by the Karnataka Agriculture Price Commission (KAPC), between 2011-12 and 2020-21, the extent of area under jowar, North Karnataka’s staple, has come down from 11.41 lakh hectares to 7.43 lakh hectares. Similarly, the area under pearl millet (bajra) and black-eyed peas has reduced from 2.85 lakh ha to 2.21 lakh ha and 88,000 ha to 52,000 ha.

This change in cropping patterns can have a devastating effect on the state’s soil and water availability. In 2017, KAPC warned that a whopping 21 lakh hectares, about 16% of the 129 lakh hectares of land available for agriculture, has been reduced to fallow land.

This was a direct result of water shortage and poor soil quality. The situation is exacerbated by the crop pattern.

Excluding soybean, the area under oilseeds has declined from 12.23 lakh ha to 9.06 lakh ha.

The skyrocketing price of vegetable oil in the wake of the war in Ukraine has highlighted the impact of the decline in oilseed cultivation. Similarly, data from the Horticulture Department shows that arecanut cultivation has increased by 81% (from 2.75 lakh ha to 4.99 lakh ha) between 2015-16 and 2019-20.

Even in arid districts like Tumakuru and Chitradurga, areca cultivation has grown by 60%. Arecanut is a water-guzzling crop, requiring 750 to 4,500 mm of annual rainfall. An official in the department said groundwater is the only source for most of the areca plantations in the two districts.

The choice of these crops despite the imminent threat of climate change, extreme weather events and the possibility of crop failure called for an immediate change in policy.

The issues of fallow land, overexploitation of water, and use of high amounts of fertilisers and pesticides eventually prompted the state government to execute a detailed study, funded by the World Bank, which translated into building a land resource inventory (LRI) system.

Experts and scientists from each of the agriculture and horticulture universities in Karnataka took up a detailed study to develop land management units for 14 lakh ha of agricultural land spread across the 10 different agro-climatic zones of Karnataka. The massive exercise looked into soil and site characteristics, including soil health, weather conditions, rainfall, groundwater levels, and suitable groups among others.

“The LRI suggests three most suitable crops starting with a crop that requires the bare minimum, including zero budget, to a minimum and moderate investment while assuring high productivity. It’s a system that is ten times more sophisticated than the soil health card that we have at present,” an official involved in the project told DH.

Choosing the right crop

The Watershed Development Department is set to take up the next phase of the project under the title ‘Reward’. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is set to launch it today. While officials say that this is a step in the right direction, the effort seems wasted as the study’s insights have not been integrated into government policies.

Experts say that there is an urgent need for policy in this direction. The policies, they say, will encourage farmers to take up cultivation as per suggestions made through the LRI.

In 2020-21, the department made a suggestion to the government to introduce a new mechanism to implement the LRI. The idea was to incentivise those farmers who follow the guidelines.

“In the next phase, the government has to adopt a policy to discourage cultivation of crops that go against LRI recommendation. Why waste subsidies and incentives on a crop which is deemed unsuitable for that plot? Such a policy is key to bringing back crop diversity and building resilience among farmers. Even if the government doesn’t want to adopt an unpopular move, there are ways to implement LRI in full spirit. But political will is required,” the official added.

The need to shift towards a policy that is informed by science is crucial if Karnataka has to prepare itself to face climate change. Already, farmers are suffering the consequences of extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heatwaves.

The projections in the Karnataka government’s Climate Action Plan show serious consequences even in optimistic (low-emission) predictions of an increase in global temperatures.

Experts have warned of a rise in summer temperature between 0.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, with seven districts set to become “not suitable” for the existing vegetation.

Summer temperature in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Bagalkot, Koppal, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, and Davangere is expected to go up by 1 to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Principal Secretary of the Agriculture Department Shivayogi Kalasad says the government is taking steps to ensure higher productivity and a better market network. “It is true that water-intensive crops are growing. The area under sugarcane has increased from 4.29 lakh ha in 2019-20 to 5.88 lakh ha in 2021-22. Even if the source of water is an irrigation channel, sugarcane is not sustainable in the long run as it affects soil fertility. We are trying to encourage farmers to adopt integrated farming and crop diversification,” he said.

Kalasad also said that the agricultural census, which has been delayed due to the pandemic, will be taken up this year and the data will provide an understanding of the latest status of the sector, including barren and fallow land.

“The government has already initiated some measures to increase cultivation. The amendment to the Land Reforms Act is aimed at inviting people to take up agriculture as a project and the idea of leasing deemed forest land is also aimed at using available land,” he added.

Farmer-leader and president of Sugarcane Grower’s Association Kuruburu Shanthakumar agreed that incentives and subsidies have to be channelled scientifically but noted that the government has to make a practical demonstration of its studies’ reliability before integrating them with policies.

“Let the agriculture and horticulture universities or Krishi Vigyan Kendras demonstrate the efficacy of LRI. They should do this by adopting farmers’ lands. Is this not the best way to take farmers into confidence and build trust? It also helps in bringing theory and practice closer,” he said.

Market, the decider

To a question on crop diversification, another official in the department said it was impossible to change the market’s hold on the farmers’ crop choices.

“As long as the market is regulated with a long-term strategy, there is a chance for sustainability.

However, in reality, governments focus on import and export control based on political compulsions and short-term goals.

Sustainability and self-reliance have been forgotten as seen in the expansion of the area under maize, cotton and sugarcane and the drop in the cultivation of oilseeds and other crops that sustained families for generations,” he noted.

Prakash Kammaradi, former Chairman of the KAPC, said the sector needs a comprehensive support system. Referring to a KAPC report submitted in 2016, he said the government has to introduce scientific crop planning at the district, regional and state levels by taking farmers into confidence.

The report had also flagged concern over the expansion of maize, sugarcane, cotton and arecanut. “It is a problem that needs a multi-pronged approach. We had recommended several measures to the government, from a land aggregation system to going beyond the minimum support price and adopting a statutory minimum price,” he said, referring to a suggestion to penalise those who fail to procure agricultural produce at a minimum price.

As vast tracts of land are covered by only a few crops with good market potential, the diverse crops that bring food to our plates are losing their ground. The impact is visible.

As experts say, efforts at different levels – from farmers to policymakers – are required to ensure food security and sustainability.