India’s Modi looks to farming gains as WTO deadline looms

A vendor roasts corn for sale on Marina Beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Sanjit Das / Bloomberg

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi yesterday outlined his government’s aim to develop the agricultural sector as the country looks to increase food production and reduce reliance on imports.

His comments come amid India’s stance on food subsidies that has posed a threat to a landmark WTO deal that must be reached before a deadline tomorrow.

New Delhi insists on a permanent WTO deal that would allow it to stockpile food for its poor. The country’s trade ministry said it “will find it difficult” to support the protocol unless it is satisfied that adequate emphasis is being placed on negotiations about food security and other issues important to poor countries.

India provides subsidised fertiliser and seeds to farmers and buys wheat and rice from them at fixed prices to boost output, build stocks for welfare plans and meet any emergency.

At the start of the months, India had 21.2 million tonnes of rice and 39.8 million tonnes of wheat stockpiles, more than double the respective WTO buffer norms.

Mr Modi, who was addressing scientists at the 86th foundation day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, called upon researchers to improve productivity through the use of technology, crops that can be harvested in a shorter duration and judicious use of water.

“We will have to strengthen capabilities of farmers so that food security can be ensured for the country along with the enhancement of profits for them,” Mr Modi said. “Scientists should win the confidence of farmers so that they adopt their technologies with hope.”

It was not just agriculture that Mr Modi focused on. He suggested a “blue revolution” in the fisheries sector along the lines of the “green revolution” for farming more than 40 years ago. Changes to agricultural practices in India in the 1960s, such as the use of high-yielding crop varieties, increased use of fertilizers and modern agricultural techniques led to a big surge in food production and self-sufficiency.

But much of the crop production in India is still dependent on timely rains, which so far this year have been below average.

A note from Crisil, an analytics company owned by Standard & Poor’s, said that as of Friday, 58 per cent of the country had received inadequate rainfall and that the monsoons were currently 24 per cent below the long-period average. The areas that have been affected by poor rains account for 46 per cent of food grain production. Punjab and Haryana, the bread baskets of India, are the worst-hit states.

Crisil, however, added that rice output, which accounts for 70 per cent of food grain production, has been less affected because of better rains in the north-east.

But the next few weeks will be crucial for the kharif crops that are grown and harvested between June and September.

Forecasters in Australia yesterday cut the odds of El Nino, which brings drought to Asia and heavy rain to South America, after parts of the tropical Pacific Ocean cooled.

The chance of the pattern developing this year is about 50 per cent, the bureau of meteorology said in an update on its website. The forecaster lowered its outlook to an El Nino watch from an alert, which was issued on May 6.

However, any shortfall in food production can cause inflation to rise. Stubbornly high inflation contributed to Mr Modi’s electoral victory in May. Asia’s second-largest economy grew 4.7 per cent in the financial year ended March. Economists have forecast 6.3 per cent growth for the next fiscal year and inflation to average 7.7 per cent this year, Reuters reported last week.

* with agencies

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