Chhattisgarh Krishak Biradari Report of Round table conference on agriculture and climate change in Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and Odisha

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1 Chhattisgarh Krishak Biradari Report of Round table conference on agriculture and climate change in Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and Odisha 4 th May 2013, New circuit house, Raipur Organizers: Krishak Biradari and State APM (Mandi) Board, Chhattisgarh Krishak Biradari (Farmer Brotherhood) is a forum of farmers, intellectuals, scientists, students and activists focused on the agrarian issues such as policy frameworks, budgets, climate change, crisis of productive societies, and other issues affecting the rural society at large. Krishak Biradari (KB) has convened a one day symposium and round table conversation named as Krishak Vimarsh was farmers meeting of three neighboring regions - Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and Odisha for the first time on 4 th of May 2013 at New Circuit House, Raipur C.G. Krishak Biradari recognizes these three regional economies Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and Odisha are natural nabours not only in cultural issues but also in agrarian challenges. So they decided to call farmers, intellectuals and activists of these areas to come together in a common platform to understand, discuss and share each other s issues for a prosperous agrarian society. Friends of Odisha and Vidarbha welcomed the idea of a joint convention and attended the convention in large number. Hon. Governor of Chhattisgarh has inaugurated this convention on 4 th of May 2013 at conference hall, new circuit house Raipur. Discussions were focused on following aspects: 1. Leadership crisis in agrarian societies of central India 2. Challenges and opportunities of climate change in central Indian regions especially in Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and Odisha. 3. Critical review of policy frameworks and opportunities in state agricultural policies with special reference to Nayee Krishak Neeti: Chhattisgarh (New agriculture policy of C.G.). The Convention was attended by 200 lead farmers from Chhattisgrah, Odisha and Vidarbha, media persons, officials from department of agriculture, scientists from Indira Gandhi Agriculture University and other various departments of the CG govt. Inaugural session The roundtable was inaugurated by the Hon ble Governor of the state Mr. Shekhar Dutt. The other dignitaries present in the inaugural session included Hon ble Minister Agriculture, Shri Chandrashekhar Sahu, APC Mr. Ajay Singh, Farmer Leader from Odisha Mr. Lingraj, General Secretary of Krishak Biradari, Mr. Anand Mishra, Chairman of the Seed development corporation Mr. Shyam Bais, and Secretary of Gandhi Ashram Vardha, Mr. Anil Farsole. The Convention was attended by 200 lead farmers from Chhattisgrah, Odisha and Vidarbha, media persons, officials from department of agriculture, scientists from Indira Gandhi Agriculture University and other various departments of the CG govt. The convention was inaugurated by offering oblations and respect to the plants of Tulsi, Vat, Neem, Peepal and Shami (in appreciation of their medicinal value to protect and promote these plants).

2 Inaugurating the Convention the Hon ble Governor said that the only thing that has not changed since independence is more than 65% population of the country being dependant on agriculture. However, he bemoaned that farmers enterprise need to be recognized and small agriculture, however, diversification to horticulture, medicinal plants, reclamation of wasteland, improved practices of livestock rearing can compensate for the loss that farmers face. He also emphasized that land even if it is wasteland should be put to use for agriculture and allied activities. Minister Agriculture, Mr. Chandrashekhar Sahu said that Gov t is very serious about improving the lives of farmers and a number of efforts are being made in this direction. While a separate agriculture budget has been passed, a new pro-farmer agriculture policy legislated, the state is acknowledging the farmers enterprise by giving bonus to farmers. He assured that CG will be agricultural capital of the country in the coming decade. Krishak Setu: A special agri software based program Krishak Setu has been launched in this occasion by Hon. Governor dedicated to communication, information, community intellection and forward marketing linkage of farmers community. Mr. Pradeep Sharma, Convener of the Krishak Biradari, and the convention placed the efforts of Krishak Biradari before the audience. He delivered brief detail about the developments of Krishak Biradari movement in and around Chhattisgarh State. He emphasized upon the main aim of Biradari as to bring focus on farmer related issues through open forum discussions with stack holders, experts, volunteers, CSO as well as policy makers and restoration of farmers status as a chief productive class in the country. He said that while Biradari has been able to reach out to the farmers in 8 districts of Vidarbha and 19 districts of Odisha besides Chhattisgarh, the state of CG and national governments have paid heed to its demands for the improvement of small farmers conditions in the country. Mr. Anand Mishra, Convener of the Krishak Biaradari said that, agriculture is at the cross roads and more than 130,000 farmers have quit agriculture in the last decade. Talking about climate change and agriculture, he added that developing countries are being blamed for GHG emission from rice paddy cultivation and livestock. Alluding to the last Conference of Parties in Qatar, he added that developed countries are diverting the conversation by emphasizing emissions from agriculture, which is far less that what industrial countries produce. He lamented that agriculture is now looked at as a labourer s work, and while a mason s work is considered a skilled job, farmer s work is not considered so. The policies do not encourage farming and Planning Commission in a recent meeting decided that MSP will not be raised for kharif crop this year. Mr. Lingaraj, said that while farmers in Odisha are being dispossessed of their land and denied minimum support price, agriculture policies in the CG have shown the way, which other states should follow. He said that it needs to be explored in detail why despite the fact that agricultural production is increasing, its contribution to the GDP is reducing. Mr. Anil Farsole, from Gandhi Ashram Vardha emphasized that there is a need to revisit the social aspects of agriculture and the values that it stands for. He added, that while we accepted Gram Swaraj of Gandhi, Suraj in the villages could not be attained. He stressed that localization, village industries based rural economy are the only solution to the plight that agriculture faces in the country. He also outlined the lessening of village cottage industry in rural areas as an important reason behind the suicides of farmers of Vidarbha Mr. Shyam Bais, Chairman of the Seed Development Corporation, said that agriculture is done methodically is better and more profitable than any other enterprise. He added that Chhattisgarh gov t. needs to be commended for making a separate budget for agriculture.

3 Increasing vulnerability to agriculture due to climate change impacts, demand increased risk and insurance coverage, he emphasized. Mr. Ajay Singh, APC said that Chhattisgarh state is making genuine efforts to improve farmer s conditions and we remain steadfast to this goal in acknowledgment of the fact that agriculture is the livelihood of majority of the population in the state. He added that recommendations from the convention will be looked into by the department, which will help further improve the resilience of the farmers against climate change impacts. Hon ble Governor also felicitated five media persons for best agri related reporting Krishak Setu Samman by Session 2 (i) : Challenges of climate change for small and marginal farmers in central Indian regions like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Vidarbha Shri Nand Kashyap, convener of the session introduced the speakers and the subject. Mr. Chandrashekhar Sahu, Hon ble Minister, Agriculture, said in his opening remarks, that agriculture faces insurmountable problems due to sudden change in the temperature and reduction in rainfall. While a number of efforts are afoot at national and international level, the state must make its own efforts to insulate agriculture from these impacts. He said that agriculture department is concerned about the issue, and will take the recommendations from the session positively. Ajay Jha (Pairvi) delivered the key note address. He said that globally agriculture production is likely to be adversely affected due to reduction in precipitation and India; he said that central India including Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and Odisha will face shortage of water in the south western monsoon, and rising temperature during the winters affecting both rice and wheat. He added that rainfall in Chhattisgarh has already reduced by 30-35% in two districts of Chhattisgarh (Mahasamund and Kanker). Rice has shifted northwards in the state and is being replaced by short duration verities (80-90 days) and Soybean, while wheat is being replaced by chickpea in the state. In Odisha, except for six coastal districts, all districts are likely to face less than normal monsoon. Vidarbha is already facing acute water shortage, while some of the districts in Vidarbha might see increased precipitation, the increase in temperature might negate that advantage, Referring to policy response at the national level, he added agriculture and water are areas of prime importance for a state like Chhattisgarh, and should be accorded appropriate priority in

4 the SAPCC. There is a need to combine "maximization of production" with "minimization of climate risks." Focus on capacity building of farmers on their understanding and resilience against climate change, effective and meaningful information management, weather forecasting, synergies between scientific ways of weather prediction and traditional knowledge of farmers, expansion of extension services of include feedback from farmers, improving ag infrastructure, livestock management and improvement of indigenous breed and small ruminants, increasing coverage of risk and insurance, documentation of best practices of agricultural adaptation and sharing it with larger farming community, development of climate hardy varieties for specific agro-climatic zones, emphasis and support to organic farming etc. could be few of the strategies to enhance farming communities resilience against climate change. Dr. S.K. Patil Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi Agriculture University said that despite all challenges, agricultural productivity has been increasing due to the efforts of the farmers and pro-farmer policies. Water is the major casualty of climate change and therefore, improved and scientific water use practices will have to be adopted. Agriculture University was developing varieties that will require less water and withstand rising temperature, which will be helpful in countering adverse climatic conditions. He added that system of crop intensification is being promoted which not only reduces the water requirement but also reduces emission. Dr. A Boaz, Nodal Person for the State Action Plan on Climate Change Chhattisgarh shared the insights from the SAPCC which is being prepared by the state. He listed few priorities for the state agriculture as, increasing productivity, improving agriculture extension and taking research from lab to farm, improving income of the marginal farmer, improving irrigation practices, capacity building of farmers on adaptation. He underlined that we need to bring forests out of forests and increase the forest coverage. He also shared that REDD+ projects are being also planned to avail of a USD 3 trillion REDD+ fund. Dr. D. K. Marothia, former Chair CACP, said that climate change is an evolving science and various concepts, notions and projections by western scientists (and IPCC) including emission in agriculture are being challenged. He underlined that Community Based Adaptation offers the best possible approach to adaptation. Dr. Sushil Trivedy, former Chief Election Commissioner, Chhattisgarh delivered the concluding remarks and vote of thanks Session -2(ii) New Agriculture policy of C.G.: Farmer s Evaluation, Challenges and Opportunities This session was chaired by APC Mr. Ajay Singh and started with a key note address of Prof. S.S. Khanna former member planning commission. He elaborated the need of farmer oriented action plan and organic relation between implementing agencies and stack holders as the key of any agriculture policy. He expressed his willingness to be part of action plan developing team for the state on the basis of new agriculture policy. Mr. Bilkis Bilimoria briefly discuss about the bio mass potential of C.G. farming system and importance of gasifiers and biochar for mulching in the farmers field. Dr. C.L. Jain director SAMETI (State agriculture management, extension and training institute) has detailed the new agriculture policy, its framework, approaches and new dimensions. He explained about the capacity building of small and marginal farmers has identified as a core area in new ag policy and is systematically developed through institutions building activities inside the farming communities. Special emphasis was given on organic

5 farming, small water bodies management, farmer friendly small instruments and appliances along with quasi trained Kisan Sangwari (Ag Motivators) work force of lead farmers were the major achievement of the new agriculture policy. Farmer s Forum Open Discussion: This lecture was followed by an open discussion forum of farmers and is moderated by Sri Sharad Chandra Behar former chief Secretary of M.P. Farmers have raised their concerns about increasing biotic stress and human animal conflict in mainland agriculture apart from fringe areas. They demanded inclusive policy for that. There are discussions on the issue of One power line One rate for off farm and farming activities like dairy and other industries. Tirith ram Dheewar raised the issue of tower line fixing in the farm land and a asked for a proper compensation rates as state decided about the irrigated, non irrigated land acquisition. Some farmer groups demanded the discrepancies in the share of societies while procurement of paddy. Issues and concerns were raised about support price of Lakhadi(Tiwara) dal, and vermi compost generated by small and marginal farmers. Farmers from Takhatpur has raised voice for land demarcation system ( Girdawali) and decreasing open grazing land (Charagaah) for village animals. They also demanded Charagaah development should make mandatory in villages where land is available and needed to be linked with the MGNREGA activities. Farmer group from Ambikapur demanded the insurance should be provided at villager level and seed insurance should be included in insurance system. Ratan Singh Korram from Kanker suggested that paddy transplantation should be taken under MGNREGA scheme. Dhan Kumar Patel from Raigarh asked for bio fertilizers standardizatio n in the state. There are suggestions given about practical approach for farm to field exercises, ATMA and river bed farmers protections. Shri Behar has expressed his concern about the planning process of new agriculture policy saying the success of any policy lies in detailing itself in planning framework and willingness of grass root governance to apply it into the field. He stressed upon the role of an active and creative farmer s pressure group most relevant and effective in this regard. APC, Mr. Ajay Singh has assured farmer s group and Krishak Biradari that his department would look into the concerns raises here by the farmers and would like to adapt things into framework planning. Valedictory Session: In the valedictory session, outcomes from both the sessions were discussed. Shri Chandrashekhar Sahu, Minister of Agriculrure, Dairy, Fisheries, and Labour listed the recommendations from both the sessions and assured that these recommendations will be considered and followed by the department. Mr. Sushil Trivedy, shared the outcome of the session on climate change and agriculture. Mr. Behar, shared the outcomes from the session on Agriculture Policy. He said that while the agriculture policy was good, it needs to be seen in the context of overall direction of the economy indicating that policies do not operate in isolation but in an atmosphere and background created by other policies. Therefore, he underlined that implementation has be the key. Mr. Pradeep Sharma Convener of Krishak Biradari delivered the vote of thanks.