On the impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) on agriculture and farm labour, the report refers to the evaluation studies carried out recently which have shown that while MGNREGS has contributed toward water conservation and water harvesting structures, drought proofing and tree plantation, flood control, micro and minor irrigation works and land development which will have a positive impact on agricultural productivity.
It has also led to a substantial increases in the wage rates of agricultural labourers, reduced the availability of labor for agricultural operations and increased the cost of cultivation. In order to optimize synergies and bring convergence between MGNREGA and schemes of Ministry of Agriculture, guidance has been issued to state governments.
The report cautions that water scarcity will intensify in future with increase in population and demand for food, and the current water use practices cannot be sustained over the long run. Inefficient water use in irrigation is also leading to environmental degradation via water logging and induced salinity. Irrigation efficiency in the systems needs to be improved. The report estimates that even a rise of 5 per cent irrigation efficiency can increase the irrigation potential by 10-15 million ha.
The report also focuses on the problems of imbalanced use of fertilizers, deteriorating soil health and the threats posed by climate change and hiighlights the recent measures initiated to tackle these issues.
On farm credit, the report calls for innovative ways to reach people still out of the umbrella of institutional credit. The report says that while the overall credit to agriculture has been growing phenomenally during the last few years, and the interest rates for farmers have also been reduced to 7 percent (4 percent after taking into account the 3 percent interest subvention for timely repayment of crop loans), yet the biggest challenge remains in terms of increasing access to credit, particularly for the bottom 40 percent. More innovative models are needed to reach this category as they rely largely on the informal sector for credit with high rates of interest.
The report calls for wide-ranging reforms in agricultural marketing. Imperfect market conditions and restrictions on the movement of agricultural commodities are not letting the farmers to realize the true value of their produce, whereas it is causing the consumer to pay a much higher price than warranted.
The report cautions that water scarcity will intensify in future with increase in population and demand for food, and the current water use practices cannot be sustained over the long run. Inefficient water use in irrigation is also leading to environmental degradation via water logging and induced salinity. Irrigation efficiency in the systems needs to be improved. The report estimates that even a rise of 5 per cent irrigation efficiency can increase the irrigation potential by 10-15 million ha.
The report also focuses on the problems of imbalanced use of fertilizers, deteriorating soil health and the threats posed by climate change and hiighlights the recent measures initiated to tackle these issues.
On farm credit, the report calls for innovative ways to reach people still out of the umbrella of institutional credit. The report says that while the overall credit to agriculture has been growing phenomenally during the last few years, and the interest rates for farmers have also been reduced to 7 percent (4 percent after taking into account the 3 percent interest subvention for timely repayment of crop loans), yet the biggest challenge remains in terms of increasing access to credit, particularly for the bottom 40 percent. More innovative models are needed to reach this category as they rely largely on the informal sector for credit with high rates of interest.
The report calls for wide-ranging reforms in agricultural marketing. Imperfect market conditions and restrictions on the movement of agricultural commodities are not letting the farmers to realize the true value of their produce, whereas it is causing the consumer to pay a much higher price than warranted.
The linking of small and fragmented farms with large-scale processors and retailers remains a challenge in the high value sector. With this in view Government has decided that assistance under National Horticulture Mission and Development and Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization Scheme for development of market infrastructure projects to State Agencies/APMCs would be subjected to waiving of market fees for perishable horticultural commodities. With a view to overcome this shortcoming and to bring in private sector investment and techno-managerial efficiencies, government is promoting Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in infrastructure development through 'viability gap funding' support, the report says.
Thus you have learnt, "Why should I opt for intraday trading from the market?"
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