PIC releases its Policy Paper on Agricultural Reforms

Pune, August 31, 2019: The Pune International Centre (PIC) released Policy Paper ‘Institutional and Policy Reforms to Accelerate Agriculture Growth in Maharashtra’ at the hands of Pratap Pawar, Chairman, Trustee, PIC on Saturday August 31, 2019 at MCCIA, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune.

Dignitaries including Anil Supanekar, Trustee, PIC, Umesh Sarangi, Former Chairman, NABARD, Vishal Gaikwad, Research Scholar, GIPE, Dr Vijay Kelkar, Vice President, PIC and Prashant Girbane, Hon. Director, PIC were present on the occasion.

Speaking at the launch, Pratap Pawar said, “There are various institutions working hard toward reformation of agricultural policies in India and that’s very positive. It is very crucial to receive and impart knowledge through such policies and such knowledge should be imparted to the farmers as well.”

Presenting the report, Umesh Sarangi listed out several challenges in land reforms in the agricultural domain in Maharashtra and what can be done to make them more viable. “The restrictive provisions in the tenancy laws should be scrapped and the leasing in and out of the land should be made legal and hassle-free. If that done then the tenants will be able to avail themselves of credit, insurance, and other opportunities,” he said. He also advocated the use of Genetically Modified (GM) crop in India to withstand pests, drought and increase productivity. “The GM crop technology adoption has reduced chemical pesticides use by 37 percent, increased crop yields by 22 percent and increased farmers profit by 68 percent. Policy Makers should also adopt a one water pricing method and should implement for all types of uses of water across the state,” he added.

“Agriculture data needs to be reliable and with ‘high frequency’ that will reflect the necessary details and scope of the problem at basic level. The Union Government should establish a central-level institution with branches at state-level for data management,” said Anil Supanekar.

“If we look at agriculture as industry then many of our problems will be solved. Maharashtra’s economy continues to be agrarian as majority of the population is dependent on agriculture. The challenges it faces include low productivity, lack of diversification, water and post-harvest facilities,” said Vishal Gaikwad.