PM moots Food Security Mission at NDC meeting

New Delhi, May 29: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today appealed to the National Development Council (NDC) to devise an agricultural strategy that would yield ''tangible benefits'' to the stakeholders in the short and medium term, and offered support to the States on a large scale for bridging the yield gaps relating to various crops.

In his address to the 53rd NDC meeting here, Dr Manmohan Singh also suggested the launch of a 'Food Security Mission' for raising production of wheat, rice, pulses and edible oils-- whose shortage has recently resulted in shooting up of prices of these commodities.

He said the Planning Commission can, subject to the consent of the NDC, be directed to prepare the outline of a major programme for providing Central support to States to prepare localised agricultural plans.

Others who spoke at the opening of the meeting included Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

Others seated on the dias at meeting being held in Vijayan Bhavan included Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Minister of State for Planning M V Rajasekharan and Planning Commission Member Secretary Rajeeva Ratna Shah.

Chief Ministers of various States are also slated to speak at the meeting.

The sole agenda of the meeting is to devise an agricultural strategy for the Eleventh Plan (2007-11).

Dr Manmohan Singh said farming was increasingly becoming an unviable activity, particualrly because of the nature of landholdings.

''Small and marginal farming has become an unviable proposition and till we make farming viable at this scale, it would be virtually impossible to reduce rural poverty and distress.''

Dr Singh said bridging these gaps requires localised state-specific strategies based on local agro-climatic conditions and constraints.
"I believe that working together with the States, it is possible to evolve such plans. The Central government would be willing to support such plans on a reasonably large scale--on a scale large enough to make a visible impact", he said.

Talking about the recent rise in prices of certain food products as a result of slow supply response to rising demand, Dr Singh said launching of a 'Food Security Mission' will help raise production of items such as wheat, rice, pulses and edible oils in three years.

The Prime Minister said reversing the prolonged slowdown in agriculture was essential for achieving the goal of inclusive growth. The rates of growth of agriculture in the last decade have been poor and are a major cause of rural distress, he said.

Dr Singh said a feature which stands out on the agricultural scene is the lack of any breakthrough in agricultural production technology in recent years. "There is a technology fatigue which we need to address", he said.

The Prime Minister said there was the specific issue of tackling the stagnation in rainfed agriculture. There was also the larger issue of increasing the total investment in the agricultural sector--both public and private. "This needs to be seen in the context of a larger trend whereby subsidies have been increasing and investment has been declining." Dr Singh said what has been missing in the agricultural strategy so far was a common thread that lies at all interventions into a common whole and focusses on tangible outcomes. "We need to move away from mechanical implementation of fragmeneted schemes towards an integrated approach which is based on a mix of interventiosn consistent with local requirements", he added.

It is in this context that the Prime Minister suggested that the Planning Commission could prepare the outline of a major programme for providing Central support to States which prepare localised plans.

UNI