Title: Problem of plenty
(Agricultural policy should look to address the problem of severe price fluctuations)
- Over the last few weeks, across India the price of potatoes has fallen sharply after a year of bumper production.
- Many distressed farmers have left their produce to rot on the roads, and in cold storage facilities.
- Last year, the price of other produce like red chilli, tur dal and tomato witnessed a similar trend of steep falls compared to the previous season.
- The sharp swing in prices has been explained by the Cobweb phenomenon. Farmers tend to increase the production of certain crops in response to their high prices during the previous season, which in turn leads to a supply glut that causes prices to crash.
Conclusion
- The next Union budget may well be focussed on the rural economy through fiscal measures. Such relief measures that temporarily ease the pain on farmers, however, will fail to make a significant difference to their lives in the long run. Any permanent solution to the problem of agricultural distress will have to deal with the challenge of price fluctuations.
Title: A new weapon in the carbon fight
(The ability of soils to sequester carbon as a win-win strategy must be recognised by policymakers)
- Soils In The Context Of Climate Change
Increasing soil carbon offers a range of co-benefits and this would buy us time before other technologies can help us transition to a zero-carbon lifestyle.
- Soils contain roughly 2,344 Gt (1 gigatonne = 1 billion tonnes) of organic carbon, making this the largest terrestrial pool. Soil organic carbon (SOC) comes from plants, animals, microbes, leaves and wood, mostly found in the first metre or so.
Benefits
Increasing SOC through various methods can improve soil health, agricultural yield, food security, water quality, and reduce the need for chemicals.
Approaches to increase SOC include reducing soil erosion, no-till-farming, use of cover crops, nutrient management, applying manure and sludge, water harvesting and conservation, and agroforestry practices.
Soil and Agriculture
- Agricultural yields have begun to drop in many places for a variety of reasons primarily related to degraded soils. Industrial changes to agriculture have led to a range of adverse effects: loss of biodiversity, elimination of beneficial microbes and insects, reduction in yield, contamination of water bodies and soils, and increasing toxicity and deaths from chemical use in farm households.
- The improvements to soil health and profits occur rapidly. But the knowledge and innovations of farmers who have successfully experimented.
Lessons for India (way forward)
Need to identify what kinds of support are needed by farmers with small holdings to transition from existing practices.
The ability of soils to sequester carbon is a win-win strategy for farmers, people and for climate change and it is time we stopped ignoring these at the policy levels.
Vocabulary words:
• Plenty = A situation in which food and other necessities are available in sufficiently large quantities (प्रचुरता)
• Fluctuations = An irregular rising and falling (उतार-चढ़ाव)
• Boom and bust = Rapid economic growth and decline (उत्थान और पतन)
• Glut = An excessively abundant supply of something (भरमार)
Vocabulary words:
Lag = Fall behind (पिछड़ जाना)
Waiver = An act or instance of waiving a right or claim (छूट)
Cartel = An association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition (उत्पादक संघ)
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