Table of Contents
Farm experts highlight need for support policies for Kerala farmers
Experts raise concerns about the long-term sustainability of current price support measures and emphasise the need for non-price strategies to ensure future viability
Takashi Kurosaki, Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Japan, delivering a talk on ‘Price and Non-Price Factors in the Development of Rice Cultivation’ at Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, on Friday.
| Photo Credit: SPL
The speakers at an expert talk on ‘Price and Non-Price Factors in the Development of Rice Cultivation’ held at Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) highlighted the importance of price support policies of Central and State governments for Kerala farmers.
The programme primarily focused on suggesting policy measures for developing rice cultivation in Kerala.
The event, hosted by the Department of Agricultural Economics at the College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, on Friday, featured prominent speakers, including Takashi Kurosaki and Deepak Johnson from the Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Japan.
Comparative study
The speakers presented a comparative study examining rice cultivation in Adat Village, Kerala, and Dinh Thanh village, Vietnam. Despite sharing similarities in latitude, climate, and farm size, the villages differ in topography and non-farm opportunities.
The study highlighted the importance of price support policies of Central and State Governments, such as Minimum Support Price (MSP), cash transfers under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), and the State Incentive Bonus (SIB) for Kerala farmers.
Without these supports, the incomes of Kerala farmers fall behind those of their Vietnamese counterparts, even though rice prices in Kerala are higher. In Dinh Thanh, rice cultivation contributes over 50% to farmers’ income, compared to just 26% in Kerala, they noted.
The discussion raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of current price support measures and emphasised the need for non-price strategies to ensure future viability. To maintain income levels without the SIB, Kerala’s rice yield would need to increase by 45%, necessitating further investment in research and extension services, experts pointed out.
Expresses concern
In an interactive session, the KAU faculty highlighted mechanisation innovations, such as vertical flow pumps and lime applicators, while expressing concerns about the lack of differentiation in price support between organic and non-organic rice.
Director of Research, KAU, Madhu Subramanian, who presided over the session, emphasised that problems associated with climate change need to be addressed. P. Prameela, Professor and Head of Department of Agronomy, pointed out that price support is the major factor contributing to increase in rice production in Kerala.
A. Prema, Professor and Head of Department of Agricultural Economics, underscored the importance of addressing marketing challenges alongside production issues to achieve sustainable rice farming in Kerala.
Read Comments
- Copy link
- Telegram
READ LATER
Remove
SEE ALL
PRINT