DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

LAW AND AGRICULTURE

(FINAL DRAFT)

NATIONAL AGRICULTURE POLICY, 2000

SUBMITTED BY: UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

SRIYA SONKAR MR. MALAY PANDEY

ENROLL NO: 150101144 ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

B.A.LLB(HONS.) RMLNLU

SEMESTER- VIIIth

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my gratitude and deep regards to my teacher Mr. Malay Pandey, for giving me such
a challenging topic and also for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant
encouragement throughout the course of this thesis.

I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to my seniors in the college
for their cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which helped me in completing
this task through various stages.

I am obliged to the staff members of the Madhu Limaye Library, for the timely and valuable
information provided by them in their respective fields. I am grateful for their cooperation
during the period of my assignment.

SRIYA SONKAR

VIIITH SEMESTER

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 Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION TO NATIONAL AGRICULTURE POLICY

2. WHAT THE POLICY AIMS TO ATTAIN
3. WHAT THE POLICY FOCUSES ON
4. MAIN FEATURES OF THE POLICY
5. VISION OF THE POLICY
6. ACCENT ON EMPOWERING SMALL FARMERS
7. MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE POLICY
8. CONCLUSION
9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 1. INTRODUCTION

The first ever National Agriculture Policy was announced on 28th July, 2000. The
formulation of Agriculture Policy had been under consideration of the Government for the
last few years as a comprehensive National Agriculture Policy was absolutely essential to
build on the inherent strength of the agriculture and allied sectors to address the constraints
and to make optimal use of resources and opportunities emerging as a result of advancement
in science and technology and emerging of a new economic regime.

2. WHAT THE POLICY AIMS TO ATTAIN:

National Agriculture Policy seeks to actualise vast untapped growth potential of Indian
Agriculture, strengthen rural infrastructure to support faster agricultural development,
promote value addition, accelerate the growth of agro-business create employment in rural
areas, secure affair standard of living for the farmers and agricultural workers and their
families, discourage migration to urban areas and face the challenges arising out of economic
liberalization and globalization over the next two decades, it aims to attain:

 A growth rate in excess of four per cent annum in the agriculture sector;
 Growth that is based on efficient use of resources and conserves our soil, water and
bio-diversity;
 Growth with equality, i.e. growth which is widespread across regions and famers;
 Growth that is demand driven and caters to domestic markets and maximizes benefits
from exports of agricultural products in the face of the challenges arising from economic
liberalization and globalisation
 Growth that is sustainable technologically, environmentally and economically.

A nine pronged strategy has been devised to meet the challenges of enhancing production
and strengthening rural economies while taking care to promote technically sound,
economically viable, environmentally non-degrading and socially acceptable use of country's
natural resources-land and water particular.

The unutilised wastelands will be put to use for agriculture and afforestation besides
reclamation of degraded lands. Integrated and holistic development of rain fed areas,
conjunctive use of surface and ground water, on farm water management, sensitization of
farming community with environmental concerns will be given priority. Survey and
evaluation of genetic resources and safe conservation of both indigenous and exogenously

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introduced genetic variability in crop productivity and utility needs particular attention. The
use of bio-technologies will be promoted for evolving plants which consume less water, are
drought resistant, pest resistant, contain more nutrition, give higher yields and are
environmentally safe. Conservation of bio-resources through their exsitu preservation in gene
banks as also in situ conservation in their natural habitats through bio-diversity parks, etc will
receive a high priority to present their extinction.

A regionally differentiated strategy for development of crops horticulture, floriculture, roots

and tubers, plantation crops, aromatic and medicinal plants, bee keeping and sericulture shall
be adopted. Live-stock breeding, dairying, poultry, agriculture shall be promoted through
generation and dissemination of appropriate technologies. Research and extension linkages
will be broad based and strengthened to improve effective use of new technologies. Adequate
and timely supply of quality inputs such as seed, fertilizers, plant protection chemicals, bio
pesticides, agriculture machinery and credit at reasonable rates to farmers will be the
endeavour of the government.

Agriculture in India has suffered for want of infrastructural facilities. The National
Agriculture Policy gives emphasis on stepping up public investment for narrowing regional
imbalances, accelerating development of supportive infrastructure for agriculture and rural
development particularly rural connectivity. A conducive climate will be created through a
favourable price and trade regime to promote farmers' own investments as also investments
by industries producing inputs for agriculture and agro-based industries. High priority is also
given to rural electrification, development of market infrastructure and setting up of agro-
processing units to reduce wastage particularly of horticulture produce, and to enhance value
addition with the objective to create off- farm employment in rural areas. To safeguard the
interest of farmers, National Agricultural Insurance Scheme covering all farmers and all
crops throughout the country with built in provisions for insulating farmers from financial
distress caused by natural disasters and making agriculture financially viable will be made
more farmer specific and effective. Endeavour will be made to provide a package insurance
policy for the farmers, right from sowing of the crops to post harvest operations, including
market fluctuations in the prises of agriculture produce.

Indian Agriculture is characterised by predominance of small and marginal farmers.

Institutional reforms will be so pursued as to channelize their energies for achieving
productivity and production.

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 3. WHAT THE POLICY FOCUSES ON:

The approach to rural development and land reforms will focus on the following areas:

 Consolidation of holdings all over the country on the pattern of north-western states
 Redistribution of ceiling surplus lands and waste lands among the landless farmers,
unemployed youth with initial start with capital
 Tenancy reforms to recognise the rights of the tenants and share croppers
 Development of lease markets for increasing the size of the holdings by making legal
provisions for giving private lands on lease for cultivation and agri-business
 Updating and improvement of land records, computerization and issue of land pass-
books to the farmers; and
 Recognition of women's rights on land

People's participation through Panchayati Raj Institutions, Voluntary groups, social activists
and community leaders shall be adequately encouraged for implementation of programmes.
Progressive institutionalization of rural and farm credit for providing timely and adequate
credit to farmers will be continued Cooperative sector shall be strengthened by:

 Structural reforms for promoting greater efficiency and viability by freeing them from
excessive bureaucratic control and political inferences;
 Creation of infrastructure and human resource development
 Improvement in financial viability and organizational sustainability of cooperatives
 Democratization of management and increased professionalism in their operation and
 Creating a viable interface with other grassroots organization.

4. MAIN FEATURES OF THE POLICY:

The main features of the National Agricultural Policy are:

1. Privatization of agriculture and price protection of farmers in the post QR (Quantitative

Restrictions) regime would be part of the government’s strategy to synergise agricultural
growth.

2. Private sector participation would be promoted through contract farming and land leasing
arrangements to allow accelerated technology transfer, capital inflow, assured markets for
crop production especially of oilseeds, cotton and horticultural crops.

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3. The policy envisages evolving a ‘National Livestock Breeding Strategy’ to meet the
requirement of milk, meat, egg and livestock products and to enhance the role of draught
animals as a source of energy for farming operations.

4. High priority would be accorded to evolve new location-specific and economically viable
improved varieties of farm and horticulture crops, livestock species and aquaculture.

5. The restrictions on the movement of agricultural commodities throughout the country

would be progressively dismantled. The structure of taxes on food grains and other
commercial crops would be reviewed.

6. The excise duty on materials such as farm machinery and implements and fertilizers used
as inputs in agricultural production, post-harvest stage and processing would be reviewed.

7. Rural electrification would be given high priority as a prime mover for agricultural
development.

8. The use of new and renewable sources of energy for irrigation and other agricultural
purposes would be encouraged.

9. Progressive institutionalization of rural and farm credit would be continued for providing
timely and adequate credit to farmers.

10. Endeavour would be made to provide a package insurance policy for the farmers, right
from sowing of crops to post-harvest operations including market fluctuations in the prices of
agricultural produce.

5. VISION OF THE POLICY

Vision The Agriculture Policy document must articulate a clear vision on following few
basic parameters of the agricultural sector around which a policy framework must be
developed. • Organization of agriculture: A clear long-term vision where inter-sectoral
linkages are explicit. • Sustainability and natural resource management: Prescription must lie
in the domain of political economy. Otherwise, allocating funds for watershed development,
agro forestry, soil conservation, and so on will not produce desired results.

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• Institutional change: Policy document must spell out new approaches and new institutions
free from the shackles of bureaucratic and self-help framework.

• Investment priorities: There is a need to develop a consensus on investment themes,

priorities and policies. Policy document must lend strength to the claim for greater
investment in rural areas, and also re-examine its programmes in the light of
complementarities.

• Incentives: Document must articulate a clear vision on the incentive framework.

• Risk management

5. ACCENT ON EMPOWERING THE SMALL FARMERS

Accent on Empowering the Small Farmers Contributions of small holders in securing food
for growing population have increased considerably even though they are most insecure and
vulnerable group in the society. The off-farm and non-farm employment opportunities can
play an important role. Against expectation under the liberalized scenario, the non-
agricultural employment in rural areas has not improved. Greater emphasis needs to be
placed on non-farm employment and appropriate budgetary allocations and rural credit
through banking systems should be in place to promote appropriate rural enterprises. Specific
human resource and skill development programmes to train them will make them better
decision-makers and highly productive. Human resource development for increasing
productivity of these small holders should get high priority. Thus, knowledge and skill
development of rural people both in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors is essential for
achieving economic and social goals. A careful balance will therefore need to be maintained
between the agricultural and non-agricultural employment and farm and non-farm economy,
as the two sectors are closely inter-connected. Raising agricultural productivity requires
continuing investments in human resource development, agricultural research and
development, improved information and extension, market, roads and related infrastructure
development and efficient small-scale, farmer-controlled irrigation technologies, and custom
hiring services. Such investments would give small farmers the options and flexibility to
adjust and respond to market conditions.

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 6. MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE POLICY:

Its major objectives are incontestably legitimate - the attainment of a 4 per cent annual
growth in the agricultural sector and enhanced levels of efficiency of input use consistent
with environmental sustainability.

The question is not so much about the imperative need (a) to raise levels of productivity both
in food production and in the non-food sector and (b) to achieve rapid diversification of
agriculture covering horticulture and floriculture tapping the unutilized potential as about the
instrumentalities of policy which are required to bring about an agricultural transformation
that would be consistent with the fact that around 65 per cent of the people of India are still
rooted in agriculture and related sectors.

The reality is that there are pronounced disparities among the States in agricultural progress.
This makes for a certain degree of incongruity about a National Policy on Agriculture
especially when the formulation of such a policy is made with little or no participation by
State governments. Among the major issues that need to be addressed here is the decline in
capital formation in this sector over the years.

According to the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) estimates, gross capital formation in
agriculture has virtually remained stagnant (at 1993-94 prices) at around Rs. 16,500 crores
during the three year period, 1996-99. The share of public investment in agriculture has
actually come down from 28.2 per cent in 1996-97 to 23.6 per cent in 1998-99. A point
repeatedly made in the annual Economic Surveys of the Union Government is that the
decline in public investment in the agricultural sector has arisen mainly because of the
diversion of resources from creation of assets (irrigation capacity, water management, rural
infrastructure) into subsidies of various kinds - food, fertilizers, water, power and so forth.

There is a certain formulation in the policy document which deals with ``rationalization and
transparent pricing of inputs'' for the purpose of generating resources for agriculture. This is
all right by way of intent but political sensitivities involved appear too forbidding for the
policy document to spell out clearly how a larger flow of investments can be facilitated either
through the government budgets or through the private sector.

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The notion that the private corporate sector can make big forays into agriculture can never be
part of public policy in India owing to millions of small and marginal farms depending on
tiny holdings for bare subsistence. The NAP seems to be opening up some new avenues for
corporate involvement in agriculture through contract farming, a mode which has made for a
positive impact on the farming community in the sugar sector, for example. Consolidation of
holdings as has occurred in Punjab and Haryana can be replicated in other States but only on
the basis of diversification of the rural economy and the supply of capital to farmers to
enable acquisition of marginal holdings.

The NAP envisages institutional, legal arrangements for leasing of private lands for
cultivation and agri-business, which again would presume that holders of uneconomic farms
would find it prudent to engage themselves in alternative occupations in the rural sector
rather than migrate in large numbers to towns and cities. The fashion of the day is a VRS
policy for industrial workers and not for the marginal farmer.

Whatever the premises on which a new policy for agricultural progress is built, there is the
all too basic question which would cry for attention. And that is the vexatious issue of farm
price support which has come to mean ``public procurement and distribution'' of not only
food grains but also of commercial crops such as tobacco, tea, coffee, and the political
process of fixing sugarcane, at the State level.

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 CONCLUSION

The New Agricultural Policy (2000) has been considered as a balanced one considering the
present requirement. The new policy has adopted a coordinated approach for bringing Green
Revolution, White Revolution (related to milk and dairy products) and Blue Revolution
(related to aqua/fish culture). Therefore, the policy has been termed as a policy of promising
Rainbow Revolution.

Considering the growing requirement of food for attaining food self-sufficiency and to attain
food security for the millions of people of the country the policy has faced a great challenge.
To fulfill this requirement attainment of 4 per cent growth rate in agricultural output is a
must. But the New Policy has not spelt out any such target in quantitative terms.

Secondly, the New Policy has also failed to identify those backward states which are still
lagging in utilizing their agricultural potential. Therefore, a balanced approach should be
undertaken to remedy these loopholes.

Thirdly, the New Policy argued in favour of encouraging private investment in agriculture
which would help the big farmers, but the large numbers of small farmers are not going to be
supported by such private investment which needs to be promoted by public investment.

Fourthly, the New Policy argued in favour of private sector participation through contract
farming by land leasing arrangements. But introduction of such a step in a labour-surplus
economy is highly questionable.

Lastly, there is a lack of co-ordination between the Central and State Governments in
implementing various promotional steps for the development of agricultural sector. Thus, the
centre and the states should co-ordinate in implementing various provisions of new policy
and should develop a monitoring mechanism to evaluate the implementation of the policy in
a most rational manner.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.yourarticlelibrray.com
2. Planningcommission.nic.in

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