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Background
Productivity in Indian agriculture has plateaued over the years. As per Indian Council of Agriculture Research, the total demand of food grains is projected to touch 280 million tonnes by the year 2021. Meeting this demand will necessitate growth rate of nearly 2% per annum in the food production. We clearly need a Second Green Revolution that is more broad-based, more inclusive and more sustainable.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by calling for doubling the income of farmers in next five years has laid down the vision for the Second Green Revolution, the concept which has been alluded to during the last five years by two Presidents, two Prime Ministers and two Finance Ministers and Agriculture Ministers in their public speeches. Similarly, leaders of Africa, like UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan, have also called for a second green revolution in Africa as the first one gave the continent a miss.
The Green Revolution was christened as such after a sequence of scientific breakthroughs and development activities that successfully fought hunger by increasing food production. However, in a world that faces new challenges and is more sensitive to the sustainability concerns, it is important that a framework for the “Second Green Revolution” which aligns itself with the sustainable development principles is clearly articulated and is fully comprehended to enable all the stakeholders to contribute towards the desired objectives in a synergetic collaboration.
The Second Green Revolution has to be distinctly different from the first Green Revolution. There are a number of misgivings about the SGR which need to be set straight. Today, India needs SGR not only to feed its population but also to remove distress in the farming community and make Indian agriculture globally competitive. The one that is more broad-based, more inclusive and more sustainable. The emphasis should be on small and marginal farmers. Attempt should be made not only to increase the production but also to sustain the productivity within the limits of natural resources.
It has to cover the regions that got a miss in the first edition, for example the East and North Eastern part of India. It also needs to go beyond the self-sufficiency in food grain: edible oil, pulses and better nutrition. Increasing the productivity under dryland farming has to be an essential element of the revolution. SGR should envisage integrated programmes taking care of all aspects of agriculture from soil characteristics, matching seeds, grains, conversion to food and its marketing after value addition. Above all it has to be the main vehicle for ensuring the doubling of farmers’ income in 5 years.
International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, which was established by the visionaries after independence, on 24th June 1950 with its headquarters in New Delhi, has played a crucial role in the outcomes of the Green Revolution. On the occasion of 66th anniversary ICID Foundation Day Seminar is being organized, in collaboration with its Indian National Committee, to understand the role that irrigation and drainage could play in support of the Second Green Revolution (SGR), particularly in India.
Objectives
clearly articulate the objectives of the Second Green Revolution;
understand the means by which these objectives could be achieved;
identify various activities, schemes and programs that would support the objectives;
comprehend and articulate the role of irrigation and drainage in SGR;
identify gaps in the ongoing programs, if any; and
sensitize all possible actors, sectors and stakeholders that can and have to contribute to meet the objectives of SGR.
Experts from the field of policy, planning, research in agriculture, water management and irrigation and drainage will be invited to share their perspectives.
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