"Preparation for
war is a constant stimulus to suspicion and ill will."
—James Monroe (American President, 1758-1831)
Word
for the day
Dox (v)
To publish the private personal information of (another person) or
reveal the identity of (an online poster) without the consent of that
individual
Malice
towards none
Why Shri Narendra
Modi visiting a temple should be a national news?
I almost killed myself and two school children yesterday
in order to avoid hitting a dog who suddenly decided to take a stroll on a busy
road and came in front of my car from nowhere. Police refused to file an FIR
and take any action against the errant canine.
Why can't animals be treated just like human being and
punished for endangering others life, littering and encroaching public land.
Cases of killing and mutilation of bodies of infants and
young children by stray dogs are reported frequently in India. There are many
cases of attacks on adults, old and infirm also.
Why is it so that media, liberals, nationalists,
politicians and civil society has never made hue and cry over these deaths.
Improving farm income
As I suggested yesterday (see here),
to improve the health of farm sector, and liberate 40% of Indian population
from perennial distress, we need a combination of administrative, legal,
social, economic and financial sector reforms. In particular the following
three things need to happen, viz., (a) Substantial rise in productivity; (b)
Substantial rise in price of agriculture produce; and/or (c) fall in price of
agriculture land.
Rise in productivity
My discussion with many farmers, agriculture scientists and rural
activists suggests that a substantial rise in productivity is possible without
cumbersome land, marketing and labor reforms or building expensive
infrastructure.
Aggressive promotion of collective farming, institutionalization
of farm equipment rental business, creating more awareness about intensive
farming and moving the farmers away from traditional cereal crops towards cash
crops could enhance yields by 50-100% in most cases.
In this context, implementation of the food security law is
critical. If implemented in right earnest this could transform Indian
agriculture from a mere self sustenance activity into a truly commercial
activity.
This measure combined with the financial inclusion efforts, could
have meaningful impact on the livelihood and productivity of small and marginal
farmers.
Substantial rise in prices of agriculture produce
A substantial rise (2 to 3x) in most agriculture produce price
could potentially bring back interest in agriculture sector and incentivize
substantial investment leading to higher productivity and eventually lower food
inflation.
This one time measure could help making taxation of this sector
politically and finically feasible thus improving the fiscal balance of the
country.
The negative could be substantial rise in food inflation in the
short term leading to higher rates.
Substantial fall in land prices
Substantial fall in prices of agriculture land could also help in
improving yields and therefore attract fresh investments in the sector.
Such a fall, however could have serious impact on the consumer
discretionary spend, as a large part of the growth in discretionary spending
has been contributed by the wealth effect created through higher land prices.
The best solution therefore would come only from a mix of the
above three. Any solution on these lines might take ~5years to implement and
another ~5years to have a meaningful impact on structure of agriculture sector
in the country.
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