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What is a Swaminathan Report?
Chaired by Professor M S Swaminathan, the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) was formed in 2004 and submitted five reports between the year 2004 and 2006, suggesting ways to enhance productivity, profitability, and sustainability of the major farming systems in India. In common terms, the reports are known as the Swaminathan report.
The commission made suggestions on issues such as:
1. Strategy for food and nutrition security in the country.
2. Improve productivity and sustainability of the farming systems.
3. Reforms to increase the flow of rural credit to farmers.
4. Programmes for dryland farming for farmers in the arid as well as in hilly and coastal areas.
5. Improve the quality and cost competitiveness of farm commodities.
6. Protecting farmers from imports when global prices fall.
7. Empowering local bodies to effectively conserve the ecological foundations for better agriculture.
Causes for farmers' distress and recommendations by NCF:
1. Land Reforms
According to the report, landholdings inequality is reflected in ownership and is necessary to address the basic access of land for crops and livestock. The report recommended distributing ceiling surplus and wastelands, preventing the corporate sector from acquiring land for non-agricultural purposes and ensuring access of forests to tribals and pastoralists. The commission also suggested establishing National Land Use Advisory Service to link land-use decisions with ecological meteorological and marketing factors and set up a mechanism for selling agricultural land based on usage and buyer.
2. Irrigation
The report stated that out of 192 million hectares area, rain-fed agriculture constitutes 60 per cent of gross cropped area and 45 per cent of total output. The commission recommended setting up reforms for equal distribution of water to the farmers and increasing rainwater harvesting.
3. Productivity
The productivity in agriculture determines farmers' income. The report found the per unit area productivity in India is much lower than its global counterparts. The NCF suggested an increase in public investment in agrarian infrastructure, and set up of a network of soil testing laboratories to find deficiencies. It also suggested promotion of conservation farming to improve soil health and biodiversity among farmers.
4. Credit
An adequate supply of capital and insurance is required to run agricultural productivity and sustain small farm families. The report recommended expanding the formal credit system to really poor and needy families and reduce the interest rate for crop loans to 4 per cent. It also suggested putting up a moratorium on debt recovery and waiving off interests in distressed areas till production levels restored. The commission recommended issuing Kisan Credit Cards to women farmers and develop a credit-cum-crop-livestock-human health insurance.
5. Food Security
The report stated that India is lagging behind in achieving the Millennium Development Goals of halving hunger by 2015, meaning grain unavailability and unequal distribution have serious implications for food security. NCF suggested implementing a universal public distribution system and reorganising nutrition programmes.
6. Farmers' Suicides
The report found increasing cases of suicides reported from states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh and asked to address the issue on a priority basis. The commission suggested providing health insurance for all ages and extending the National Rural Health Mission in hotspot locations. It also recommended forming a farmers' commission for ensuring government response to farmers' problems and low-cost technologies which can help to provide maximum income to farmers.
7. Competitiveness
The report stated it is important to raise the agricultural competitiveness among farmers to increase surplus and opportunities. The commission suggested promoting commodity-based organisations to centralise production and services and implement Minimum Support Price
8. Employment
According to the report, the percentage of workforce in agriculture decreased to 59.9 per cent in 1999-2000, yet it provided a bulk of employment. NCF recommended emphasising labour-intensive sectors as well as improving the functioning of the labour markets. The report stated that the "net take-home income" of farmers should be comparable to those of civil servants.
9. Bio-resources
The report found that rural India is highly dependent on bio-resources for their livelihood and recommended preserving rights to access forests and conserve crops, farm animals, fish stocks through breeding.
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