Co-operative farming should be beneficial for all: MS Swaminathan

Father of Green Revolution and Chairman of National Commission on Farmers M S Swaminathan has said the proposed co-operative farming initiative of the Andhra Pradesh government should be a win-win situation for all those who join it.     

"Agriculture is at a crossroads. We have to think how we can take it forward through such initiatives," Swaminathan said in Hyderabad today.     

It is laudable that the Andhra Pradesh government has come up with such an idea. With proper resource allocation and planning, co-operative farming will yield good results, Swaminathan added, addressing a meeting organised by the government to elicit views of various parties on the proposal.     

Swaminathan said lessons have to be learnt from the dairy sector, which witnessed significant success in the co-operatives, and try to extrapolate them in the agriculture sector.     

Elaborating on the subject, the agricultural scientist added safeguarding and sustaining farm land was essential to ensure food security.     

"Food security has to be built on homegrown food and not by importing," he said.     

Efficient use of water and adoption of ecologically sound policies, small farm management as well as monsoon management in an era of climate change also held the key to the success of such initiatives, he added.

"Climate change leads to more droughts, floods, cyclones and other calamities. We have to look at maximising the benefits and minimising the losses of monsoon. We have to train climate risk managers in each village who could help out the farmers," Swaminathan said.     

"Ensuring market security was also vital to provide higher margin for farmers. We have to remember that farmers comprise the majority of consumers in India. So, it is essential that the farmers get higher returns," he pointed out.