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Mixed farming will make agriculture big business, says expert

Mixed farming is the right strategy and diversification of agriculture a requirement for India, according to Dr Anwar Alam, president, Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Dr Alam, who is also deputy director-general, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, told experts in Bhopal during a three-day conference held recently that research had shown that mixed farming would result in faster growing sectors of fruits, vegetables, spices, condiments, livestock husbandry and fishery.

The expert said India had low productivity and high-potential zones such as the entire eastern region and pockets all over the country where average productivity was as low as 1.2 tonnes a hectare.

However, under optimum conditions, 3.5 to four tonnes per hectares of rice and wheat were being realised.

Referring to the call given by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for doubling food production to deal with the post-Pokhran situation, Dr Alam said agricultural engineers stood for providing engineering input to increase production and productivity with reduced cost of cultivation for competitiveness, besides meeting the needs to make agriculture an attractive business.

Dr Alam claimed that achievements in agriculture during the past 50 years were laudable as India was near self-sufficiency in food and manufactured most of the things needed.

The country had an economy that was resilient, but daunting challenges such as increasing population, their aspirations, globalisation of world markets and economic sanctions remained.

Average land holdings had dwindled from 2.5 to 1.5 hectares with per capita land availability down to about 0.17.

UNI