We need infrastructure to be able to store, process and transport the farm produce in a safe, hygienic and speedy manner. Since the Government cannot do so all by itself, it is necessary that it lays down proper regulations for each such activity, designate a statutory agency to monitor the implementation, and allow Private agencies of procurement to tie up with appropriate Companies to create the Infrastructure and collect rent / toll thereon. Excessive regulation in Land records / Holdings and Subsidies should be eliminated. Proper agricultural extension training for Water management, Fertilizer use, Crop rotation and other best practices should be encouraged more extensively. Studies should also, be encouraged, in Molecular and Biological Research, in Plant Chemistry, in natural methods of plant pollination and pest control, in addition to good GM and gene editing technologies, and in traditional and also, modern methods of enriching the soil, and in new scientific methods to fix nitrogen from the air or from the soil bacteria into plants, and for fortifying the food crops with essential micro-nutrients efforts should be made to reclaim non-arable lands such as in the Rann of Kutch and in the deserts. We should learn from China and other countries.

Crop Insurance must be made available and encouraged. Loans to farmers and their Agro Corporations should be made conveniently available at reasonable interest. Farmers should be also, encouraged to form themselves into Corporations, holding shares therein proportionate to their land holdings and other contributions and electing a Board from amongst themselves, by the General Body of all the farmer shareholders, on a one shareholder one vote basis by secret ballot to avoid dominance by the larger shareholders. This Board would then appoint a professionally Qualified Management Team or Executive Board to run the Corporation. This could also, be affected in hilly regions with smaller holdings. The land owners in such Corporations will each thus have the authority, and share in the dividends, as a shareholder. This will eliminate land fragmentation into uneconomical sizes due to family divisions and will also, allow for mechanized farming and for land to be properly utilized for check dams and rain water storage etc.

To ensure proper commitment, the shareholder must be a land holder / farmer of that locality and be restricted from selling his share for at least 5 or 10 years and even after that sell preferably only to another shareholder or a local person. Today’s Farmer Producer Organizations need to transform themselves into such Corporations to effectively enjoy economies of scale and operate over the long term. This can only be possible if such Corporations are also, exempted from income tax.

The farmers and their Agro Corporations should also, be encouraged to undertake contract farming for various Agro product buyers.

Farmer Corporations/Companies should also, be suitably incentivized to set up themselves or encourage local entrepreneurs to set up the infrastructure required for storing, processing and handling all farm produce from the ‘Farm to the Fork’. The many thousands of Crores worth of agro products now wasted will easily cover the cost of such incentives for a few years. Thereafter it will all become savings for the Country. Income of such Farmer-Corporations should also, be treated as agricultural income and hence, be exempted from Income Tax.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11