Identifying causes of low farm yield
THE per hectare yield of major crops like wheat, rice,
cotton, sugarcane and maize is lower than the potential. A
number of factors could be attributed to low crop yield in
the country.
Soil
preparation: Fine seed bed is required for uniform and
maximum seed germination that contributes to good crop
harvest. Uneven seed bed creates problem of water logging
and salinity and loss of nutrients and moisture. For fine
and uniform seed bed, it is imperative to use standard
number of ploughings and cultivation. On the other, the
farmers ignore recommended number of ploughings and
cultivations and adopt traditional approach.
Seed cultivar: Sowing of recommended seed cultivar in a
particular zone is crucial because only that cultivar could
produce optimum yield as it is recommended by the crop
scientists keeping in view the elements of climate such as
light, temperature, rainfall, wind and humidity etc. By and
large, non-recommended seed cultivars are sown in the
fields. The supply of certified seed is extremely less than
the actual requirements of the major crops. Resultantly,
about 55 -- 92 per cent seed sown in the country is
uncertified.
Seed rate: The use of recommended seed rate is essential for
optimum crop density that is number of plants per unit area.
But farmers use low seed rate owing to which plant
population remains low in the field, a major cause of low
yield . Moreover, the seed sown by the growers contain
impurities like sand, silt, clay, seed of other crops, weed
seed and dust etc, that result in less number of plants per
unit area on one hand and generates problem of insect, pests
and diseases on the other.
Sowing time: Delayed wheat sowing because of rice-wheat and
cotton-wheat cropping pattern is one of the major causes of
low crop yield. Non-availability of seed, fertilizer and
irrigation are other reasons for delayed sowing of crops.
Plant density: One of the major causes of low crop yield is
low plant population because number of productive plants per
unit area determines crop yields. Numbers of grains per
spike and grain weight are other yield determinants. Poor
quality seed, lack of moisture from seed bed and rough seed
bed are responsible factors for low plant density.
Irrigation: The farmers in barani areas are heavily
dependent on the seasonal June-September monsoon rains for
irrigating crops. There is a wide difference between yield
of irrigated crops and barani crops. Deficient rains and
continuous drought cause tremendous losses to farmers. A
regular supply of irrigation water is essential to sustain
crop productivity. In case, one or two critical growth
stages go without irrigation during the lifecycle of a crop,
it results in significant reduction in crop production. The
adverse effects on per hectare yield of crops in 2000-01,
2001-02 and 2003-04 was due to unprecedented water shortage.
To cope with water shortage, complete reorganisation of
water sector institutions through mergers, economic
utilisation of water resources, procurement of additional
storage for crops round the year, building storage to
overcome droughts and to develop comprehensive water and
hydro resource policy are necessary.
Water logging and salinity: Water logged and saline soils
not only reduce cropped area but also reduce soil fertility
and productivity that causes low crop yield compared to
normal soils. Floods, overflows, seepage and percolation of
water from canals and watercourses breeds soil problems of
water logging and salinity. It has been estimated that about
35 per cent water is lost through canals, 24 per cent though
larger and smaller distributaries and 25 per cent during
field application.
Nutrients application: Agricultural soils contain very low
organic matter. Also, nutrient deficiency is widely reported
because of harvesting of exhaustive crops year after year,
high temperature, low-rainfall, high-cost and imbalanced use
of fertilizers.. Application of fertilizess in a balanced
amount with standard methods and at appropriate time keeping
in mind the soil nutrient status, soil moisture, crop type
and crop growth stage can increase yield by 25-75 per cent.
Plant protection: Insects, pests, disease and weeds cause
yield reduction up to 20 per cent or more during pre- and
post-harvest periods. The farmers are bound to use
pesticides in order to keep the population of insects and
pests under control. The application of pesticides increased
from 665 tons in 1990 to 78,133 tons in 2003-04 with an
increase in value from Rs39 million to Rs8138 million. Lack
of quality control, high cost, adulteration, timely
unavailability, and lack of education and the use of faulty
equipments by untrained labour are the major constraints
responsible for the ineffectiveness of pesticides.
Modern technology: Non-application of modern technology is
contributing to low yield than the world average. Infusion
of modern management practices in farm sector to boost
productivity is important to enable farmers to move farm
subsistence to market-driven farming that requires changes
in crop selection, cultivation, harvesting, marketing,
transportation and adoption of new technologies.
Adoption of new technology is also important to convert
farmers’ work into capital. Subsistence farmers produce food
to sustain them only and new technology will enable them to
produce surplus. New technology would give farmers more
choice and help them plan cultivation in a demand rather
than supply-driven environment. Modern techniques for plant
protection measures are required for effective control of
diseases, insects and pests to avoid crop.
Investment: Compared to other sectors of economy like small
and large-scale manufacturing, there is less public and
private investment in this sector. On the other, the private
investment could be helpful in arresting the problems of
irrigation system, improving seed distribution, and bringing
new technology. Farmers are unaware of the new technologies
for efficient irrigation methods like drip-irrigation and
micro-irrigation. Availability of implements and new
technology will have profound impact in improving crop
productivity.
Marketing system: The marketing system for agricultural
produce is inflicted with a myriad of problems. It is
outdated. The farmers are not making real profits on their
produce due to lopsided marketing system. Lack of direct
market access for farmers due to heavy involvement of
state-run buying agencies has also stymied growth of
agriculture sector. There is a need of market-oriented
reforms for broad based sustained growth in farm
productivity. Market infrastructure is inadequate for easy
transport of inputs from market to farms and farm produce
back to market.
Miscellaneous: Dwindling land and water resources,
stagnation in the yield of major crops, ill-trained farm
labour, poor infrastructure, wasteful irrigation methods,
traditional farming techniques, lopsided marketing system
and above all implications of WTO regime are main issues and
challenges facing an outdated agriculture sector.
Courtesy: The DAWN
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