TAMIL NADU AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY COIMBATORE THIRTY FIRST CONVOCATION July 14, 2010 CONVOCATION ADDRESS By Dr. P. G.

Chengappa, Ph.D., Formerly, Vice-Chancellor University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore His Excellency, Hon'ble Chancellor and Governor of Tamil Nadu Thiru. Surjit Singh Barnala Ji, Hon'ble Pro Chancellor and Minister for Agriculture, Government of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Veerapandi, S. Arumugam, Distinguished academician and Vice Chancellor of TNAU, Dr . P.Murugesa Boopathi, the special guests conferred with Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science Thiru A.Sivasailam, Thiru A.Vellayan, Thiru M.Manickam and Tmt. Santhi Duraisamy, Hon'ble Members of Board of Management, Members of Academic Council, Research and Extension Education Councils, Faculty Members, Graduates of the year, representatives of mass media, dear student scholars, Ladies and Gentlemen. I deem it as a great privilege and honour to be invited to deliver the 31st convocation address of this prestigious Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. I most sincerely thank the Hon'ble Chancellor and Vice Chancellor for providing me this opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you. I understand that TNAU was conceived way back in 1868 as an Agricultural School established by the British in Saidapet which later was upgraded as agricultural college at Coimbtore in 1908 and as TNAU in 1971. It is heartening to note that since its inception, 16493 graduates, 7100 post graduates and 2296 doctoral scholars have obtained their degrees from this University. TNAU is a pioneer in e-education. e-learning resources have been introduced for Under Graduate Programs. Online and Offline delivery of course learning content is facilitated to enhance class room teaching. Class room lectures are also available in video streaming and exam are conducted online. The research agenda of TNAU address a large number of contemporary issues related to crop improvement and management, crop protection, farm mechanization, post harvest technology, water technology, climate research, marketing and extension. The efforts of the University together with the department of agriculture have resulted in large scale adoption of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) technology resulting in enhanced yields and water saving. The innovative precision farming project, establishment of agribusiness incubator, promoting sustainable agriculture through optimum use of natural resource and biotech approaches for increasing crop productivity are being well adopted by the farmers. The University has made great strides in empowering farmers through innovative outreach strategies such as evelanmai, market information and intelligence service, weather advisory service, open and distance learning. Thus, TNAU has an enviable record of not only providing quality education but also promoting farmer centric research and extension programs for the benefit of the farmers not only in the state of Tamil Nadu but also many other parts of the country. TNAU under the visionary and dynamic leadership of its Vice Chancellor Dr. Boopathi has embarked several challenges and new programmes relating to human resource development, knowledge generation, development and transfer of technology and unique outreach programmes such as open and distance learning. Let us wish him and his colleagues the best of success in their bold and path breaking endeavors.

Let me at this stage heartily congratulate all the students who are receiving various degrees, awards and distinctions. I wish each one of you great success in your future responsibilities Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with an impressive overall growth in the post-reform period. However, agriculture which contributed to self reliance during the 1980s is exhibiting dismal performance in the post liberalisation period with low growth causing distress to farming community. The challenging task for the policy makers is to make agriculture sector sustainable, dynamic, vibrant and resilient in the changing production environment, market opportunities and exposure to international markets. Degree of exclusion of farmers The NSSO (2005) highlights the degree of exclusion of farmers. Only 5% of farm households in India are members of SHG and only 2% have membership with a registered farmers' organization. Hardly, 8% of farm households have knowledge of bio-fertilisers and 29% even understand the meaning of MSP. A meager 4% of farm households insure their crops and 57% do not know about crop insurance. Only 29% of farm households are members of cooperative society and 19% avail service of credit, seeds or fertilisers. For only 27% farm households, fertilisers are available within their village. Improved seeds are used by 46% farmer households and only for 18%, the seeds are available in the village. The proportion of orchards and plantations in total farmed land is only 3% showing the vast scope for diversification involving horticulture. Among the farm households using non-human energy for ploughing, 47% use diesel tractors, 53% use animal power. Among farmers using non-human energy for harvesting, 60% use diesel-powered machines. Among farmers using non-human energy use for irrigation, 66% use diesel pumps and 33% use electric pumps. In this backdrop, it is crucial to examine how to make agriculture growth inclusive in tune with the growth process of the economy. Declining share of Indian agricultural GDP Agriculture share in total GDP fell to 16 % in 2008-09 from 20 % in 2004-05 though it offers 52 per cent of the employment. Labour productivity in agriculture has fallen compared to nonagricultural sector. Thus, gap between agriculture and non-agriculture is widening with increased disparities affecting standard of living of the masses that still live in relative poverty. Higher growth in agriculture thus holds the key to check out-migration, offer food security, employment security, livelihood and economic securities. The augmented agricultural growth is inclusive with benefits of employment and income flows to masses eschewed by higher economic growth, who include marginal, small farmers and other social groups / disadvantaged districts. Divergence in the growth rates The current growth rate of 1.86 percent in agriculture is lower than agriculture dependent population growth rate, resulting in fall in their per capita income, a major factor for rural distress and associated suicidal deaths by farmers. The growth rate in agriculture between 1980-81 and 89-90 was 3.1 %, 1990-91 to 1996-97 was 3.6% and 1996-97 to 2004-05 was 1.7%. In contrast, the growth in non-agriculture sector was 6.9%, 7.0% and 7.1% respectively. This has resulted in widening the income disparities between agricultural non agricultural sectors. The divergence of overall growth rate and agricultural GDP widened after 2000. In fact, overall economy accelerated while agriculture sector decelerated widening the gap between agriculture and the rest of the economy - a real cause of concern and a clear shift from the inclusive growth strategy of policy makers. 2

Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns (LDMR) sets in agriculture Modern capital intensive technologies could not postpone the operation of the Law of diminishing marginal returns since the 1990s, a phenomenon not specific to India. The focus is to shift from technology driven to management driven using inter a/ia diversification, agricultural insurance and Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) approaches. Towards this endeavor, extension efforts need to gear up for diffusion of innovations bridging gaps in agricultural incomes. Crop, employment and income diversification strategies have been the major staking support to farmers. At the macro level around 26 percent of the agricultural GDP is from livestock sector, the single largest contributor. However at the farm level the role of livestock is still modest as this is decided by access to milk cooperative and the magnitude of availability of family labor towards herd management. Hence, efforts towards income generation activities should be geared up at the farm level, especially concentrating on small and marginal farmers. In addition, the successive governments have not been able to focus on developing livestock markets as attempted to modernize crop and vegetable markets. Information asymmetry still pei sists in the case of pricing of milch cows, draught animals, sheep, goat, poultry, pigs in addition to lack of transparency. in future, the demand for livestock products will overtake that of crop produce and it is crucial to focus R and D on livestock as it is also land saving but enhances labor employment on the farm. Next, weather based crop insurance needs to be expanded on a wide scale covering most agricultural crops which contributes to income security of farmers. The IFS concept has to be strengthened and expanded across different holding sizes to enable farmers to capture synergies. Challenges ahead Even a slight reversal of the sharp decline in agriculture growth rate contributes immensely to welfare as the proportion of population dependent on agriculture has not significantly reduced since independence. Green revolution no doubt contributed in enhancing food security. But the effect of green revolution has been limited to certain regions and crops creating a dichotomous growth in agriculture, as a large portion of rainfed/ dryland agriculture is yet to receive the fruits of green revolution. Further, interventions/support in food markets has largely benefited agriculturally progressive regions. Rise in real domestic prices of agricultural commodities higher than international prices is another issue. This has made imports attractive and adversely affected exports. Thus, improving competitiveness of Indian agriculture calls for efficiency in agricultural production, marketing, and transport and undertaking value addition. Further, a major concern is how to enhance the viability and improve the future of small holdings which constitute 80 percent of India's agriculture (Ramesh Chand 2005). Need for ever green revolution The slow growth of agriculture and steady growth of population calls for the second /ever Green Revolution (as often referred to by M.S. Swaminathan) to develop measures to overcome ecological, environmental, technological and institutional fatigues. While green revolution provided relief from hunger with major emphasis on cereals, evergreen revolution should encompass oilseeds, pulses, fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and biofuel crops including fourth generation biofuels. This calls for "Farmers' Centric" agricultural policy that facilitate achieving a target of four percent agricultural growth providing higher and stable income across different regions and classes of farmers. A move towards second/evergreen revolution will to a greater extent aim at 'inclusive growth'.

Inclusive growth More than 60 percent of Indian population is still rural depending on agriculture for their livelihood. For them, augmenting agricultural productivity, employment and income are strong drivers of growth. Sustained poverty reduction requires inclusive growth that allows people to contribute and benefit from economic growth. Acceleration of growth is crucial and for sustenance it should be broad-based across sectors and inclusive of country's labor force. Inclusive growth must focus on small and marginal farmers and agricultural labourers who face scarcity of capital, land, technology, access to credit, market, modern inputs, and market linkages. Many of them are moving out of agriculture in search of better opportunities in urban and peri urban areas, which are not as sustainable as agriculture. More over, these people lack skills preventing them to get in to higher level of jobs. Bridging the productivity and technology transfer gaps The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and ICAR institutes have been pioneering in developing a number of technologies. But, these are not reaching the needy in time due to lack of effective extension efforts and often are not adopted due to lack of capital, infrastructure support and poor market linkages. The high cost input technologies are not popular with small and marginal farmers because of their poor risk bearing ability. Participatory action research and innovative approaches relevant to location specific situations affordable to small and marginal farmers need to be developed, validated and transferred. Enhancing farm incomes Research focus needs shift from 'production' to 'value chain'. This needs multipronged approach to increase farm incomes through policy, infrastructure, and technology and market development with inclusion. Value chain involves on the one hand farm and off farm improvements in sorting, grading, packing, market intelligence, logistics, retailing and on the other hand reducing the superfluous middleman both of which enhance producers' share in consumer rupee and the quality of the produce as well. The domestic consumers should also be provided produce and products of international quality at affordable costs and prices. Developed countries have no two markets such as domestic and international. They have just one market which is the same for all, so that quality gets inbuilt in any produce through the adoption of 'Good Agricultural Practices' (GAP). It is relevant in this context that state agricultural Universities should consider moving from developing package of practices to GAP and our agricultural products should not be targeted separately for the domestic and international market. A word of caution in the case of 'value chain' that different levels of chemical processing of produce needs to be encouraged on a selective basis wherever it is absolutely necessary since chemical processing involves use of preservatives, sugar and salt, which have health implications Water management Water continues to be the most critical natural resource limiting agriculture growth including value addition. Inefficienciesin water delivery, distribution and on-farm use adversely affect agricultural output. Hence, more crops per drop of water are crucial. Gradually, public investment on irrigation is declining while private investment is rising. Efficient water institutions are the need of the hour for sustainable water use. In addition to supply side management such as modernizing irrigation and draining, rainwater harvesting, watershed development, tank rehabilitation, percolation pond technologies, the demand side management such as micro irrigation, water institutions for sustainable water extraction and use including pricing irrigation water and power, water governance are crucial.

Programs contributing to social security of farmers Governments have seldom concentrated on provision of social security to farmers in true sense. Farmers are the most vulnerable to health risks and trauma due to sudden losses in income. Life insurance and health insurance schemes to cover farmers at large are yet to be devised. Such programs should cover farmers from their 20" year and should go on till they attain 90 years at a nominal premium which gets reduced if large number of farmers also participates in the program. Schemes to enhance risk bearing ability High technology input model is facing challenges due to unsustainable use of resources, pressure on the environment, and inability to address needs of small farmers. Rising costs of farm inputs and falling prices of output further exacerbate income inequalities. Farmers need to be given confidence through income security programs to enable them to adopt new technologies. Farmers need to be offered schemes that enhance risk bearing ability so that they will be able to take the required level of risk in order to use the capital intensive modern technologies with ease and interest. Such programs enhance risk bearing ability of farmers including farm women. Access to credit India has a wide network of rural finance institutions; many of the rural poor remain excluded, due to inefficiencies in the formal finance institutions, the weak regulatory framework, high transaction costs, and risks associated with lending to agriculture. As per NSSO (2005) survey, only 29% of farm households in India had a membership in cooperative and only 19% availed credit facilities, seeds or fertilisers. This shows the degree of exclusion of farmers with regard to credit. Thus both flow and coverage of agricultural credit has to be increased. New form of loan services New loan services such as pledge financing, marketing credit, loans against warehousing receipts and export credit, have to be extended extensively to meet challenges faced by agriculture. The current emphasis is production credit leading to imbalance between production and postproduction credit. Credit needs of high-tech- high value agriculture and non-crop agricultural activities, irrigation, land development, farm machinery, and livestock need to be augmented. A holistic approach to lending covering various sources of livelihood and consumption requirements has to be evolved. Loan waiver Schemes: Agrarian distress is severe in dry land areas. Access to loans is also lower compared with irrigated areas. Farmers who are punctual in repayment will not get any benefit. This, in fact weakens repayment discipline. Asymmetric information Crop-choice at the farm level is influenced by number of factors such as risk perception, asset-base, inadequate and asymmetric information, uncertain market outlook, and limited reach of extension services. These lead to cultivation of safe crops with totally risk averse attitude. Programmes and policies that mitigate risk and uncertainties in agriculture are the need of the hour.

Extension approach The inadequacy of the present system of extension calls for development of nonformal approaches for technology transfer to make agriculture more productive, profitable and stable. The Krishi Vignana Kendras (KVK) established in each District plays a crucial role in linking farmers to market. The scope for group extension rather than individual farmers through producers' associations and SHGs / cooperatives assumes importance as the farmers has to reap the benefits of value addition. Market led extension: Efficient marketing system assuring higher returns for farmers and better prices for consumers is crucial. Emerging market opportunities due to liberalization and export orientation have challenges for agriculture extension. Future growth in agriculture depends on improvements in diversified farming systems with regional specialization, sustainable management of natural resources, linkage of production system with marketing, agro-processing and value added activities. Thus, agricultural extension programmes need to be fortified with market extension towards system efficiency Public confidence on agriculture falling? Public investment dropped from 30 % in earlier plans to 8 % in recent years in agriculture. Psychologically farmers get a negative feeling whether public investment is related to confidence in agriculture. If public investment drops in agriculture, it also gives wrong signals to private investment and as a result agriculture sector suffers from this cumulative drop. Also, given the low growth performance after green revolution, it is the duty of the government to rescue the sector ridden with low infrastructure, low capital base, unstable markets, and the most vulnerable to climate change. The Government will fondly remember how the farmers of this country ably and strongly stood with the nation achieving self reliance in food production way back in 1982. Climate change Climate change is the new challenging dimension for future agricultural growth where small and marginal farmers in disadvantaged locations are the most vulnerable. Thus, investment options and policies which reduce impact of climate change are urgently needed to provide incentives to small farmers for adoption of technologies, conservation agriculture, carbon sequestration, that can mitigate impact of climate change. Weather based crop insurance is crucial to strengthen the farmers in order to offer food security for the nation in the wake of climate change. Currently NREGA and watershed development are the only two programs for the benefit of dry land farmers of the country compared to a vast number of programs in irrigated areas. The dry lands bear the brunt of climate change which is more than 60 percent of the agricultural production area. Hence innovative programs such as IFS, Bhuchetana (treating soils with micro nutrients), expanding drip irrigation, need to be heralded. Research and Development (R&D) Support Increased budgetary support to Agricultural R&D including rationalization of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) to avoid duplication and strengthening research activities to address farmers problem especially in emerging areas such as biotechnology is crucial. R and D should focus on biological and ecological processes of enhancing crop productivity. This calls for judicious use of natural resources, especially water and energy. Biotechnological tools to improve crop productivity and to develop new crop varieties with tolerance to drought and resistance to disease and pests need to be promoted Paradigm shift towards commercial agriculture 6

Agricultural sector is experiencing a paradigm shift from subsistence to commercial regime due to demand driven forces ceteris paribus sustainability, catering to local and export markets. Emphasis is on productivity, profitability and market orientation. Farming system research and modern extension approaches are crucial in view of falling employment opportunities. State needs to play a facilitative role in supporting competitive markets by providing infrastructure, rural connectivity, rural electrification, investment in irrigation, watershed management. Agricultural technicians are in dearth at village level and are needed in agroindustries which have scope for investment. Here is the urgent need to orient rural youth towards self-employment opportunities with increased mechanization in agriculture. Epilogue Policy challenges for Indian agriculture for higher agricultural growth from the 'second / ever green revolution' inter a/ia include (a) globalization challenges, high volatility in food prices, (b) shrinking farm-size, (c) dryland farming challenges (d) environmental stress and (e) rising non farm and off farm wages affecting opportunities in agriculture. India continues to be the country of small farmers and making them viable and sustainable is a big challenge. The barriers due to (a) investment, credit and infrastructure deficit; (b) research and extension (technology) fatigue; (c) market inefficiency, (d) slow pace of diversification, (e) weak institutions linkages, and (f) education/ skill deficit need to be cleared. In addition to insurance, farmers need de-risking through efficient land and water management. The trilemma of keeping input prices low, farm level prices high and consumer prices low will continue to be a challenge for policy makers. Government should give big push to public investment in infrastructure, land and water management, rain water conservation and watershed development, research and extension, price stabilization, delivery systems, to make cultivation viable and profitable. India's farmers richly deserve higher agriculture orientation through public investments for their rich contribution to food security during the green revolution. My dear graduating friends, I am sure you will find in your future life the knowledge you have acquired here is a unique asset opening up great opportunities which will not cater to the intellectual demands of your professional pursuit but also would play a key role in changing the lives of many people. I would like you all to read the biography of two great personalities (1) Dr Helen Keller, the deaf-blind American author and lecturer and (2) Dr Stephen Hocking, the theoretical physicist of UK, both with all health impediments achieved great success in life. As an end note, I would like to recall from President CASPER'S Convocation address to Stanford University in 1998. I quote, "I urge, I implore, all of you to be brave and rigorous in your pursuit of knowledge. Your own future contributions to society depend on how well you are prepared. The University's seriousness of purpose must also be yours; the University's commitment to intellectual values must also be yours". Jai Hind