Vishwanath

Indian Agriculture, the way forward Leadership Verbatim The day you stop learning, you stop living. Agriculture as an Engine of Growth More crop per drop should be the Mantra

	Chairman of Nath Group Companies - Shri. Nandkishor Kagliwal has taken over as the President of Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC) on October 17th , 2006.


	Managing Director of Nath Biogene (I) Ltd - Shri. Satish Kagliwal has taken over as the President of the Association of Seed Industry (ASI) on September 24, 2006. Shri. Kagliwal has taken over this responsibility following the merger of all the different seed associations in the country.

NEW Bt COTTON HYBRIDS Following commercial approvals from the GEAC for Nath Seeds' Bt-cotton hybrids NCEH-6 (Bt Nath Bharti), NCEH-2R (Bt Vishwanath), NCEH-3R (Bt Nath Baba), Nath Biogene and the sister concern, Global Transgenes (I) Ltd, have established new linkages, within the country and abroad for additional Bt-cotton transgenic events, new synthetic Bt-genes, as also new gene constructs and transgenic events that show enhanced tolerance to drought. MOUs have been signed with the foreign as well as Indian collaborators.
RESURGENT AGRICULTURE - RESURGENT INDIA Nandkishor Kagliwal AGRICULTURE AS AN ENGINE OF GROWTH We can never over emphasize the importance of agriculture as provider of food, as a provider of jobs and also as a provider of purchasing power in the hands of millions of people which alone can propel individual growth. We have the natural resources. We have the human resources. The benefits are so obvious, extensive and immediate. Clearly India ‘s future is in her farms. Agriculture has the potential to accelerate economic growth and social development in India. Former Chairman of ITC, Mr Chug had once said that the only true entrepreneur left in the country is the Indian farmer. “Cyndrella Syndrome” is coming true in agriculture, the stepchild is doing rather well and there can be great expectations from it, while the favorite child, industry is discovering that it cannot stand up to international competition. AGRICULTURE AS A PROVIDER OF JOBS Dynamic and progressive agriculture can provide maximum employment, more than any other sector. In fact Indian agriculture can easily employ another 20 million people just by concentrating on developing 40 million hectares of wasteland. Modernization of agriculture will reverse the present unending migration to the cities and thereby improve the quality of life in the country’s urban areas also. Unfortunately, capital formation in agriculture, two-thirds of which is private, has been stagnant for the last decade. Good price realization along with access to the world markets could change that. This is important if India is to reach anywhere near our targets of food production and exports. We must realize that we in India have only 2% of the arable land, 1% of rainfall and 16% of the world population. We as a nation face daunting challenge indeed. Like in industry, if we invest in agriculture right from the grassroot level of inputs to the farmers till the processing stage, quality and productivity will improve dramatically. AGRICULTURE - OUR NATURAL NATIONAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Agriculture is capable of generating maximum wealth with modest investments. India has 329 million hectares of land area. Nearly half of it is arable. We can increase production at least five fold if our current yields are raised to international standards. Agriculture requires lands, hands, sunshine and rain, which we have in abundance. Nature is generous with us. We can produce a large number of crops round the year without large investments in green houses. Indian farmer adapts to innovations rapidly. Success of the green revolution has demonstrated this conclusively. Agriculture is one of the few sectors in which India can develop international competitiveness. Given the growing world population, dismantling of trade and tariff barrier amongst economies as a result of GATT - agriculture can be a major contributor to Indian exports. WORLD POPULATION TO REACH 9.60 MILLION DOUBLING THE DEMAND FOR FOOD Current world population is approximately 5.9 billion is expected and this is expected to reach 9.6 billion by the year 2050. Ninety seven percent of this increase will occur in the developing countries with Asia being by far the most populous continent. Studies by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank forecast a doubling in demand for food by 2025-30, not just on account of population increase but also on account of dietary and the growth in nutritional intake. It is therefore obvious that in this millennium more and more food will have to come from even less cultivable land. According to the World Bank, the amount of per capita cultivated land supporting food production in 1961 was 0.44 hectares. Today it is about 0.26 hectares and based on population projections it will be in the vicinity of 0.15 hectares by 2050. The enormity of the challenge of future global food security is best illustrated by the fact that in the next 50 years the global population will consume twice as much food as has ever been consumed since mankind started to practice agriculture 10000 years ago and most of that food, feed and fiber will be consumed in Asia. INDIA CAN BECOME THE FOOD BASKET OF THE WORLD Gulati & Prusell estimate that Indian can earn dollar one billion from rice exports alone. The key to increasing productivity can be contract farming by corporates where agricultural inputs, credit and technology is provided by the corporates as also commitment of minimum price at which the products would be bought back. India has good potential in export of rice, wheat, cotton and possibly sugar. India grows more food than any other country except Brazil and more vegetables than any other country except China. What we need is well-formulated long term export thrusts for these primary products. To start with, let us concentrate on primary products which have no elaborate requirements of grading, packaging and shelf life. India also has potential in two other areas - multiplication of seeds, medicinal and aromatic plants and health foods. These are not easy markets to access, but a beginning must be made. However, the Government, it seems is putting more emphasis on the higher value-added exports like processed fruits and vegetables and flowers. I am not convinced that this is the right strategy to start with. Processing in India at this stage is more cost-added than value-added. The kind of investments that need to go into technology, machinery and infrastructure are extremely high. We cannot build our future on ready made imported technical solutions from west. We should rather concentrate on export of primary products, fresh fruits, vegetables and invest in providing technology and infrastructure for cool chain, grading, packaging, warehousing and exports. REFORMS IN AGRICULTURE - A CRYING NEED In last 15 years while other sectors of the economy have seen wide spread reforms, agricultural sector by and large has remained untouched. Our agriculture today suffers from wide range of regulations and controls on pricing, movement and curbs on imports and exports. There is a need for step-by-step liberalization of agricultural sector. In the first step, we should remove all export and imports controls. There is a need to rethink about the role of several, organizations such as Food Corporation of India and Cotton Corporation of India. We should seriously consider whether these bodies have outlived their basic need. Finally, we also need to look at the present Land Ceiling Act. The Act certainly served the laudable objective of giving land to the tillers and abolishing feudal Zamindari. However, with three new generations having to till the same land in the last five decades, the land holdings are now fragmented to the point that cultivation has become totally uneconomical. We need to intensify investments and efforts in agricultural research and new transgenic technologies and improved seeds to increase agricultural productivity to produce more food for billions of people in India and Asia. Indian farmer can certainly do it.
THE DAY YOU STOP LEARNING, YOU STOP LIVING! - NANDKISHOR KAGLIWA Dr Mangala Borkar in tete-tete with Shri Nandkishor Kagliwal, Chairman of Nath Group, educationist, thinker and a man of many facets. He has a mastery over languages - written and spoken - a passion for nature and poetry, and is involved in lots of meaningful work. He has helped to set up institutions like Nath Valley School and Kamal Nayan Bajaj Hospital, but few are aware of his quiet work in villages for integrated rural development. Born in Hingoli, where he had his high school education. He completed B.Sc (Hons) from Aurangabad. He was selected by Jamanlal Bajaj Institute of management amongst intense competition and topped in the Bombay University. Got a scholarship to go abroad to Lincoln, where he did his M.S. in management. He was offered a job by the United Nations to work in developing countries. But he returned to India and initially worked together with his uncle Shri Badrinarayanji Barwale at mahyco and in 80’s moved to Aurangabad, where he set up seeds, paper and chemical industries. How did you develop such proficiency over languages? Well, proficiency, I am not sure; but I do have a liking for languages. I studied in a Hindi medium school and read a lot of Hindi literature. My English teacher in Hingoli would inspire us to learn at least three new English words daily - a habit I still maintain) though I may not find many NEW words now!) I have an innate love for poetry – Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and English. Any hardships during your education? Not really. There was a patch when I had to do tuitions to support expenses. You have a great love for nature and passion for gardening? Yes, we collect rare plants from all over the places we visit. Jeevan (my wife) compliments my interest with her “green fingers”. Ours is not a manicured garden, it is more natural and hence looks different. You are planning a garden for children? Yes, Jeevan and I are developing a theme garden for children, which we hope to throw open for a few days a week in a couple of years. It is on the land, where we have our Hurda party. We have planted palms, bamboos and medicinal plants. Jeevan is developing a Ganesh Van, Nakshatra Van and other such themes. Do you like Aurangabad? Yes. I love the city. It has all the amenities of a large place and still retains the affinities of a small place. I like the ability of the people of Aurangabad to come together and work for a common cause. Your house is very tastefully built and done up? I believe it had featured in "Inside Outside"? Well yes. We did not want an ostentatious or glittering house. A lot of beauty can be created out of simplicity. Both of us like our house to have an informal and personal touch. Your Hurda party is the much awaited occasion on everyone's calendar? We enjoy people. We are happy to be hosts to people we meet all the year long or those we know, but don’t meet. The best part we like about the party is the informality and fun – everyone is relaxed and enjoying; and that makes us feel reallyhappy What is your attitude towards problems? I treat a problem like, yet another issue, which has to be solved -without much emotional involvement. You can say, I have a clinical or dispassionate approach to problems. And your views about business? A business must provide quality products and services to customers at the least cost. It has to meet the expectations of all stakeholders i.e. customers, employees, shareholders and the society. Profit is a must - rather a necessity - for survival and growth of any business. It also provides the best index of efficiency of a business enterprise. However, I do believe, that business must have a purpose beyond profits and a meaning beyond money. You are the President of Maharashtra Economic Development Council. You served as a member of the Planning Board of Maharashtra. What is the best form of economic model for our country? Free enterprise with human face. Market oriented economy with a very strong social bias in favour of the poor. Can India become an economic super power? Yes indeed. Our greatest asset is our educated and ambitious youth and their spirit of enterprise. Growth could be much faster, but for the all pervading corrupt political system and crippling burden of the bureaucracy; growth could be much faster. What are the qualities in people which appeal to you most? Simplicity, sincerity and of course their passion for work. It is not possible to achieve anything worthwhile unless one is passionate about it. I always value in people their commitment over competence. If one is committed, competence can follow. What makes you happy? Personally, a job well done. I feel very happy when I see people performing to their full potential. What do you enjoy reading? My interests in reading are varied. For a few years now, I try to read one new subject every year. Like last year, I read a lot about economics of development and this year I am into Indian history. What is killing our society? Three Cs - corruption, communalism and criminalization. What ails our society? Three Ps - Population, pollution and politicians (perhaps in the reverse order). You ought to write? Yes, I plan to, some day. And music – what are your preferences? Instrumental of any variety – but more on the quieter side. Today's mantra for success? Hard work + fast work+ smart work + team work. It is generally felt that agriculture is not receiving enough attention in last years. What is your view on this? I. I agree with you that agriculture of late is not receiving enough attention. In fact capital investment in agriculture over the decades has declined. For want of a better world, I call this as the dazzle: (a) in our pursuit of "new economy" and "globalisation" we seems to be forgetting the basics. (b) the economic mantra is like a discotheque where the glitter and glare can dazzle, blur and blind our vision. In India even today about 65% of our population depends on agriculture for its livelihood and about 35% of our GDP is derived from this sector. II. We somehow seem to imagine that industrial development alone can be the panacea for all our economic evils. Industrial development of course is necessary; but primacy of agriculture even to ensure sustained industrial development cannot be overlooked. It is high time we realize that agriculture can be a powerful engine of economic development for creating employment and banishing poverty. III. The problem of poverty in India is essentially because of unemployment and under employment of multitudes of our people. Agriculture and agro-industries have potential to create jobs requiring least capital investment. Moreover, this investment will be made at grass root level without creating any social or ecological imbalances. Our food production is nearly stagnated in last few years. Will it affect our food security? I. Yes. It is true that our food production which had shown spectacular growth is nearly stagnated in past few years. Although since 1950 the area under cultivation remained the same, our food production increased nearly four fold from 50 million tons to 200 million tons. However, the increase in food production has now stagnated. II. We in India have 16% of the world population, 2% of the arable land and 1% of the rainfall. Our population is estimated to reach the level of 130 billion people by the year 2020. The requireament of food grain is likely to increase to 250 million tons by then. Our greatest challenge in the years ahead, therefore, would be to achieve the minimum necessary growth in food production without any increase in the land area. III. However, increasing production is only one part of the equation. Without agriculture growth, the people in rural areas will neither have employment nor have the resources for better living. Even in this area of globalization and the so called economic integration, we in India with one sixth of the world population cannot depend upon others to meet our food requirements. It should be obvious that at least for us in India the issues of food security and national security are intertwined and represent two sides of the same coin. It would be unfortunate to visualise our country with nuclear capability in one hand and begging bowl in the other. You have been involved with seed industry for a long time. How do you see the future for Indian seed Industry? Our development in agriculture owes a lot to the availability of high yielding and improved seeds. We have natural, national competitive advantage in the area of seed production. India has plenty of lands, sunshine, weather and variety of agro-climatic conditions. India indeed has potential to emerge as a major provider of seeds to the world. We in India have a large pool of world class scientists in the fields of genetics and plant breeding. Although organized seed industry in India is hardly 35 years old, it has developed on scientific liens. The commendable feature of this development has been the active cooperation of Government, research institutions and private seed industry, who have worked together in a range spirit of union. Like pharmaceuticals, Indian seed industry can be globally competitive and given the right policy support can emerge as a major world player in next ten years. There is a lot of controversy these days on genetically modified seeds. What are your views? Yes. Three is a lot of controversy about genetically modified foods and seeds. Large part of the resistance represents natural apprehension that accompanies any new research or development. Some part of the resistance could be the handiwork of the interested lobbies. By 2030 it is estimated that the world population would increase by another two billion. The population would grow from the present level of 6 billion people to 8 billion people. Biotechnology can be a powerful tool to meet the challenges of hunger, disease and poverty. The technology is at a developing stage and there is no doubt that there are many important issues relating to bio-safety, bio-diversity and bio-ethics which need to be addressed. However, the fact remains that genetic modifications is a science of great potential. Through transgenic crops, the scientists can selectively add, remove or alter a character of choice in the plant such as pest, drought resistance, enhanced nutrition and added shelf life. Modern agriculture has increased production of food; but has also introduced large scale use of pesticides and fertilisers which besides being expensive are potentially hazardous to human health and eco system. The GM technology can save our planet tonnes of pesticides being used today. Indeed, genetically enhanced seeds can improve agricultural productivity in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner. I do believe that soon appreciation shall replace apprehension about this science and GM food and seed would become part of our daily life. (appeared in Economic Times of 18th September 2000)