The Hindu Business Line : Mess of our making

The article “Tackling a mess of our making” (Business Line, April 14) rightly suggests that corporate farming is one of the options to increase food production. It points out that operational problems of integrating farmers with corporates are but a few of the impeding factors in this regard.

This problem can be surmounted by giving vast stretches of land owned by the Government and governmental undertakings such as the railways on a lease basis to corporates who are willing to use the same exclusively for agricultural production. This will reduce the opposition of farmers reluctant to give up their lands to corporates.

The corporates can utilise scientific methods of cultivation through improved irrigation methods and precision farming on a large scale to cultivate food and biofuel plants. The lease should be sufficiently long — say, 30-50 years — to instil confidence among corporates to go for long-term investments.

This exercise can be a win- win situation for all the stake-holders. The Government can get a rent for the unutilised land. The corporates get an investment avenue. Farm labour gets employment opportunities on account of increased land availability for cultivation.

Consumers get additional agricultural produce which can help ease the supply and price situation. If the land is used to grow biofuel plants, the pressure on the fossil fuels will also be less to that extent.

P. E. Muthu Mumbai

More Stories on : Letters | Agriculture

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Going global

The pompous Ps

Development over two centuries

Time to get logistics on the move

Dimming the Red Lights of Den Wallen

Of good roads and HR challenges

Boost farm output to check inflation

Mess of our making