Report of the Committee for Doubling Farmers’ Income: Volume VIII - production enhancement through productivity gains (Ashok Dalwai Committee)
Improvements in horticultural sector can provide significant scope to absorb a work force, and there is vast scope for the growth of this sector within agriculture for farmers to look forward says this report by Dalwai committee on doubling farmer’s income. There is scope for expanding the area under horticulture crops by 4 million hectares and that with an enhanced yields by 60 per cent. This generates 8 million additional employment opportunities in horticulture says the report.
The eight volume of the Report of the Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI) examines productivity led production, with perspective that farmers must be able to benefit from technologies and practices that allow them to create value in a more optimal manner. Production enhancement, as a result of productivity gains, optimises on resources deployed, minimises ecological stresses and also reduces per unit cost of production. This volume discusses these various aspects for the major agricultural sectors. The volume also highlights that some added benefits from productivity gains. Productivity on crops comes about from changed cultivation practices, ie., selection of appropriate planting material, applying optimal inputs for soil and plant health, efficiencies during irrigation and tending phase, suitable staggering of sowing and harvest, inter-cropping and enhancing the cropping intensity on land. To achieve this, a wide variety of technology, information, tools and scientific practices are brought into use. In case of livestock and fisheries sectors, the productivity enhancement comes from breeding, feeding, health care and other application of animal sciences. The result of such efforts is the output, such production being optimal to the effort and resources used.
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