The Tamil Nadu government has been taking efforts to bring fallow lands back into agriculture as mentioned in their first-ever standalone budget for agriculture presented on August 14, 2021. The focus is primarily on bringing ‘other fallow lands’, where the cultivable land has been kept fallow for more than one year but less than five years, back into agriculture.
TN’s Season & Crop Report for 2021-22 said this category of fallow land accounted for 17.29 lakh hectares or 13% of TN’s total geographical area. Another 9.89 lakh hectares come under the category of ‘current fallow’ where the land has been kept fallow only during the current year.
Together both categories constitute nearly 21% of TN’s total geographical area. Conversion of these private land parcels is invariably preceded by non-use for a few years in order to convert it into long-term fallow land, which can then be converted to non-agricultural land.
The state actions are targeted at curbing this conversion by providing more incentives in terms of input subsidies and support through various departments. However, closer scrutiny reveals that various factors – both demands for land and its usage – decide the conversion, along with opportunities in the non-farm sectors.
The long-term viability of agriculture depends on the profitability of farming and the relative position of the farm in terms of size, family expenditure, productivity, costs due to legislation, debt structure and availability of farm reserves.
The relative position or views of farmers regarding farming are contingent upon personal and business objectives, the farm-family relationship, which seems to be affected by youth moving away from agriculture, as well as farm management strategies.
There is an increasing tendency to look at farmland as a commodity to trade and use to address the economic shortfalls in the family. Escalating land prices also offer farmers an exit from poorly remunerative agriculture. This can be closely monitored by the state.
It is necessary to undertake farm-specific measures depending on the management abilities and aspirations of the farmers to support their decision-making. Therefore, the measures to curb the conversion of lands into non-agriculture purposes must take into account the need to enhance the viability of farming.
The state’s extension mechanism needs to improve drastically to reach small and marginal farmers and restore their confidence in agriculture. The system to monitor fallow and culturable wastelands at the village level should be developed into a dynamic system. Extension officers should be on the lookout and take actions to address such patterns of conversion among small and marginal farmers who may be considering the eventual sale of land due to low productivity.
The latest technological measures, including GIS mapping with cadastral boundaries, can be used for this activity which must be undertaken in close collaboration with the revenue department.
Land becoming highly productive for agriculture would automatically halt or reverse the process of non-agricultural conversion. Supportive measures for separate pressures on farmers may not alone reverse the current trend. It should also be recognised that agriculture has a lot of scope to absorb labour as well as for an economic return. There is a need to look at it on par with industry and move it away from the current situation of it being non-remunerative.
TN needs to move spatially and work towards regional economics of agriculture to increase productivity. A separate budget provides this space and a wider consultation process with different stakeholders – scientists, community-based organisations, agro-industries and farmers – must be organised regionally to identify location-specific potential to promote the viability of agriculture.
For food security, the quality of land is increasingly becoming more important than quantity and hence priority areas for other economic development could be mapped and spatially planned for conversion purposes with a phasing plan at regional levels.
If the current trend is to be arrested, the government has to increase the ‘ease of doing agriculture’. Proactive policy support and multi-pronged measures are required to ensure the viability of agriculture and the restoration of pride in farming.
Footnote is a weekly column that discusses issues relating to Tamil Nadu
Disclaimer: Views expressed by the author in the column are his personal opinion, not that of the institution
Profitability factors
The long-term viability of agriculture depends on the profitability of farming and the relative position of the farm in terms of size, family expenditure, productivity, etc.
R Gopinath is Principal Scientist at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation