Independent authority for agricultural commodity price prediction, market intelligence mooted

Shyam P V, TNN 

THRISSUR: The workshop on agricultural policy issues held at Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Vellanikkara in Thrissur held on Saturday mooted an independent state authority for agricultural commodity price prediction and market intelligence.

The high level committee constituted by Government of Kerala to formulate state agricultural policy will hold a workshop on policy issues noted that an independent set up with wide networking and better institutional and policy support would help the farming community in reducing their price risk, in addition to providing new strategic marketing options.

K Krishnankutty, ex-MLA, chairman of the committee, in his opening remarks pointed out the new tends of multinational groups hijacking conventional agricultural farms for projects intended for their profit. "The committee is determined to protect and promote small and marginal farmers and the policy to be framed will be oriented in this direction," saiud Krishnankutty.

Dr P Rajasekharan, Chief (Agriculture), State Planning Board stressed the need for location-specific farming packages and state-level network projects to safe guard Kerala's crops.

The also suggested setting up of a National Agricultural Education Council to improve the quality of agriculture education through policy support, accreditation, academic regulation, personnel policies, review of course curricula and delivery systems, development support for creating/strengthening infrastructure and facilities, improvement of faculty competence and admission of students through All-India competitions. It was also suggested that Agricultural Aptitude should be a key factor in selecting students for Agricultural courses.

The committee also assessed that there is sheer dearth of post-harvest technology experts to guide food processing industry in the state. In view of the prominence and prospects of value addition of agricultural products, it was suggested that a centre of excellence in value addition should be established and public-private-partnership (PPP) should be encouraged to harvest full benefits of the technology.

R Heli, former director of Department of Agriculture, suggested setting up of pesticide residue testing labs in all regions in the state.

A state-level agricultural labour bank namely 'Food Security Force' containing 15 lakh well-trained and accredited youth, crop-specific product diversification centres in different parts of the state, enhancing and strengthening organic farming, ensuring scientific crop management, propagating homestead farming in urban and peri-urban localities and were the other suggestions mooted by the workshop. The committee, while endorsing promotion of protected cultivation concluded that open space cultivation is better suited for Kerala than poly-house cultivation. Organic farming in homesteads should be encouraged and linkage between Local Self Government Institutions (LSGIs) and research and development (R&D) institutions should be strengthened.

It was agreed that climate change will have wide-ranging effects on the environment, and on socio-economic and related sectors, including water resources, agriculture and food security, human health, terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity and coastal zones. The avenues for exploiting vast scope for 'agripreneurship' and strategies for attracting youth to farming were also discussed.

The members of the committee namely R Heli, Former Director of Agriculture; Dr PV Balachandran, Director of Extension, KAU; Dr P Rajasekharan, Chief (Agriculture), State Planning Board and AK Madhavachandran, Deputy Director (Planning), Department of Agriculture actively participated in the deliberations.

Original article here