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 Rainfed /dryland agriculture does not receive much public support as all the incentives, technical support and subsidies are framed in such a way that only farmers with irrigation can access and make the best use of it

‘Uncertainty’ being a major constraint, Dryland agriculture needs ;

• low cost/ investment techniques of crop production where much of the inputs are internalized

• diversified production systems where livestock is a significant component

• use (natural) regenerative technologies than response maximizing technologies

For dryland agriculture (and the poor dependent on it) to benefit, the public support systems should be couched in such a way that the basic requirements or frame conditions of dryland agriculture ecosystems are met. National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Scheme provides and opportunity to promote or establish such support systems as much of the requirements for regenerating dryland agriculture are labour intensive.

National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Scheme has expanded the scope of food for work program to include development of land belonging to the poor. A welcome measure but not sufficient. The following suggestions may also be considered.

The scope of ‘work’ is presently defined in terms of mostly ‘earth work’. This is restrictive as many labour intensive products like manure, bio-pesticides etc., which are lifeline into the dryland agriculture systems can not use this labour provision. 

The suggestion is to expand the scope of labour say for e.g;

1. Producing compost/ manure be considered as labour – this involves collecting dung, procuring biomass and manuring.

2. Production of natural pest management products like neem seed kernel extract will reduce cost of pest-management substantially. This involves collection of neem, manual processing and preparing extract- all labour intensive works.

3. Collective rearing of livestock. This is a major pre-requisite for reviving dryland ecosystems. As this is becoming highly labour intensive the livestock numbers have been decreasing - particularly the plough bullocks. If some provision is made for collective rearing to be accommodated in the food for work - there will be an inherent subsidy to promote livestock.

4. Control of grazing. All social fencing experiences include watch and ward. Though communities desire to have social control, the transaction costs, particularly in watch and ward, are high. Can watch and ward, which is purely labour,  be considered under National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Scheme?

5. Several others one can list.

If the scope of ‘employment’ and work can be broadened, then all the above can be accommodated in the program.

National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Scheme can leverage support for livelihoods of poor in the following ways..

6. Priority to regenerating agriculture (not just lands) of the wage seekers –this should also include the above mentioned components like manure, livestock rearing support etc.

7. Can the wage seekers produce some ‘common good’ products and sell them at a subsidized rate to the dryland farmers? In the context of fast declining soil fertility in these regions, restoring soil fertility would be a public good. If a group of wage seekers come forward to produce say, manure, extending support under the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Scheme, it will have the following advantages :

• The wage seekers can produce the ‘public good’  say, manure and get their employment

•  Selling the manure to dryland farmers (small and medium) at a subsidized rate will extend agriculture subsidies to these farmers.

•  Out of the sale proceeds a Community Investment Fund can be created, which can be used for different purposes  say ‘health insurance’ of all the poor.

8. The chemicals are by and large a substitute for labour. With increasing cost of human labour, chemicalization of agriculture is taking place. With some labour subsidies the agriculture chemical costs (fertilisers or pesticides or herbicides) can be reduced substantially.

For e.g., some labour groups can take contract of pest management in the affordable (not-poor) farmers’ fields at some commonly agreed rates. The labour group can use several labour intensive plant products like neem extract and pest-surveilence to control pests. The technology is adequately demonstrated in several villages in Andhra Pradesh. If the labour can access work under such contracts, they can easily manage pests. In one Mandal (about 25 villages) the scope for such employment would bout about rupees 2 to 5 crores. This is also environmentally beneficial.

In essence, the above suggestion is to use National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Scheme as an entitlement to the poor to access rural markets. This in anyway is in tune with the objective of ‘building livelihood assets for poor and drought proofing’. The subsidies will be self-targeting (to poor, degraded lands etc.), which is a major concern.

The program in the above lines can be dovetailed into the community based institutions like SHGs / MMS and the PRIs.

The above is to extend the scope of National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Scheme to include support systems for dryland agriculture.

- Ravindra A and Dr. N.K. Sanghi

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