“There is no level playing field in whatever I do,” says Tiwari. The Fifth Pay Commission had recommended that a Central Agriculture Service be created to circumvent these situations and strengthen agriculture administration — a proposal that never took off.

Tiwari’s problems find an echo outside as well. “We have found out that the programme is not working for pulses. It has to be a systems approach right from the dissemination of seeds to marketing. There has to be a thorough evaluation,” says M S Swaminathan, chairman, Farmers Commission, and member of Rajya Sabha.

The Indian Express obtained several monitoring reports sent this year that highlight why ISOPOM, a programme meant to break the pulse yield barrier, stuck at 500 kg/hectare for 20 years, has made little impact:

Seeds:

Despite a large push in the form of subsidy for making quality seeds, seed replacement rate nationwide remains at a dismal average of 10-15 per cent. This means farmers are planting old seeds or are buying uncertified seeds from the market.

The State Seed Corporation has a major role to play but despite the Rs 1,000 incentive given to each farmer for multiplying breeder seeds, less than half have been covered. Andhra Pradesh has a 15% seed replacement rate whereas Madhya Pradesh has barely 2%.

This despite the fact that, according to a field inspection report, Madhya Pradesh is the largest recipient of seed minikits for oilseeds and pulses all these years. Minikits contains new varieties of seeds for less than a hectare of land for farmers to try out in his field.

... contd.