It is imperative to capitalize on the anticipated normal monsoon and convert the corona challenge into an opportunity to revamp agriculture and boost agri-exports. Elaborate (200 Words)
Refer - Business Standard
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 4 years
KEY POINTS
· Meteorological conditions are turning favourable for a normal monsoon this year have come as a silver lining amid the general sense of despondency caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.
· We need to replace crops like cereals, which are facing a glut, with those in short supply, such as oilseeds and pulses, or more nutritious and less water-consuming ones such as maize and millets.
· The diversification should also involve a greater integration of farming with allied activities like animal husbandry, fisheries, beekeeping, agroforestry.
· Increase the production of export-oriented crops to capture part of the space in the international agri-commodities market that is likely to be vacated by China and some other exporters due to coronavirus-related factors.
· China, being one of the largest stakeholders, seems to have suffered the most. Its agricultural exports are reckoned to drop by around 17 per cent due to low production in the wake of the outbreak.
· India’s shipments of rice, buffalo meat, and a few other products to these regions have dwindled. That is all the more reason why India needs to redouble its efforts to grab some of the global business expected to be shed by China.
· With some incentives, their domestic production can be stepped up to generate an adequate surplus for exports. This apart, India has also developed the technical calibre to produce disease-free and international-standard seeds of many crops for the export market.
· The organisations like the bamboo mission and the technology mission on pulses need to take steps to augment their supplies. However, advance planning on all these counts is imperative to capitalise on the anticipated normal monsoon and convert the corona challenge into an opportunity to revamp agriculture and boost agri-exports.
