(a) whether any study has been conducted by the Ministry or any agency concerned about the
reflection of the lifting of quantitative restriction on agriculture sector particularly with regard to
commercial and perennial crops;
(b) if so, the details thereof, item-wise;
(c) the total amount spent in this regard; and
(d) the steps taken to protect farmers from the price fall?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND MINISTER OF
STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (DR. AKHILESH PRASAD SINGH)
(a)&(b): There has been no comprehensive study on the impact of liberalized imports of
agricultural products on Indian Agriculture. However, some quick sectoral studies have been
conducted to analyze the likely impact of liberalized imports on edible oils. The studies suggest
that formulation of policies in respect of calibration of import duties on edible oils, application of
new technology to increase production and productivity in oil sector and provision of marketing
support to oilseed farmers should be linked to the Indian proposals in the WTO Agriculture
negotiations. Recently the Government has brought out a study entitled `State of the Indian
Farmer: A Millennium Study`, as a part of which `Globalization and Agricultural Liberalization
in India` has also been studied. Based on various measures of import and export
competitiveness, the study concludes that most of the important agricultural commodities in
India are competitive and that India can withstand competition from abroad with respect to the
import of most of the crops, at the current levels of tariffs. No specific study has been conducted
regarding the impact on perennial crops.
(c) The total amount spent on the Phase-I of the Millennium Studies, which included study on
`Globalization and Agricultural Liberalization along with 26 other studies was Rs. 158.18 lakhs.
(d): In order to ensure that the farmers of the country are not put to any hardship, the
Government has put in place a suitable mechanism for monitoring the import of sensitive items
and provides protection to the domestic producers by resorting to various WTO compatible
measures which include appropriate calibration of applied tariffs within the bound levels and
safeguard action under certain specified circumstances. As a sequel to these measures, import
duties on a number of items including edible oils (both crude and refined), tea, coffee, copra and
coconut, wheat, rice, maize, pulses, spices, arecanut, apple and cut flowers have been
increased in the last 5 years. Further, the Government also implements a number of development
programmes to increase the competitiveness of the Indian farmer. These include introduction of
improved farming technology, improved availability of inputs including water, credit and
fertilizer and price support through the Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme and Market
Intervention Scheme (MIS).