2 Jul, 2022
Ajay Vir JakharJuly 2, 2022Indian Express, Perspectives

Climate Change: Our worst nightmare is yet to appear in our dreams.

My grandfather, Balram Jakhar was amongst the pioneers of citrus plantation in north India, in the mid-1950s. In 1972, when he first became a member of the Punjab’s legislative assembly, he had promised to transform the bleak near-arid barren sand dunes into California. As his days came to a close, he loved to talk of the promise and similarities of the much-diversified farming in the area, when asked about it. We farm in village Maujgarh, in the Khuiansarwar block of district Fazilka in Punjab.

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15 May, 2022
Ajay Vir JakharMay 15, 2022Economic Times, Perspectives

Export Ban of Wheat: Decoded

A month back, it was evident beyond doubt that wheat yields were down due to the exceptional heat wave and government procurement of wheat would also remain far below the last year levels. But, the mirage of excess production, caused due to wrong estimates of wheat production and analytics by government agencies has led to misplaced policy decisions. In its exuberance to be a messiah to the world, India prodded private trade to export vast quantities of grain, which they complied with gusto. The central government also bravely announced an extension of the subsidized food programme by six months. Therefore, the government of India’s announcement to ban export of wheat has come like a bolt from the sky not only for Indian farmers, traders but also for the international community. Expectedly India has lost credibility and even the G7 has criticized the move.

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3 Feb, 2022
Ajay Vir JakharFebruary 3, 2022Indian Express, Perspectives

The Seeds not planted

The finance minister’s frequent reference to the “Amrit Kaal” — India’s 25-year-long lead-up to its first centenary of Independence in 2047 — in her budget speech, encompasses, in no small measure, its massive accomplishment of running the world’s largest welfare program: that of feeding 800 million of its populace through entitlements of free and subsidized food. As a farmer, one hopes that a better measure of accomplishment would certainly be India not having to feed anyone for free because everyone could afford nutritious meals.

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17 Jan, 2022
Ajay Vir Jakhar0 commentsJanuary 17, 2022Perspectives, The Tribune

Complexity of Crop Diversification in Punjab

Renowned agriculture economist Dr SS Johl presented two reports on the need for crop diversification in Punjab in 1986 and 2002. After over three decades, overflowing cereal granaries and large budget deficits have finally compelled a serious policy rethink at the level of the Union Government on the open-ended public procurement system limited to paddy and wheat. These two staple crops were favoured for the Green Revolution because with assured irrigation the yields are less prone to erratic weather, can be cheaply stored for long periods of time and are thus more suitable for food security purposes. Punjab provided the ideal conditions for growing these crops and was chosen as the Green Revolution state. When India gained Independence, Punjab had a diversified agriculture landscape. But, under the Union Government’s directives, policies and incentives to ensure India’s food security during its most difficult decades, it turned to specialised agriculture.

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23 Nov, 2021
Ajay Vir Jakhar0 commentsNovember 23, 2021Indian Express, Perspectives

Repeal of Three Farm Laws

The repeal of the three farm laws is a politically astute move by the government and shows the BJP’s tenacious intent to remain in power beyond 2024. It is now for the farmer unions to tactically suspend the agitation and go back to the negotiating table, allowing space for the Prime Minister to deliver on his promises. 

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16 Jul, 2021
Ajay Vir JakharJuly 16, 2021Perspectives, Rural Voice

ई-रिटेल और ई-कॉमर्स का बाज़ार पर दबदबे की सामाजिक कीमत

अधिक महत्वपूर्ण बात यह है कि किसान की आजीविका के लिए खेत पर होने वाली गतिविधियों से ज्यादा खेत के बाहर होने वाली गतिविधियां अधिक मायने रखती हैं । भले ही किसी को पसंद हो या नहीं, जब निजी क्षेत्र अच्छा करता है, तभी अर्थव्यवस्था फलती-फूलती है और हर माह लाखों रोजगार पैदा होते हैं। उपभोक्ताओं के पास भुगतान करने के लिए अधिक पैसा होता है, तभी वह पौष्टिक भोजन के लिए पैसे खर्च कर सकते हैं और तभी किसान को अपनी उपज का बेहतर मूल्य मिल सकता है

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13 Jul, 2021
Ajay Vir JakharJuly 13, 2021Perspectives, The Tribune

ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿਚ ਲਾਗਤ ਈ ਪ੍ਰਚੂਨ ਅਤੇ ਈ ਕਾਮਰਸ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਝੋ

ਭਾਰਤੀ ਪ੍ਰਚੂਨ ਬਾਜ਼ਾਰ ਦਾ ਕਾਰੋਬਾਰ 2030 ਤੱਕ ਵਧ ਕੇ 2 ਖਰਬ (ਟ੍ਰਿਲੀਅਨ) ਡਾਲਰ ਹੋ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਅਨੁਮਾਨ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਮਸਲਾ ਇਹ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਦਾ ਵਡੇਰਾ ਹਿੱਸਾ ਜੀਓ ਮਾਰਟ, ਐਮੇਜ਼ਾਨ, ਵਾਲਮਾਰਟ ਜਾਂ ਟਾਟਾ ਗਰੁਪ ਦੇ ਕਬਜ਼ੇ ‘ਚ ਚਲਾ ਜਾਵੇਗਾ। ਮਸਲਾ ਇਹ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਿ ਅਲੀਬਾਬਾ ਤੇ ਟੈਂਸੇਂਟ ਜਿਹੀਆਂ ਵੱਡੀਆਂ ਚੀਨੀ ਕੰਪਨੀਆਂ ਇਸ ਕਾਰੋਬਾਰ ਦਾ ਹਿੱਸਾ ਛਕਣਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੀਆਂ ਹਨ ਜੋ ਹੁਣ ਭਾਰਤ-ਚੀਨ ਟਕਰਾਅ ਕਾਰਨ ਪਿਛਾਂਹ ਹਟ ਰਹੀਆਂ ਹਨ। ਇਹ ਨਾ ਕੇਵਲ ਕਰੀਬ ਦੋ ਕਰੋੜ ਛੋਟੇ ਕਾਰੋਬਾਰੀ (ਅਦਾਰਿਆਂ ਮੰਮੀ-ਪਾਪਾ ਦੇ ਸਟੋਰ, ਕਰਿਆਨਾ ਸਟੋਰ) ਅਤੇ ਇਸ ਨਾਲ ਦੇਸ਼ ਦੇ ਹਰ ਗਲੀ ਕੋਨੇ ਵਿਚ ਫ਼ੈਲੇ ਗ਼ੈਰ-ਰਸਮੀ ਤੇ ਰਸਮੀ ਪ੍ਰਚੂਨ ਕਾਰੋਬਾਰ ‘ਤੇ ਮੁਨੱਸਰ ਚਾਰ ਕਰੋੜ ਪਰਿਵਾਰਾਂ ਦਾ ਹੀ ਮਸਲਾ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਮਸਲਾ ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਵੀ ਕਿਤੇ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾ ਵੱਡੀ ਤਬਾਹੀ ਨਾਲ ਜੁੜਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ।

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10 Jul, 2021
Ajay Vir JakharJuly 10, 2021Perspectives, Project Syndicate

Power Structure in Food Systems

One out of every nine people goes to sleep hungry. The reason is not insufficient food supplies. It is that our food systems have made basic nutrition unaffordable and inaccessible. Worse, even though an estimated one-third of food is wasted, policymakers remain focused on boosting agricultural production – usually in ways that result in a larger portion of subsidies flowing to a handful of companies, rather than to support farmers.

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