UPSC Mains 2017 GS Paper 3 Q15: model answer

In Punjab, free power, cheap urea and assured procurement make paddy the safest crop, even though it needs 3,000–5,000 litres of water per kilo of rice. Subsidies have quietly drawn India's cropping map.

How subsidies affect cropping pattern

• Input subsidies (power, canal water, urea) lower the cost of water- and nitrogen-hungry crops.
• Output support: MSP with procurement for rice and wheat, the state-advised price for sugarcane.
• Result: paddy in semi-arid Punjab and Haryana, sugarcane in drought-prone Marathwada.

Effect on crop diversity

• Pulses, oilseeds and millets lose area; India imports edible oil and pulses.
• Traditional varieties disappear; monoculture invites pests.

Effect on farm economics

• Short-term: lower costs and assured income.
• Long-term: falling water tables raise pumping costs; soil fatigue needs more fertiliser; returns stagnate.
• Unequal: larger farmers gain more.
• Fiscal: money spent on input subsidies is not spent on irrigation or research.

Significance for small and marginal farmers

Crop insurance

• Protects against one bad season wiping out savings; PMFBY premiums are only 1.5–5%.
• Keeps them creditworthy, so the next season's loan is not lost.

MSP

• Acts as a floor and a signal, but only about a quarter of farmers benefit directly, according to the NSS Situation Assessment Survey.
• Its reach to pulses and oilseeds through PM-AASHA can aid diversification, if procurement is real and timely.

Food processing

• Adds value to small surpluses; reduces distress sales in gluts.
• Creates jobs for family members, especially women.
• FPO-linked units help small farmers bargain.
• Processed produce can be stored and sold when prices recover.

Conclusion

Shift subsidies from crop-specific inputs to crop-neutral income support, and use insurance, MSP and processing to make diversification safe.

Subsidies decide what a farmer grows; supports decide whether he survives a bad year.