Story of musk deer

The Indian policymaker seems to suffer from the musk deer syndrome. The musk deer is a rare species that produces musk in its own body. But it does not realise this and searches endlessly for the source of the aroma.

India faces a similar dilemma[dI'le-mu(doubt,दुविधा)]. On the one hand, the country is producing foodgrain at historical surplus levels, and on the other farmers are giving up their lives owing to the farm crisis, poor monsoon and inappropriate policies.

A case in point is Madhya Pradesh. It has one of the highest levels of malnutrition in the country. One in three children in the State is underweight and over 40 per cent are stunted[stún-tid(undevelop,अविकसित)] , whereas the national average is 29.4 per cent. Despite various nutritional schemes and efforts put forward by the government, the State’s malnutrition level is comparable to that of African countries. Yet, the State has bagged the Krishi Karman Award for the third time in a row.

Despite being a leading producer of wheat and soybean oil seed, farmers continue to struggle and the people are reeling under acute[u'kyoot(sharp,तीक्ष्ण)] malnutrition. Foodgrain production in the State has posted double-digit growth making it the new wheat granary of India. With the highest soyabean production in the country, Madhya Pradesh is also known to be the soyabean bowl of India. It accounts for 60 per cent of the total production of soybean in the country.

Soyabean farmers are facing a rough time with central and State governments offering little rate incentives and weather playing spoilsport. Since the harvesting of the crop this year, there have been cases of suicide every day. Ironically[I'ró-ni-k(u-)lee(satirical,विडम्बना)] , the Madhya Pradesh government has initiated some preliminary discussions on advising farmers to take up alternative crops.

A crop that was the cash cow for 25 years seems to have suddenly become a problem. This may have negative repercussions[ree-pu'kú-shun(indirect result,अप्रत्यक्ष परिणाम)] on the incumbent[in'kúm-bunt(current,पदस्थ)] BJP government in the State as the majority of farmers in the Malwa region, a strong BJP belt, grow soyabean. To discontinue soyabean farming will increase dependency on imported edible oil.

RS Paroda, a noted agricultural scientist, recently said: “To tackle increasing malnutrition levels in children, the government should promote production and consumption of protein-rich soybean products like tofu and soya milk.”

The government should pilot a programme to distribute either soyabean mixed with wheat grain or fortified[for-tu,fId(strong,मजबूत)] wheat flour to the beneficiaries of the PDS system. With successful results, this can be ramped up nationwide. This will improve the health indicators, indirectly saving 2-3 per cent of GDP due to loss of productivity and expenses on various nutritional programmes.

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