Month: May 2023

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a component of India’s and the G20 countries’ vision for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is a massive, complex challenge. The goal of CSA is to improve a country’s agricultural output, resilience, and emissions as a result of climate change (long-term, irreversible changes in temperature, precipitation, humidity, pressure, and wind). The G20 can play an important role in tackling the issue of climate-smart agriculture.

What exactly is climate-smart agriculture?

• Agriculture that is environmentally friendly: Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) refers to sustainable agricultural practises that serve to boost food production and farmer incomes, improve climate change resistance, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• CSA attempts to achieve three goals at the same time: (1) boosting agricultural output and incomes in a sustainable way, (2) adapting to and creating resilience to climate change, and (3) lowering and/or eliminating greenhouse gas emissions where practicable.
• It entails a mix of tactics, technology, and regulations adapted to the individual demands and conditions of each country’s agricultural industry.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) Challenges

• complicated and multidimensional: CSA is a complicated and multidimensional challenge that necessitates integrated solutions that may be difficult to implement and necessitate significant expenditure.
• Lack of awareness and understanding: Many farmers are unaware of the benefits of CSA and may lack the knowledge or abilities to effectively implement it.
• Financing for CSA practises may be constrained, particularly for smallholder farmers who may lack collateral or credit.
• Policy and institutional constraints: Policies and institutions may be incompatible with the implementation and expansion of CSA practises.
• Technical and technological challenges: The adoption of relevant technology and practises, which may not be available or accessible in some places, is required for CSA.
• Climate change impacts: The effects of climate change, such as droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events, may have a detrimental influence on agricultural output and resilience, making CSA practises difficult to adopt.
• Data and information gaps: Data and information gaps on the implications of CSA practises may exist, making it difficult to measure their effectiveness and scale them up.

The G20’s role in tackling these issues

• The G20 must play a critical role in tackling the CSA dilemma by establishing an ontological framework, method, and recommendations to set the agenda for research, policy, and practise.
• The G20 should organise a group to develop a systemic agenda for systematic research, policies, and practises for digitalizing CSA in a country utilising ontology.
• As the G20 presidency rotates between member countries each year, the Think20 Engagement Groups provide research and policy advice to the G20 and are ideal forums for developing the ontological framework.
• The CSA ontology must be embraced globally as a foundation for all G20 countries, with crop and region taxonomies tailored to each country.
• The G20 committee must assist countries in collaborating in their efforts, coordinating their policies, and communicating their lessons learned.
• The G20 must chart the course for CSA digitalization inside the G20 and worldwide, as well as give a “map” for the global effort.

Recommendations to the Group of 20

Outcome Management:

• Productivity: Encourage the adoption of sustainable soil management practices, provide subsidies and financial incentives for efficient irrigation techniques, and invest in R&D of improved seed varieties.
• Promote crop variety, create a thorough risk management strategy, and encourage agroforestry practises to increase resilience.
• Emissions Control: Create and execute policies that encourage decreased tillage practises, give financial incentives and assistance for the adoption of renewable energy technology, and create and implement laws and standards for sustainable livestock management practises.
• Regional Management: Use digitalization tools and technologies to effectively differentiate CSA management across India’s regions, collect real-time data and information on regional variations, provide farmers with customised and region-specific extension services, optimise resource use, and facilitate stakeholder engagement and collaboration.

Crop Management:

• Identify the particular agro-ecological and socioeconomic circumstances of each crop and build region-specific policies and initiatives to promote CSA practises and technology.
• CSA management integration across crops: Encourage the implementation of integrated crop management practises that optimise resource usage, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase crop productivity across various crops.
• Precision crop management entails implementing precision agriculture techniques that make use of real-time data and information to maximise resource utilisation and yield.

Digital Semiotics Management:

• Collect and analyse weather data: India has a large network of meteorological stations around the country that collect data on temperature, precipitation, humidity, pressure, and wind fields. This information can be used to examine weather patterns and detect trends affecting crop growth and yield. Machine learning algorithms can process the data and provide farmers with real-time information on weather forecasts, insect and disease outbreaks, and optimal planting and harvesting dates.
• Create crop-specific models: India has a broad range of crops cultivated in various places, each with its own set of temperature, precipitation, and other climatic requirements. Climate data and information can be used to construct crop-specific models.
• Encourage precision agriculture: Precision agriculture is the use of digital technologies such as sensors, drones, and satellite images to monitor crop health and growth and provide farmers with real-time recommendations. Farmers can make data-driven decisions adapted to local climatic circumstances by incorporating meteorological data and information into precision agriculture systems.
• Increase farmer capacity: Farmers must have the skills and expertise to evaluate and apply climate variability data and information to their farming practises in order to effectively utilise data and information on climate variability. Farmers’ capacity in using digital tools and analysing meteorological data can be built through training programmes and extension services. These projects can be tailored to make them accessible and cheap to all farmers, including smallholders.

@the end

A roadmap is required for the digitalization of CSA. Addressing the CSA challenge is a requirement for addressing the food security challenge, and digitization is critical to this endeavour. The G20 must chart a course for the digitalization of CSA inside the G20 and internationally, as well as give a road map for the global endeavour to realise the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Source: https://ctss.ipb.ac.id/2022/06/06/digitalization-in-agriculture-a-g20-policy-framework-for-an-equitable-and-environmentally-sustainable-transition/

As several state governments announce their return to the old pension scheme (OPS), the pension debate is heating up. However, economists have criticised this move for two major reasons. To begin with, because the state must carry the entire burden of pensions, it may become fiscally unsustainable in the long run. Second, an unsustainable increase in pension allocation in the budget may come at the expense of other social expenditures directed towards the poor and marginalised groups.

What exactly is a pension?

• A pension is a retirement plan that provides individuals with a stream of income after they retire from their job or profession. It is designed to provide a stable income throughout retirement and can be supported by companies, government organisations, or unions.

What exactly is the Old Pension Scheme (OPS)?

• The OPS, also known as the Defined Benefit Pension System, is an Indian government pension scheme for its employees.
• Retired government employees receive a fixed monthly pension under the OPS depending on their last received salary and years of service.
• The government pays for this pension with current resources, resulting in higher pension liabilities.

What exactly is the National Pension Scheme (NPS)?

• The Union government, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, decided in 2003 to phase out the existing pension programme in favour of the NPS.
• The scheme applies to all new recruits joining Central Government service (excluding the armed forces) beginning on April 1, 2004.
• The Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 were revised with the advent of NPS.

What are two arguments against going back to the old pension system?

• Fiscal Unsustainability: Because the state must shoulder the entire cost of pensions, it will become fiscally unsustainable in the medium to long term.
• Trade-Off with Welfare Expenditure: Such an unsustainable increase in pension allocation in the Budget can only come at the expense of other more important welfare expenditures earmarked for the poor and marginalised groups.

The similarities between the two arguments

• Both arguments assume that fiscal revenues are fixed, which is not always the case if the government sets the right priorities.
• Both arguments assume that an unsustainable increase in pension allocation in the Budget can only come at the expense of other more pressing welfare expenditures targeted at the poor and marginalised.

Why Public sector workers are asking for a guaranteed pension in place of the NPS?

• Fluctuating pension returns: Because the NPS is market-based, pension returns fluctuate in accordance with market returns. This generates uncertainty and makes it difficult for employees to plan for life after retirement.
• Guaranteed pension: Employees in the public sector want a pension that will pay them a set sum after they retire. This will provide them with a steady and predictable post-retirement existence.
• Employee contribution: A major portion of the new contributory guaranteed pension system (CGPS) will be paid by the employees themselves. This is in contrast to the previous pension programme (OPS), which required no employee contribution.
• Protection from market volatility: The CGPS protects employees from market fluctuations. If the market return exceeds the guaranteed pension, the difference is pocketed by the state. Overall, the additional burden on the CGPS may be minor in comparison to the NPS.
• Burden-sharing: The CGPS ensures that the burden of uncertainty is shared by all employees. In the OPS, elite workers benefit at the expense of their lower-income colleagues. However, as with the NPS, the burden in the CGPS is only the employer’s contribution portion.

Potential drawbacks of a CGPS

• Employee contribution burden increases: Employees will continue to contribute a fixed proportion of their basic wage to their pension under the CGPS. This may place a greater strain on them than the existing system, in which their contribution varies according to market results.
• Additional administrative burden: Implementing a new pension plan, such as CGPS, may impose additional administrative burdens and expenditures on the government, which may be difficult to manage efficiently.
• Market return uncertainty: While the CGPS provides a fixed pension amount, it does not guarantee market returns. If market returns are lower than predicted, the government will be forced to pay the difference between the guaranteed and real pension.

Way ahead

• For public sector employees, the government may explore establishing the Contributory Guaranteed Pension Scheme (CGPS) as an alternative to the New Pension Scheme (NPS).
• The CGPS would allow the state to keep any extra market profits rather than bearing the entire burden of uncertain market returns as the NPS does.
• To boost revenue and lessen reliance on fixed fiscal receipts, the government should explore rationalising taxes, such as imposing inheritance and wealth taxes.
• The government should form a special task team to rationalise pensions and address the question of long-term pension sustainability.
• A potential disadvantage of the CGPS is that it may necessitate a higher contribution from employees, which may reduce their take-home income during their working life. This might be remedied, though, by providing tax discounts or other incentives to encourage employees to pay to the scheme.

@the end

The present pension debate in India has highlighted the necessity for a well-designed and sustainable pension programme that can meet the needs of public sector employees while remaining fiscally reasonable. The CGPS is a feasible alternative to the OPS and the NPS in that it provides public sector employees with a guaranteed pension after retirement while being mostly supported by the employees themselves. While there may be some difficulties in implementing the CGPS, with proper planning and execution, it could serve as a model for sustainable and equitable pension schemes that can support the growing needs of India’s ageing workforce.

Source: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/ap-offers-guaranteed-pension-scheme-for-govt-employees/article65366500.ece