Agriculture key to unlocking economic potential

Context: Understanding the pressure on agriculture sector in present Covid-19 crisis, there a need to rethink and shift from industrialised, liberalised farming economy.

Crisis Faced by India’s Rural population

• As per Economic Survey of 2019-20, 70% of rural households depend on agriculture for their livelihood, and NITI Aayog report highlighted that almost 3/4th of the states saw increase in poverty, hunger and inequality in 2019.
• NSSO reported fall in rural consumption by 8.8% 

Reinventing the approach towards agriculture:

• Crop diversification: government must incentivize the farmers to diversify into crops more suited for their lands by expanding the procurement system for millets, cereals, edible oils etc.

• Market provisioning: the government must focus on providing an assured price and an assured market.

• Agricultural Research : India spend only 0.3-0.4% of agricultural GDP on research (Brazil: 1.8%, Mexico: 1.05% and Malaysia: 1%), Ashok Dalwai Committee suggested 1% increased on research.

• Land use policies: technologically derived land use policies enhance efficiency and leads to sustainable development; use of remote sensing technology for data driven agricultural practices.

• Industrial Decentralisation: Industrialisation and agricultural sectors are not mutually exclusive; need to decentralise industries from urban to rural sector.

Way Forward

• The Covid-19 lockdown has shown vast inequalities between urban and rural India. A strong agricultural sector will help bridge that gap and herald a rebirth of Rural India.