Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, he called for converting challenges faced by farmers into opportunities. He urged Indian states to prioritise the agriculture sector with a target of doubling the income of the farmers by 2022. Agriculture should be made employment-oriente...
The Indian economy is taking fast strides towards attaining higher growth. But such growth cannot be achieved without factoring in the demands from the agrarian sector, which employs around 50% of the country’s population. The country’s economy has reaped the benefits of the green revolution an...
About 50% of the main workers in India still earn their livelihood from agriculture. Although the sectorial contribution of agriculture has now come down to about 17% of our GDP, one cannot ignore the problems of agriculture because half of the working population in India still remains engaged in th...
Q. What are your views on the growth of mechanisation or equipment-based agriculture?A. Agricultural equipment have existed perhaps as long as agriculture. In the context of mechanisation, I presume the question is the power source used for the agricultural equipment. Till about 50 years ago, the so...
An idea of sustainability in agricultureA recent important media report claimed that a growing number of farmers in Punjab are interested in cultivating rice. The change of mind-set is due to some advantage of rice production over wheat or other products in the state. Punjab enjoys the biggest advan...
In India, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommends the minimum support prices (MSP) for agricultural commodities (currently for 23 products). On the basis of the recommendation, the Government of India announces the MSPs at the beginning of the sowing seasons. The MSP is a form of...
According to the Economic Survey 2018, long-term weather patterns indicate that climate change could reduce annual agricultural incomes in the range of 15% to 18% on average and up to 20% to 25% for unirrigated areas in India. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to hike the farm credit target by ...
Rural infrastructure is essential for improving the quality of human life in India’s rural hinterlands and for accelerating the process of agricultural development. According to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, agricultural infrastructure can be categorised into three broad ca...
The government’s push on infrastructure and opening up the sector to 100% foreign direct investment is commendable. However, India needs over $1.5 trillion in the next decade to build its needed infrastructure. Agricultural infrastructure also needs a boost. Renewed focus needs to be put on irriga...