Agriculture sector is the mainstay of the Indian economy, contributing about 15 per cent of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more importantly, about half of India’s population is wholly or significantly dependent on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihood. This paper is aimed at strengthening agriculture sector in sustainable economic as well as human development.
Development of agriculture will help in upliftment of the farmers but also benefit the larger section of the rural poor who are directly engaged in agriculture or indirectly linked with agriculture as consumers. Efficient way of production, stabilized prices, higher income from agriculture would create a more conjugative environment in the country for the development of the economy as a whole and of rural population in particular.
Empowerment of the small and marginal farmers through education, reforms and development will ensure a better, efficient and strengthened Indian agriculture. Motivation new models in production and marketing along with creating awareness and imparting education to small farmers will help in development of the sector and more importantly improving the economic status of poor farmers. The action plan to strengthen agriculture in India needs to be on domestic reforms through reduction of government intervention in the market economy but playing major role as evaluator and implementation of the policies, increased investment and prioritising the area to invest, parallel action plans in this direction are needed in research to increase productivity and irrigation and water management.
Keywords: agriculture, Gross Domestic Product, five year plans, capital formation, agricultural credit
JEL Classification: A11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Amutha, D., Present Status of Indian Agriculture (June 19, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2739231 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2739231
Associate Professor of Economics, St. Mary's Coll
Thoothukudi, Tamilnadu 628001
India
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