Be Mains Ready

Approach:

• Briefly highlight inequality that exists in India's growth scenario and explain the role that agriculture can play in bringing inclusiveness in Indian society.
• Discuss the issues that impede agricultural growth.
• Discuss various government interventions related to agriculture
• Provide a way forward prescribing the need for a policy that promotes diversification of agricultural labour to other sectors.

Key fodder points:

• India has sustained the rapid growth of GDP for most of the last two decades leading to the doubling of per capita incomes in 12 years but agricultural growth remained subdued (below 4%).
• Also according to the Oxfam report, India's top 1% of the population now holds 73% of the wealth
• Importance of agriculture in inclusive growth: Every percentage point of growth in agriculture is at least two to three times as important in alleviating poverty as the same growth in other sectors.
• Key issues in agriculture that impede farmer income growth:
  
  • Productivity issue and rising input cost
  • Market irregularities
  • Lack of intersectoral linkages.
  • Policy dilemma: The rise in farmer income will come from high yielding crops like dairy, horticulture etc. but government policy is still cereal centric
  • Issue of disguised unemployment
• Key government interventions:
  
  • Government's call for doubling farmer's income by 2022
  • Swaminathan MSP(1.5 times of previous MSP) provided by the government to farmers
  • Recent schemes like PM KISAN yojana can be quoted.
  • Government efforts in the promotion of food processing industry.
  • Reforms in agri marketing like model APMC, e-NAM etc.
  • Push to horticulture, organic farming and food processing with policy support.
• Ashok Dalwai committee report on doubling of farmers income.
• Need for government to develop capacity in another sector of the economy so that diversification of the workforce can take place and more inclusiveness in society can be brought.