AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED SECTOR
Agriculture (inclusive of animal husbandry, forestry and fishing) is central to the nutrition needs of India and remains the largest sector of India’s economy as a source of employment and accounts for 17% of India's GDP
major issue pertaining to Indian Agriculture
Low Agricultural Productivity
Policy Issues
Inefficient Agricultural Marketing
Input Challenges
Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act has also allowed the cartelization of traders that keeps farm-gate prices low
Inefficient MSP structure
Only 6% farmers get the benefit of MSP and remaining 94% are dependent on the markets
Large number of farmers want to quit
Climate Change
Low investment in Research & Development
Lack of enabling infrastructure along the value chain
Market Sluggishness
Rural Distress & Farmer Suicides
Agricultural NPA’s due to
Dependence of Monsoon
Increasing Rural Distress
Moral Hazard of Farm Loan Waiver
Using Loan Amount for Non-farming Purposes
Suggestions for tackling agricultural distress
Recommendations of Ashok Dalwai Committee on Doubling Famers’ Income by 2022
Recognize agriculture in India as an enterprise
Expand the mandate of agriculture
Pursue adoption of NITI Aayog’s Model Land Leasing Act by all the states and UTs
transit from the status of cultivators to farm managers
Water may be treated as the ‘determining factor’ of production- rather than considering it as a mere input
Creation of additional sources of water
Efficient use of water
Saving on ground water and its sustainability through recharge
Crop alignment based on ‘path of least resistance’
Adopt ‘Fork to Farm’ approach- by reversing the ‘Farm to Fork’ approach now accepted generally
Adopt monetisation of produce as the basis for maximising the value
Maximise monetisation possibilities by upgrading and harmonising the agri-logistics
Adopt new market architecture comprising GrAMs, alternate Wholesale markets (APMCs - in private & public sectors) and Export market
Promote Agricultural Value System (AVS) as a link between farms and markets
Adopt risk management strategies at all the stages of agriculture
Pre-and Post-production stages
Market risks
Replicate Meteorological Advisory Services across the country
Coverage of farming under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) should become a norm
Adopt an institutional mechanism for price & demand forecasting
Adopt an import-export duty structure, that helps domestic market sentiments
Improve Institutional Arrangement/Overhaul of the Union agriculture ministry
setting up a three-tier planning and review mechanism through district, state and national level
establishing a national level policy and planning committee to review the policy framework
Liberalize the definition of a ‘farmer’
to include cultivators, lessee farmers and sharecroppers
developing an online and annually authenticated database to identify a farmer and render him/her eligible to avail benefits of agriculture related support-system of government