The
agriculture and allied sector continues to be pivotal to the sustainable growth
and development of the Indian economy. Not only does it meet the food and
nutritional requirements of 1.3 billion Indians, it contributes significantly
to production, employment and demand generation through various backward and
forward linkages. Moreover, the role of the agricultural sector in alleviating
poverty and in ensuring the sustainable development of the economy is well
established. The sector is, however, currently facing a dilemma. While it has
made large strides in achieving the agricultural development goals of food
security, availability and accessibility, it is still being challenged by a
formidable agrarian crisis. This situation has recently led to fresh thinking
on the developmental approach in the agriculture sector. The need for focusing
on the welfare and prosperity of farmers has gained prominence. Consequently,
the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation was renamed, by the Honourable PM on
Independence Day 2015, as the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and
Farmers Welfare. In this fresh approach, priority is to be accorded to making
the agriculture and allied sector not only ecologically sustainable in its use
of natural resources of soil, water and forests, but also socio-economically
sustainable to farmers in terms of prosperity, welfare and social security.
Innovating managerial solutions to maximize farmers’ welfare rather than
relying solely on modern farming to raise productivity and production is the
clarion call of the day.
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