State of Indian Agriculture: A NAAS publication

Indian agriculture has registered a phenomenal growth during the last four decades. The production of major agricultural commodities such as foodgrains, vegetables, fruits, milk, egg and fish has increased several folds. As a result, the per capita availability of important food items has increased, despite increase in population. The increase in the domestic agricultural production has also made a visible impact on the national food and nutritional security. However, poverty and undernourishment still continue to afflict more than one fifth of our population. The share of agriculture in the national GDP and in the employment has reduced from nearly 51% and 72% to 18% and 52% respectively during 1951 - 2008 owing to expansion of industrial and service sectors. The Indian agriculture has dominance of small and marginal farmers. The ratio of agricultural land to population is almost 0.3 hectare/person in India as compared to over 11 hectare/person in the developed countries. With a global share of 2.3% of land, 4.2% of water and 17% of population, the per capita availability of resources in India is 4-6 times less than the world average. The pressure on the limited natural resources is getting further intensified with diversion of agricultural land, water and labour towards industrial, urban and nonagricultural sectors. Also, environmental impact on agriculture is getting pronounced in several regions and situations. Our burgeoning population and rise in income level have led to increase in demand not only for basic food requirements but also for value-added food products. The increased food production has to be achieved from the limited or diminishing resources and in this scenario the role of science and technology has become crucial. To overcome challenges facing agricultural growth, it is important to regularly review and analyze emerging constraints and opportunities so as to modify/reorient our research and development strategies and approach by putting policies and programmes in perspective. In this endeavour, the first issue of State of Indian Agriculture series has been published by the Academy in 2009. It is an attempt to provide a critical analysis of the overarching issues in Indian agriculture today. The publication is the outcome of a series of brainstorming sessions spread over 14 months and active reviews by more than 130 of Indias renowned agricultural experts. It is hoped that this volume will prove useful to all those interested in the promotion of agriculture. The Academy shall be grateful to the readers for providing feedback to enhance the utility of the publication in future.