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Moving Forward: Indian Agriculture in 2025
Context:
As we step into the new year, Indian agriculture faces an opportunity to transform into a climate-resilient, productive, and inclusive sector. The challenges of rising food inflation, climate change impacts, and stagnant rural wages demand immediate attention. Ensuring a vibrant agricultural sector is crucial not only for food security but also for the prosperity of millions of farmers and laborers who form the backbone of India’s economy.
Present Needs of Indian Agriculture:
- Climate Resilience: Develop and promote farming systems that can withstand extreme weather events and temperature variations.
- Productivity Growth: Higher crop yields are essential to combat food inflation and ensure economic stability.
- Improved Wages: Real wages for farm workers need to increase to reduce rural poverty and support inclusive growth.
- Efficient Agri-Extension: A robust network to bridge the gap between research institutions and farmlands is vital.
Threats and Challenges Faced by Indian Agriculture:
- Wheat Production Mismatch
- Disparity exists between government estimates and private trade assessments of wheat production.
- Inadequate stocks and suppressed prices (₹2,300/quintal in open market operations vs MSP of ₹2,450) are anti-farmer.
- Taking Climate-Resilient Crops from Lab to Farm: Though 109 climate-resilient crop varieties were introduced, weak agri-extension systems hinder their adoption.
- Impact of Climate Change
- 2024 was the warmest year since 1901, with temperatures 0.9°C higher than the long-term average.
- A 1°C temperature increase can reduce wheat output by 5%, particularly during grain formation.
- Stagnation of Rural Wages: The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) indicates rural wages, including farm wages, have stagnated or declined over the past five years, affecting millions of workers.
- Freebies Culture: Political promises like cash incentives undermine fiscal discipline and fail to provide sustainable solutions for rural development.
Steps Taken by the Indian Government to Raise Productivity:
- Introduction of Climate-Resilient Crops: Launch of varieties that can endure adverse weather conditions.
- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan): Direct income support to farmers.
- Increased MSP: Regular revisions to support farmers’ income.
- Infrastructure Development: Investments in irrigation, roads, and rural markets.
What Further Steps Are Needed to Boost Agriculture:
- Boosting Agri-Extension and Agri-R&D
- Strengthen Agri-Extension Networks: Ensure climate-resilient crops reach farmers effectively.
- Invest in R&D: Allocate higher budgets for developing innovative solutions tailored to India’s diverse agro-climatic conditions.
- Stopping Freebies Culture
- Replace populist measures with targeted investments in infrastructure and human capital.
- Encourage Election Commission oversight and judicial interventions to curb irrational promises.
- Rationalising Subsidies and Schemes
- Fertiliser Subsidies: Merge with PM-Kisan and provide direct per-hectare cash transfers to farmers.
- Food Subsidies: Introduce digital coupons for essential nutritious items.
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- MGNREGA: Align with agricultural work and integrate with housing schemes like PM Awas Yojana.
- Redirect savings from rationalised subsidies (potentially ₹1 lakh crore) to roads, water harvesting, and rural market upgrades.
Utility of the Farm Sector:
- Achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047
- Agriculture is the foundation for India’s inclusive development and rural prosperity.
- A robust farm sector will address food security, reduce poverty, and drive economic growth.
- Controlling Inflation: Increased productivity can stabilize food prices and enable monetary policy flexibility, including lowering interest rates.
- Mitigating Climate Impact: Promoting sustainable farming practices will help combat the adverse effects of climate change.
