The ‘maize revolution’ could be India’s next productivity-led farm success
India’s agriculture sector achieved a historically high annual growth rate of 4.68% over the past decade, with farmer incomes rising faster than in manufacturing and the wider economy. Growth has been driven by horticulture, dairy, poultry and fisheries, while field crops covering 85% of cropped area have shown relatively sluggish performance.
Indian agriculture has significantly transformed over the past decade. The average annual growth rate of gross value added in agriculture has reached a historically high level of 4.68 per cent. Growth in farmers’ income has surpassed that of producers in manufacturing and the broader non-agricultural economy. However, this growth story has not been uniform across all segments of agriculture, and there are serious concerns about growth driven by prices instead of technology.
The acceleration in growth is mainly driven by high-value sectors such as horticulture, dairy, poultry and fisheries. In contrast, the growth performance of field crops — including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and fibres — has remained relatively sluggish. This is particularly important because field crops occupy about 85 per cent of the gross cropped area and represent a much larger segment of the agriculture and farming population.
To Read more about Maize News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : Business Standard
