For the past 15 years, Indian agri- cultural sector has been given a target of 4% growth per year. While this has been elusive for the most part, recent trends indicate that the agricultural GDP has been growing at 4.6% for the past three years—5.78% in 2005-06, 3.76% in 2006-07, and 4.55% in 2007-08. Is this a coincidence or a result of organized sector transformation?

Rural and agriculture sectors will continue to play an important role in sustaining the recent economic growth in India. However, agricultural productivity has been low for the last two decades. Public investment in agricultural sector has been stagnant. Agriculture subsidies are growing, while rural investments are declining. There is an increasing recognition now that agricultural investments have to be boosted, but it is not clear to what extent and where the new resources should be invested. Issues related to governance, institutional capacity and policies will have to go hand in hand with such investments if the current agricultural growth trends are to fully benefit a majority of the rural masses who continue to be poor and marginalized even now. A major concern is how to systematically nurture the recent trends in higher agricultural growth.

Although agricultural growth is picking up, contribution of agriculture towards poverty reduction remains low. Of late, farming is not remunerative at all. Income disparity between farmers/ rural communities and the urban consumers is widening. Farmers are not fully mainstreamed in the recent overall economic growth. About 40% of the farmers' reports in a recent national sample survey indicate that they would quit agriculture, given other opportunities. Till recently, farmer-suicides were rampant in a few parts of the country. All these indicate that Indian agriculture needs a revival.

Analyst Magazine, Indian Agriculture, Economic Growth, Agricultural Productivity, Indian Agri- Cultural Sector, Green Revolution, Information Communication Technology, ICT, Indian Economy, Agricultural Research, Rural Development, Agricultural Sector.