Agriculture still remains the backbone of the Indian economy and forms the livelihood base for a very large proportion of our population. The point to be always kept in mind is that if agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will go right for us as over 25% of our GDP comes from it. But there are some specific problems faced by the sector—qualitative deterioration of the very foundations of good agriculture such as good soil, water and biodiversity. This has been largely due to faulty policies of the local governments for reasons other than national interest. The perverse subsidies, groundwater mining and unsuitable crop choices in a given region are just a few of the problems.

Governments errand Successive governments have not done enough for the sector compared to the need. Much has already been said about parts of urban India shining, while a majority of the rural areas were languishing. Crop failure, credit burden leading to farmers’ suicides, circumscribed attitude of state governments in sharing river waters and lack of timely proactive measures to advice and help farmers during vagaries of monsoon and market trends—all have contributed to the situation.
The government has taken some key measures to help the sector in the recent budget which include incentives and support— both financial and infrastructural, for the resource-poor marginal farmers to transform their subsistence farms into vibrant agribusiness units. Some of the policies seem to be capable of bringing in structural changes of a more permanent nature. Promotion of rural agribusiness centers and agriclinics should pave the way for sustainable and vibrant crop and animal husbandry movement in the country. It is also expected that adherence to ‘codex alimentarius’ (standards of food quality) will also follow and this would mean a greater acceptance of our agri-horticultural and animal products in international markets. These policies can boost the sector provided they are implemented without distortions and dilutions.
Sustainable solution It is important that the governments provide a lasting solution to the problems faced by the sector and not just provisional ones. The most important thing for the governments to find a sustainable solution to problems in agricultural or for that matter in any other sector is to achieve effective family planning. A few highly populous states in the northern part of the country need particular attention. Sustainability cannot be achieved with only sustainable management of natural resources and attractive policies. Population control ought to be the top priority for this. No government in post-independent India has tried to do this by offering incentives for couples with smaller families and having disincentives for men with several children through single or multiple marriages.