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GDP data for FY 2015 shows agriculture grew by just 0.2% in the fiscal year
If any more proof was required that India’s agriculture sector is in distress, the gross domestic product data for 2014-15 provides it. Agriculture grew by just 0.2% in the fiscal year, compared with overall economic growth of 7.3%.
For a country where a majority of the population is still dependent on agriculture for a livelihood, the minuscule growth is nothing short of disaster. It is true that agricultural growth follows a cyclical trend, but in a year that unseasonal rains have caused severe damage to crops, this is grim news.
In the days and weeks ahead, there will be calls to waive agriculture loans and help farmers by increasing minimum support prices for crops.
What India needs is much greater public investment in agriculture, the kind that has been missing for decades now. Agriculture needs a structural change, moving it away from subsidies to investment. Unless that is done, cyclical downturns will turn into crises.
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