{"id":5885,"date":"2017-12-21T17:51:45","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T12:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teekhapan.wordpress.com\/?p=5885"},"modified":"2017-12-21T17:51:45","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T12:21:45","slug":"the-crisis-in-indias-agriculture-sector-which-no-one-is-really-talking-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/2017\/12\/21\/the-crisis-in-indias-agriculture-sector-which-no-one-is-really-talking-about\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crisis in India’s Agriculture Sector Which No One is Really Talking About"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nThe slow growth of agriculture remains a weak link in the overall Indian economy. Let’s take a look at Figure 1. Figure 1 uses the new gross domestic product (GDP) series, which was launched in January 2015, to plot the GDP growth and the growth of agriculture, forestry and fishing, within that, over the last few years.<\/p>\n
What does Figure 1 tell us? It tells us very clearly that the overall GDP growth is much faster than the growth in agriculture on the whole. There are exceptions to this rule. In the period of three months ending December 2013 and March 2014, growth in agriculture was a little faster than the overall GDP growth.<\/p>\n
Figure 1: <\/p>\n
The trouble is that the new GDP series has data starting from only June 2011. Given this, we have growth rates from June 2012 onwards. In order to look at periods before June 2012, we need to use the old GDP series. On the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy website, I could find data from December 1999 onwards.<\/p>\n
I have plotted that data in Figure 2. Figure 2 plots the overall GDP growth along with the growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing.<\/p>\n
Figure 2: <\/p>\n
Figure 2 like Figure 1 clearly tells us that even as per the old GDP series, the GDP growth as a whole was much faster than the growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing. Of course, there were occasions (though not many) where the overall GDP growth was slower than growth in agriculture.<\/p>\n
The result of this slower growth has been the size of agriculture as a part of the overall economy has been shrinking over the years. This becomes clear from Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 uses the new GDP series data, whereas Figure 4 uses, the old GDP series data.<\/p>\n
Figure 3: <\/p>\n
Figure 4: <\/p>\n
What Figures 3 and 4 tell us very clearly is that the size of agriculture as a part of the overall economy (measured by the GDP) has shrunk rapidly over the years. This has happened because the overall GDP (i.e.the non-agriculture part of the economy) has grown at a faster rate.<\/p>\n
As can be seen from Figure 4, in 1950-1951, agriculture formed more than 40 per cent of the economy. By now it is down to 12 per cent. This has happened as the average land holding on which farming is carried out has fallen over the years, as land has been divided across generations. The average size of the land farmed by the Indian farmer has fallen over the decades and in 2010-2011, the last time the agriculture census was carried out, stood at 1.16 hectares. In 1970-1971 it had stood at 2.82 hectares. This fall in farm size has made farming in many parts of the country, an unviable activity, leading to the size of agriculture as a part of the economy becoming smaller and smaller.<\/p>\n
The trouble is that agriculture still employs a large portion of the workforce. While, it’s contribution to the overall economy has come down, a large number of people continue to remain dependent on income from agriculture. Take a look at Table 1.<\/p>\n
Table 1:<\/p>\n