Agriculture should remain top priority
Even after the pandemic is gone, agriculture should remain a focus area of the government
The government’s decision to hike MSP for rabi crops sends the right message to the farming community, especially at a time when they are up in arms against the contentious farm laws. Deeper engagement with farmers is key to ensure every stakeholder is on board to usher in a productive ecosystem.
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme has helped in giving the government a way to reach out to small and needy farmers. Focus on agriculture should remain even after the situation returns to normalcy. Policy announcements should not be an afterthought.
The sector’s performance in this pandemic environment has stood out and has been able to partially mitigate the woes of rural India, doing the heavylifting in employment generation. When industry and the service sector shut down during the pandemic, the farm sector absorbed a lot of the workers who migrated from the cities and towns to the villages in search of livelihood.
For long, the policymakers have tried to put the interests and objections of the industry at the forefront. This has resulted in alienation of a significant community that has played a stirring role in the evolution of this country.
The need of the hour is to ensure the agriculture community is assured of government support so that they can continue to contribute to the economic progress of this country. One important value addition potential that India is yet to significantly tap is the forward linkages of the agri-based industries that can be the entire food processing industry. It can hugely boost economic growth.