Indian Agricultural Growth - Issues of

productivity, institutions and domestic

policies

Surabhi MittalSurabhi Mittal

ICRIER

Presented at Multi-country Research Dialogue of emerging economies organised by ICRIER and IDRC on April

12-13, 2010 at New Delhi.

Key Features

High concentration of population in agriculture

Declining contribution of agriculture to GDPDeclining contribution of agriculture to GDP

Agricultural output growth is highly volatile

Overall, marginalization of agriculture sector

Framework

Agricultural

Institutions

Agricultural

GrowthProductivity

Domestic

Policies

Productivity trends and sources of growth

• TFP growth show that the technological gains of early years of

GR have exhausted

• Diminishing returns to input use

• Crops show stagnant and negative growth in TFP

Trends

• Crops show stagnant and negative growth in TFP

• Research and Extension

• HYV’s

• Literacy

• Markets

• Electrification

• Irrigation

Sources of growth

Agricultural Institutions

• Land ceiling and

tenancy

structure is a

constraint to

adoption of

• Inspite of

government

initiatives, the

reach ability of

credit and

• Improved

extension with

involvement of

private sector

has helped in adoption of

technology and

increasing

productivity

Land

Reforms

credit and

insurance is not

satisfactory.

Credit and

Insurance

has helped in

increasing yields

and income.

Agriculture

Extension

Agricultural Policies

The inefficient price

support system act as

disincentive to producers

Food management

policies are catering to

only PDS and not able to

efficiently manage market

prices

Short term subsidization

is dearer to policy makers

than benefits from long

term investments in the

sector

Infrastructure Policies- Government Food

• Road

• Electrification

• Irrigation

• ITC

Government Food

security policies are

suffering from issues of

poor targeting and high

administrative costs

New seed technology is in

dilemma

Agriculture Market Policies- suffer from delayed

implementation and legislative issues

• Agricultural Produce Marketing Act

• Future trading

• Contract Framing

Answers are sought for?

Do we have the

technologies

Do we have the

political

Besides

government

what role can technologies

and policies to

motivate

increased

productivity?

political

willingness and

economic

environment to

do so?

what role can

other stake

holders play to

make the sector

grow?

Thank YouThank YouThank YouThank You

surabhi@icrier.res.in