Agriculture's contribution to India's GDP has declined from 50 per cent to 20 per cent. How alarming is this?
It is not a bad thing because it is only diversification of the economy. When secondary and tertiary sectors grow, naturally the contribution of the primary sector will go down.
But the number of people dependant on agriculture has gone up... there are 70 crore people in India now...
Yes, this is unique to our country -- that the number of people dependant on agriculture has not gone down. In countries like the US, Japan etc, only two to three per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture. 97 per cent is involved in other vocations.
But in our country, two-thirds of the population is involved in farming, which includes animal husbandry, crop husbandry, fisheries, and forestry. That is why there is so much rural poverty.
The small and marginal farmers have something to eat but at least 20 per cent are landless labourers. And 60 per cent of our farming land is dry, un-irrigated. So, they have to depend on the monsoon.
The farmers' suicides highlighted once again the need to focus our attention on rural areas and the fate of small and marginal farmers.
Did you anticipate this kind of a food crisis?
I have been anticipating this crisis for many years. When we had very large quantities of grains a few years ago, when (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee was the prime minister, there was some euphoria that we have solved the problem of food production.
Image: Harjeet Singh harvests his crop of wheat in a field in Khasa village on the outskirts of Amritsar. India is seeking to bump up wheat production after its import of grain raised alarm bells about the country's food security. Photograph: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images
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