Focus on agriculture: Alhuwalia

Umiam (Meghalaya), Nov 9: Deputy Planning Commission Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has urged agricultural economists and scientists to concentrate on India's agricultural performance.

''If we are going to get 4 per cent growth in agriculture, it will only be possible if there is a very substantial diversification in crop agriculture and in agriculture in general,'' Mr Ahluwalia said while delivering a special lecture at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE) here, yesterday.

However, the Deputy Planning Commission Chairman suggested more investment in the farm sector to ensure rise in national GDP, employment and increase farmers' income.

He informed that even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Planning Commission that the formulation of the 11th Five Year Plan should pay special attention in identifying specific terms, the kind of policies that need to be put in place to double the agriculture growth rate.

Admitting that there was not adequate and sustained focus on the agricultural sector, Mr Ahluwalia said the country's economic reforms had little impact on the lives of the farmers. He said the current agricultural research have also failed to offer the remedies for agricultural transformation. ''The institutional support on farm sectors was very insignificant and we need to improve on both these aspects'', he asserted.

On the extension system from the laboratory to the field, the Deputy Chairman said, this was another dimension which has been neglected for a variety of reasons which were in the domain of the state governments. Often, the state governments failed to deliver due to resource constraints, he said.

Echoing the same views, Planning Commission member Prof. Abhijit Sen said India cannot afford to let agriculture languish, especially in a country where a large mass of population depended on it.

He urged the agriculture economists and scientists to focus on key issues like how to feed our growing millions, ensure employment and income for the rural mass, with the dwindling land, water and other natural resources.

UNI