Agricultural reforms need to be improved to achieve 4% growth

New Delhi, May 24 (UNI) Stressing an urgent need for a 'Second Green Revolution', the Government today made it clear that a higher trajectory of four per cent annual growth in agriculture can be met only with agricultural reforms.

Improvements in the scale as well as quality of agricultural reforms undertaken by states and various agencies at the grass root level of operations will facilitate this growth.

One of the major challenges of the 11th Five Year Plan will be to reverse the deceleration in agricultural growth that the economy is experiencing over the last decade and increasing the agricultural growth rate by at least double the current levels, Minister of State for Agriculture, Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Akhilesh Prasad Singh said while presenting the National Productivity Awards for the agriculture sector here.

''There is an urgent need for a 'Second Green Revolution' in this country,'' he added.

The next Five Year Plan aims at putting the economy on a sustainable growth rate of about 10 per cent by the end of the plan period.

In order to achieve this, agriculture growth is targetted at 4 per cent per year. This rapid growth of the sector is essential for achieving the inclusive growth objective of the plan.

In India, agriculture contributes about 21 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and constitutes 11 per cent of total exports and provides employment to around 56 per cent of the work force, Dr Singh added.

He said growth in agriculture would not only enable us to be self-reliant but also help meet the food and nutritional security of the people. The Government has duly recognised the problems faced by this sector and is taking all possible steps to increase its productivity.

The Government is also taking effective steps to enable farmers have easy access to credit at affordable rates. Access to financial resources not only helps them to exploit investment opportunities but also reduces their vulnerability to shocks and promotes economic growth.

The goal of doubling farm credit in three years was achieved in two years. Till December 2006, 53.37 lakh new farmers have been brought under the institutional credit system, the Minister informed.

A network of rural godowns and cold storages is also being created throughout the country to provide the facility of safe and scientific storage to the farming community thus avoiding produce deterioration and distress sales, Dr Singh said and added that the Bharat Nirman Programme envisages creation of 10 million hectares of additional assured irrigation during the period 2005-09.

The Minister also informed that the Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) that is presently in 262 districts will be extended to another 300 districts in 2007-08. Further, he integration of research, education and extension is of prime importance in bridging the gap between current productivity levels and the potential of existing production technologies.

Dr Singh also commended a catalytic role played by National Productivity Council (NPC) in promoting productivity of the Agricultural sector and taking into account majority of the stakeholders under the 14 categories, who play a critical role in the growth process of this vital sector.

Rajasthan was awarded for outstanding performance in rabi 2004-05 for exceeding the production targets by 49.62 per cent, increase in productivity by 13.53 per cent and increase in area coverage in the state by 22.38 per cent.

The total score of Rajasthan was the highest among all states.

A cash prize of Rs one crore in the form of grant and a silver plaque was presented to Rajasthan Minister of agriculture and Cooperative at the function.

This year, 60 NPC Awards in 14 categories of Agriculture were distributed for the years 2005 and 2006.

UNI