Hyderabad: Vice-President M Hamid Ansari today stressed the need to strengthen “Grow in India” program to transform the socio-economic fabric of our agricultural sector.
Delivering keynote address at the National Seminar on ‘Public Investment and Subsidies on Agricultural Inputs and the Uplift of Agrarian Economy’, at RTC Kalyan Mandap here, organized by the All India Kisan Sabha, the Vice President said the government needs to take bold steps to translate good intentions into action to tackle the deficiencies in farming. “This would, however, require a strong political will and the need to develop a wide political consensus. We need a social corrective along with the economic correctives to redress these challenges in development of rural sector, as mere infusion of funds might not be enough unless the underlying social gaps and divisions are plugged”, the Vice President stated.
Ansari also said the criticality of Agriculture in the socio-economic fabric of India is evident that almost half of the workforce in India still remains dependent on agriculture. He said the issue of farmer’s suicides is certainly a complex one but it brings into sharp focus the stresses that the agricultural sector in India is now subject to. Ansari
observed that small farms are weak in terms of generating adequate income and sustaining livelihood. Their participation in agricultural market remains low due to a range of constraints such as low volumes, high transaction costs, lack of markets and information access, he added.
The Vice President said the enhanced public expenditure in agriculture — in the form of increased investments, rather than un-targeted subsidies – is required to bring about technical change in agriculture, and higher agricultural growth.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and other dignitaries attended the program. (NSS)
Strengthen Agriculture thru’ “Grow in India” program: VP
