Agriculture can trigger job-led economic growth, provided it becomes intellectually satisfying and economically rewarding.
If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right.
Agriculture is the backbone of the livelihood security system of nearly 700 million people in the country and we need to build our food security on the foundation of home grown food.
Leadership is something which other people have to recognize. You cannot demand that I am a leader.
Floods will become more serious and frequent in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Drought induced food and water scarcity will become more acute. South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the small islands will be the worst victims.
Farming is the riskiest profession in the world since the fate of the crop is closely linked to the behaviour of the monsoon.
See, technology can advance yield and productivity, but only public policy can advance the income of farmers. There has to be a synergy between technology and public policy.
There are two major challenges before Indian agriculture today: ecological and economical. The conservation of our basic agricultural assets such as land, water, and biodiversity is a major challenge. How to make agriculture sustainable is the challenge.
Most pesticides lose their efficacy after a few years, because of pest resistance to pesticides. This is why companies go on changing the varieties.
The future of food security will depend on a combination of the ecological prudence of the past and the technological advances of today.
Farmers in rain-fed, dry areas such as Vidarbha and parts of Andhra Pradesh may own several hectares of land but their farm produce depends on the vagaries of the monsoon.
To sum up, agriculture has made important progress and our farmers have now shown that they are second to none in terms of improving production and productivity.
Agriculture involves crop husbandry, animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries. Your income will go up only if you look at the system, and not from one crop alone.
Ultimately, multiple livelihood opportunities alone can insulate farmers in rainfed areas from the debt trap.
Land is becoming a diminishing resource for agriculture, in spite of a growing understanding that the future of food security will depend upon the sustainable management of land resources as well as the conservation of prime farmland for agriculture.
India's future has to be built on the foundation of social protection of the economically and socially handicapped sections.
To ensure food security for all, we should be clear about the definition of the problem, the precise index of measuring impact and the road map to achieve the goal.
Contract farming can be promoted if it is structured on the basis of a win-win situation both for the producer and the purchaser.
Training of farmers in integrated pest management is exceedingly important to protect them during the use of pesticides.
You want to live in harmony with nature and with each other.
