thrust areas for the agriculture sector include enhancing public sector investment in research and effective transfer

of technology along with institutional reforms in research set up to make it more accountable and geared towards delivery, conservation of land, water and biological resources, development of rainfed agriculture, development of minor irrigation, timely and adequate availability of inputs, support for marketing infrastructure, increasing flow of credit particularly to the small and marginal farmers. report highlights the fall in contribution of agriculture to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which has gone down to 13.9 per cent agriculture forms the backbone of development, as 52 per cent of Indias work force is still engaged in agriculture for its livelihood and is important for food security and inclusive growth. Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India (BGREI) has been started to increase the productivity of the cropping system mainly rice, wheat, maize, pulses through promotion of innovative production technologies and agronomical practices State of Indian Agriculture report emphasises the need to bridge the yield gap in low productivity regions by technology, inputs and other interventions report takes note of the structural changes in the composition of Indian agriculture, leading to diversification into horticulture, livestock and fisheries since the 1990s. shares of fruits & vegetables and livestock have shown an increasing trend in recent years Bringing in reforms to streamline domestic markets and expanding the infrastructure and institutions to connect local markets with national and global markets, will go a long way in improving Indias competiveness private sector responds much better and faster there is a need for bringing in reforms in the incentive structure in agriculture. report calls for creation of additional employment opportunities in the non-farm and manufacturing sectors, especially in agro based rural industries

This would require suitable skill development of the people so as to gainfully employ them in non- farm activities. while MGNREGS has contributed toward water conservation and water harvesting structures, drought proofing and tree plantation, flood control, micro and minor irrigation works and land development which will have a positive impact on agricultural productivity, it has also led to a substantial increases in the wage rates of agricultural labourers, reduced the availability of labor for agricultural operations and increased the cost of cultivation report cautions that water scarcity will intensify in future with increase in population and demand for food, and the current water use practices cannot be sustained over the long run report estimates that even a rise of 5 per cent irrigation efficiency can increase the irrigation potential by 10-15 million ha. On farm credit, the report calls for innovative ways to reach people still out of the umbrella of institutional credit. the biggest challenge remains in terms of increasing access to credit, particularly for the bottom 40 percent. they rely largely on the informal sector for credit with high rates of interest. Imperfect market conditions and restrictions on the movement of agricultural commodities are not letting the farmers to realize the true value of their produce linking of small and fragmented farms with large-scale processors and retailers remains a challenge government is promoting Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in infrastructure development through viability gap funding support