One-Umbrella Implementation: The Only Chance at Revival

Indian agriculture is faced with high price volatility, weather hazards, and debt. Since most farmers—

86%—are small and marginal with decreasing and fragmenting land holdings, these uncertainties
make them more susceptible and risk-prone. The last two budgets of the Indian government have
been pro-agriculture: more funds have been assigned to agriculture and a number of programs have
been launched to boost irrigated region, enhance soil health, encourage agro-processing and, among
many others, cover manufacturing risk.
Nevertheless, agrarian distress appears to be spreading quietly throughout all countries.

All these programs and systems seem to be disjointed and operate separately of one another. India
requires a five-point program that tackles agricultural problems and puts together under one cover
numerous continuing programs:

Increased Income:

Agricultural transformation in India is very slow. The method of creating greater agricultural revenue

is therefore also slow. Increasing production was the primary goal than increasing income. It is
gratifying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is proposing to double peasants' revenue by 2022, a
paradigm shift. This will involve a number of factors: an active effort to enhance technology by
enhancing the seed sector and the knowledge dissemination scheme; economic diversification in
favour of high-value crops and the creation of quality systems by connecting production and
distribution centres; and lastly, processes to guarantee minimum support prices. Success will rely on
how farmers are aggregated by promoting contract farming, group farming, farmer producer
organisations and self-help groups for production and marketing.

Building job possibilities:

India's Situation Assessment revealed that if alternative opportunities were accessible, more than 40 
percent of peasants would like to leave farming. Agriculture is becoming crowded and does not
provide possibilities for regular employment. Without regular employment in rural regions, the rural
population, particularly young people, are moving to metropolitan regions to pursue greater
possibilities and income. By 2020, individuals aged 15-34 will make up 34% of India's inhabitants;
more than 70% of India's youth are presently living in urban regions. Their energy and excitement
must be utilized in respects that fulfill their ambitions and transform agriculture and rural markets.
However, agriculture per se will not be equipped to handle the increasing amount of young people
in rural regions.

Incentives should be given in these fields: aggregation of fresh and manufactured products (one
instance: Lijjat Papad, which employs more than 43,000 females); self-employment in agro-
processing, agro-advisory, agriculture and rural transport, etc.; involvement of the private sector in
custom-hire facilities, secondary and tertiary processing; location-specific non-farm jobs in micro,
small and medium-sized businesses; linked the big manufacturing sector ; and engaging in public
programs, colleges, and expansion of agriculture.
Reducing Risks:

For years, the dangers faced by peasants have been growing. Production hazards as well as cost

dangers create continuing agrarian hardship. The incidences of droughts, storms, changes in
temperature, and unseasonal rains and hailstorms are growing and adversely influencing farm
output. But farm harvest rates have dropped steeply even during ordinary years, influencing
farmers' earnings negatively. The National Agricultural Insurance Scheme of the Prime Minister is
now in position to address some production losses. Although this scheme is good, there is
inadequate compensation and it does not address the danger of dropping prices. The government
should consider launching a “Prime Minister’s Climate Resilience Scheme” that covers both
production and price risks Such a strategy could combine climate-smart agriculture advancement
with value-added climate consultative facilities and efficient agricultural insurance execution to help
guarantee minimum aid rates.

Developing Adequate Infrastructure

Agri-infrastructure — including agrarian markets, cold storage, warehouses, and agro-processing — 
has not evolved with increasing crop production at a matching velocity. The speed of agro-
infrastructure is far behind what is required to enhance the general agri-food system.
More attention has been placed on agricultural commodity production in the past. The supply chains
of agri-food commodities are in the hands of an unorganized, divided, and inefficient industry in the
lack of appropriate agri-infrastructure. Because of the absence of business viability to create agri-
infrastructure, a stronger structured private sector is developing very slowly. In creating agri-
infrastructure for large financial and social benefits, the function of public-private partnerships (PPP)
is enormous. The government should set up a committee in the agri-infrastructure industry to create
modalities and suggestions for public-private partnerships. Many lessons from PPP's outstanding
track record in constructing national highways, constructing and operating airports, power
distribution, and other fields can be learned. These can be implemented to the development of rural
agri-markets, cold storage, agro-processing, ground water, and agrarian expansion, and other agri-
infrastructure components.

In order to boost general economic growth, it is high time to revive India's agricultural sector and en
hance purchasing power at the bottom of the pyramid. This can only be achieved by concentrating o
n important fields and under one umbrella execution programs.