Agriculture development - Some insights

Indian agriculture, once stagnant, has now entered a dynamic phase.
The simple, self-contained family pursuit is thus enormously externalized.
As such, the backward and forward linkages happen to be very strategic.
But, these linkages form only the “necessary conditions” for development.

Agriculture is serving today two eminently important purposes --
creating wealth and providing livelihoods. The farming community,
too, has evolved into two distinct entities – a small segment of
out-going, venture-some and enterprising farmers capitalizing
the emerging opportunities, and a large majority of inward-looking,
resource-poor and conformist farmers just seeking security of livelihoods.
While the first group is able to quickly avail the economic incentives provided,
the latter seems to be groping in a confused world to find a direction to their efforts.

Development in agriculture becomes a reality, in a substantive measure,
only when the bottom segment of the farmers become capable of availing
the economic opportunities. The capacity building of this vast majority alone
will amount to creating the “sufficient conditions” for development.
Till then, agriculture development would remain a stunted process.