Indian Agriculture to 2047: Reshaping Policies for Sustainable Development

Indian agriculture has reached the stage of unprecedented achievements, accompanied by unprecedented challenges. It has witnessed an all-time high growth of approximately 4% during the past decade ending 2023-24, which is likely to continue with the right set of technologies, policies and institutions. However, it is pertinent to examine the factors underlying these achievements and their associated costs to prepare a roadmap for sustainable growth of agriculture to achieve the national goals of food and nutrition security, and inclusive development. In some states, agricultural sector has emerged as the primary driver of economic growth. However, this occurred because of the intensive use of resources and prioritizing short-term gains over long-term sustainability in most cases. This is evidenced by the factors such as increased use of fertilizers to produce the same amount of output, declining groundwater levels, soil degradation, and environmental pollution.