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The overall production of the cereal and non-cereal crops has reached almost the plateau stage. The growth rate of agricultural sector is only about two per cent. Looking at the growing demand of agricultural produce, there is an urgent need for undertaking agriculture to a higher trajectory of four per cent annual growth rate. In order to achieve these objectives, various governments have undertaken important steps towards agricultural reforms. These reforms aim at efficient use of resources and conservation of soil, water and ecology on a sustainable basis, and in holistic framework. The main objectives of the second Green Revolution are: (i) To raise agricultural productivity to promote food security (ii) More emphasis on bio-technology (iii) To promote substainable agriculture (iv) To become self sufficient in staple food, pulses, oil seeds, and industrial raw material (v) To increase the per capita income of the farmers and to raise their standard of living. The holistic framework, thus, must incorporate financing of rural infrastructure such as irrigation, roads and power.
The Eleventh Five-Year Plan has aptly highlighted such a holistic framework and suggested the following strategy to raise agricultural output:
1. Doubling the rate of growth ofirrigated area.
2. Improving water management, rainwater harvesting, and watershed development.
3. Reclaiming degraded land and focusing on soil quality.
4. Bridging the knowledge gap through effective extension.
5. Diversifying into high value outputs, e.g. fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs and spices, medicinal plants, bamboo, bio-diesel, but with adequate measures to ensure food security.
6. Providing easy access to credit at affordable rate of interest.
7. Improving the incentive structure and functioning of markets, and
8. Refocusing on land reforms issues.
9. Laying emphasis on the cultivation of pulses. With the limited availability of pulses overseas, development of hybrid varieties becomes a pre- requisite for increasing domestic production.
10. Focusing on the development of area specific seeds and their application.
11. Attention has to be focused on areas such as rainfed, drought-prone crops, and drought resistant crops, and those amenable to biotechnological application.
The National Commission on Farmers has already laid the foundation for such a framework. Moreover, the National Agricultural Innovation Project initiated in July, 2006, for enhancing livelihood security in partnership mode with farmers’ groups, Panchayati-Raj institution and private sector would go a long way in strengthening basic and strategic research in frontier agricultural sciences.