India needs Green Revolution 2.0 to make agri more climate-resistant, sustainable: RBI
New Delhi .India needs a second green revolution along with the next generation of
reforms with a view to make agriculture more climate-resistant
and environmentally sustainable, said an RBI article on farm sector
challenges. Observing that Indian agriculture has exhibited remarkable
resilience during the COVID-19 period,the article said “new emerging
challenges warrant a second green revolution along with next-generation
reforms”.
Despite the success in terms of production that has ensured food security in
the country, food infation and its volatility remain a challenge, which requires
supply-side interventions such as higher public investment, storage
infrastructure and promotion of food processing, said the article titled ‘Indian
Agriculture: Achievements and Challenges’.
The article said Indian agriculture scaled new heights with record production
of various foodgrains, commercial and horticultural crops, exhibiting
For instance, crop productivity in India is much lower than other advanced
and emerging market economies due to various factors, like fragmented
landholdings, lower farm mechanisation and lower public and private
investment in agriculture.
Second, the article said the current overproduction of crops like rice, wheat
and sugarcane, has led to rapid depletion of the ground-water table, soil
degradation and massive air pollution raising questions about the
environmental sustainability of current agricultural practices in India.
Also, despite surplus production in many of the commodities, food inflation
and volatility in prices continue to remain high causing inconvenience to
consumers and low and fluctuating income for farmers.
“Addressing these challenges would require a second green revolution
focussed on the agriculture water-energy nexus, making agriculture more
climate resistant and environmentally sustainable. The use of biotechnology
and breeding will be important in developing eco-friendly, disease-resistant,
climate-resilient, more nutritious and diversified crop varieties,” it said. PTI