Unless we make preserving the quality (and quantity) of our agricultural lands the priority in policy and actions, all attempts to boost productivity will be futile.
One of the oldest concerns around Indian agriculture is the relatively lower productivity of our farmlands. Given our large population that keeps on growing, the implications of low productivity on national food security are significant.
There are many factors that impact productivity, but the ones that get attributed for it the most are our dependence on the monsoon, improper use of soil nutrients, small landholdings, low mechanization and lack of access to credit and new agri-technologies. There is a lot of buzz around solving these problems. This focus on mechanization and technology is reflected in the Union Budget for 2022-23 …
Karan Manral is a co-founder of organic farming ventures Green Essentials and New Farmer. After dabbling with technology media, communication and marketing, and some kitchen gardening simultaneously, he (and his partner Yogita Mehra) took the plunge into organic farming full time a decade ago and has since been trying to make growing food more accessible for novice urban farmers.
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