Recently I attended an interaction session arranged for our class with the Executive Director of Tata International. We were asked to make a presentation to him on sectors that Tata International would find interesting. As with all B-Schools the guys concentrated on those so called "sexy industries", IT, Telecom, etc. The first response from the ED was, "I expected to see something about the agri sector."
Of all sectors, the maximum scope is in agriculture because our farm productivity is so poor that it can only improve. The Tatas have in the past thought about corporate farms. Large tracts of land owned and operated corporate style. A few such farms in different parts of the country can go a long way in increasing agri productivity. But the biggest barrier to agriculture is not economic, but social and political in nature.
This is exemplified by the fact that this idea has still remained a "thought". The rural society is highly divided on many bases, caste being not the least. And our politicians hardly want their vote bank to start thinking and be more independent. Just read Samajwadi Party's election manifesto for last year's parliamentary elections and you will know why.
The budget has just concluded. I just noticed the tax sops and do not know whats in store for agriculture. Contrary to popular agenda, the poor in India has been worse off over the years. The poverty rate may have come down, but what about the absolute numbers? From 162 million in the 50s to 400 million currently! And most of them rely on agriculture. And people talk about poverty alleviation!
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