India's major workforce,around sixty percent, is engaged in agriculture but contributing only twenty percent to GDP.Even though India ranks second in world in food production,today food inflation in India is high to 16.22 percent.
The main cause for food inflation is that Indian farmers depends mainly on rainfall, as agricultural land doesn't have a proper irrigation system in all parts of India. Last year because of monsoon failure overall production decreased. Over the years due to urbanisation, land under cultivation has reduced. On top of it India is lagging in modern agriculture practices and technology,leading it to a very low per hector agriculture yield. Subsidies provided by government to farmers rarely reach to farmers due to corruption.
Government should work on reducing food loss in transportation. Import duty on essential commodities should be decrease when required, so that food inflation can be controlled. Government should also control the black marketing where retailers buy a big lot of food products at low price and store it. As food supply in market will decrease,food price will increase and it results in inflation. When food price has increased then retailers start selling the stored food items , thereby earning a lot. Government should also educate farmers so that they can use new technology and yield more in same amount of land.
United Nation's Food and Agriculture has warned that global food stock has reach a critical stage. Indian Government has taken many initiative for boosting agriculture but at this high food inflation government should take emergency steps to control it and then reduce it.Major part of most Indian's expenditure is on food so food inflation directly effects the life of most of Indian's. India is showing a good overall growth at this time when major developed and developing countries of world is under recession. So if India can slowly show growth in agriculture ,with proper planning and management ,then it has a very bright future ahead.
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