Letter to BS: Allocate 1% of the agriculture GDP to research, education

This refers to “Atmanirbharta’s white knight” by Shreekant Sambrani and “Some lessons from the corona crisis” by Surinder Sud (both July 14). The pieces show that the agriculture sector needs glorious recognition. There is a saying,” A friend in need is a friend indeed”. The  agriculture sector and the farmers have shown to be a true friend in the present massive crisis caused by Covid-19. It is high time that the government allocated at least 1 per cent of the agriculture GDP to agriculture research, education, and extension. Presently, the government allocates less than 0.5 per cent of the agriculture GDP and is not helping farmers to rapidly modernise farming and reduce the drudgery that is faced by them and their fellow farm labourers. In contrast, the countries that have been successful in agriculture, like the United States, does allocate at least 1 per cent of agriculture GDP to agriculture research, even though agriculture provides employment to less than 10 per cent of its labour force, compared to at least 40 per cent in India.

Chandrashekhar G. Ranade Washington DC

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