Wrong approach

Farm incomes will not double by productivity increases alone

The government’s much-hyped seven-point plan to double farmers’ incomes by 2022 is essentially no more than a repackaging of the ongoing agricultural development schemes. As a whole, the package suffers from some fundamental flaws and glaring deficiencies. For one, it is focused more on raising farm productivity than on improving the profitability of farming. The fact it disregards is that higher output does not necessarily lead to higher income. In fact, bumper harvests often cause a slide in prices, denying growers the anticipated economic gains. The recent slump in the prices of most crops in the wake of the last