The draft outline of the first five year plan described India’s agricultural situation as typical of a static, backward economy, which was unable to expand and keep pace with the growing population.

Although agricultural output increased in the first two plans, stretching the limits of traditional agriculture, by early 1960s the need for drastic action to ensure food security was realised. C Subramaniam, the minister of food and agriculture at the time said, “We had on one hand a worsening inflationary spiral with demand for food going up as a consequence of increased incomes and population and supplies growing but not fast enough.”

Food self-sufficiency took a back seat as India focussed on industrialisation from the second five year plan onwards and depended upon cheap imports of foodgrain from the US under the PL 480 aid agreement. Moreover, cheap grain policy worsened the situation by removing profitability from agriculture. “The advocates of cheap grain policy did not quite realise the impact of such policy on farmer’s incentives,” Subramaniam said.

The need to achieve food security was realised with the severe drought of 1965 and 1966. The ‘Green Revolution’ began in 1965, and initiated modern scientific methods of production. Just seven years later, in 1972, India achieved self-sufficiency in foodgrain and imports under PL 480 were stopped in 1971. In 1974, output fell and India became import dependent once again. The event highlighted an important piece in the agriculture story — irrigation.

Two decades later, in the 1990s, integration into the global economy became the big theme and continues to be so. Once more, with rapid economic growth the focus shifted away from agriculture and public capital formation in agriculture slipped from Rs 4,467 crore in 1993-94 to Rs 4,007 crore in 2000-01. Economic growth has increased incomes and with it the demand for oilseeds and pulses but supply has not kept up.

... contd.