Agriculture and Public Policy in India – Recent Trends and Future Directions

Dr V. Basil Hans

doi:https://doi.org/10.63942/brjssh.v5.i2.p19.48044

Agriculture and Public Policy in India – Recent Trends and Future Directions

Dr V. Basil Hans

Listen to the introduction

Abstract

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in India’s economy, providing employment to a significant portion of the population and contributing to the country’s GDP. Public policy in India has historically focused on addressing challenges faced by the agricultural sector, such as land fragmentation, inadequate infrastructure, and low productivity. Over the years, agricultural policies have aimed at improving food security, ensuring fair prices for farmers, and boosting rural development. However, India’s agricultural sector continues to grapple with issues like climate change, water scarcity, and the economic distress of farmers. This paper explores the evolution of agricultural policy in India, analyzing key reforms, their impact on rural livelihoods, and the ongoing policy debates surrounding subsidies, irrigation, and market access. It further examines the role of government initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), and minimum support price (MSP) systems in enhancing productivity and reducing farmers' vulnerability to market fluctuations. The paper also highlights the need for sustainable agricultural practices, the role of technology in improving agricultural outputs, and the importance of aligning public policy with environmental concerns to ensure long-term food security and economic stability.

agricultural productivity Food security policy interventions

Read Article Download PDF

Readers can now gain more insights about this research manuscript using chat. Powered by Scholar Lens AI.

MCP BRJ now support Model Context Protocol

Or import this page into a chat

ChatGPT

Claude

Gemini

Research ID

Universal Unique Research ID

Citation Generator

Cite This Research Manuscript

Hans, D. V. B. (2025-05-15). Agriculture and Public Policy in India – Recent Trends and Future Directions. Boston Research Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 5(2), 19-31.

References

Aliber, M., & Hall, R. (2012). Support for smallholder farmers in South Africa: Challenges of scale and strategy. Development Southern Africa, 29(4), 548–562. https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2012.715441 Guthula, S., Simon, S., & Karnick, H. (2020). Analysis of agricultural policy recommendations using multi-agent systems. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.04947 Joshi, P. K., Pal, S., Birthal, P. S., & Bantilan, M. C. S. (2005). Impact of agricultural research: An overview. In P. K. Joshi, S. Pal, P. S. Birthal, & M. C. S. Bantilan (Eds.), Impact of agricultural research: Post-green revolution evidence from India (pp. 1–8). National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research. Kumar, D. B. P. (2017). How inclusive is agriculture for womenfolk? A study of Kerala. Munich Personal RePEc Archive. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/82427/ Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. (2024, December 10). New policy initiatives in agriculture sector. Press Information Bureau. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2082792 Sharma, V. P. (2011). India’s agricultural development under the new economic regime: Policy perspective and strategy for the 12th five year plan. (IIMA Working Papers No. 2011-11-01). Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. Singh, K. M., Meena, M. S., & Swanson, B. E. (2013). Extension in India by public sector institutions: An overview. Munich Personal RePEc Archive. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/49107/

Copyright

© 2025 Hans. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Dr V. Basil Hans

Disclaimer

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.