Tracking the performance of Indian agriculture

Despite technological innovations and interventions since Green Revolution, the productivity in food crops is much lower than their benchmarks causing a serious concern. The paper has examined the trends in productivity and trade coupled with efficiency gaps in Indian agriculture for major food commodities (1995-96 to 2015-16). Analysis indicated the overwhelming performance of staple commodities like rice and wheat, but it also highlighted for prioritization of production deficient commodity groups like pulses and oilseeds owing to the increasing demand. Regional differences in productivity led to variation in the estimated efficiency across crops. Efforts should be taken to increase the yield on par with the benchmark states followed by devising strategies to enhance the acreage under crops for a majorquantum jump. Despite surplus production in staple commodities, their supply along with other essential food items have to be ensured on sustainable basis for increasing the overall performance of Indian agriculture.