Apropos the editorial, “Rebooting agriculture” (November 2), the view that “economic reforms carried out since 1991 have either bypassed the farm sector or touched only its fringes, thus, restraining this sector from growing to its full potential” is true.
The governments at the Centre and in the states must shed their fatigue in implementing radical reforms in this sector to ensure speedy development. Although agriculture is the backbone of the economy, its potential to generate rural employment and income is not being tapped properly.
Rural areas and the hinterland are still foreign to good motorable roads and hospitals with efficient doctors, nurses and modern equipment. Inadequate and inefficient health care systems are hindering the growth and social development of the rural population and thus hampering the rise of the agricultural sector.
The low standard of education being imparted to students in rural areas is restricting their skill development and employability, leading to less non-farm income. Lack of financial resources for farmers to invest in modern technology to augment their productivity and the influence of middlemen are pressuring them to go for distress sale of their produce.
Although the entire farming community is in distress due to the rising financial burden, the worst affected are landless agriculture labourers and marginal and small farmers.
If executed speedily, reforms would not only attract private investment but also enable the sector to become strong enough and accelerate the growth of the economy.