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Agriculture the backbone of Indian economy that engages more than 50 percent of the country’s workforce, is losing its preference

IFPRI began its enduring partnership with India nearly 40 years ago. In fact, IFPRI’s first Board of Trustees in 1975

Bihar recorded only 122 mm of rain in the month of June this year against the normal 169 mm—a deficit

Despite small land holding, agriculture’s falling share in national income, and limited scope of transfer of labor to non-farm sectors, agriculture still plays a significant role towards food security and poverty reduction. A recent IFPRI discussion paper on Agricultural Diversification and Poverty in India looks into hypothesis and assesses options for improving the outcomes of the farmers through crop diversification into high-value crops (HVCs) that boost incomes, generates employment, and reduce poverty.

The increasing frequency of altered rainfall patterns in India has heightened the vulnerability of the agricultural sector, already susceptible to rainfall-related volatility. The impact extends beyond macroeconomics and into the households and lives of hundreds of millions of people. In Bihar, for instance, the poorest and third-largest state in India, 24 of its 38 districts are considered extremely vulnerable to climate change and a large portion of the state experienced droughts in four out of five years between 2009 and 2013.

In an article published in European Journal of Development Research, “Public Investment in Agricultural Research and Extension in India,” the authors examine the spatial and temporal dimensions of agricultural research and extension (R&E) investments with emphasis on returns on investment in major states in India. The article concluded that investments in R&E should increase to meet the future growth challenges in the Indian agriculture sector.

India is both the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world, with production and consumption preferences within the country varying by region. In terms of cultivation, for example, the country had 72 percent of the total global area of pigeon peas, 68 percent of the global area of chickpeas, and around 37 percent of the global area of lentils in 2012  (according to FAOSTAT), which accounted for 61, 68, and 20 percent (respectively) of global production.