The 95 Percent Factor

- Arihant Pawariya

SHIMON PERES, WHO served both as Prime Minister and President of Israel, told the authors of Startup Nation in an interview that “Agriculture is 95 per cent science, five percent hard work.” If they had asked an Indian politician, he would’ve probably said the exact opposite. Barring the one-time quantum leap after the agriculture revolution, India’s farm productivity has largely stagnated. Farmers keep doing the same things, expecting different results. The sector still banks heavily on monsoon. A nationwide web of canals irrigating the country’s fields remains a distant dream. Major parts of the country either face drought or flood every year thanks to non-existent water management. Technology on the farms is a rare sight. Agripreneurs are unheard of in the countryside.

Comparing India with Israel is fraught with pitfalls given the astronomical differences in the size of arable land, total production, diversity and population of the two countries. Thus it is advisable only to compare some broad trends.

Israel’s agricultural production multiplied 16-fold since independence compared to India’s five. Even if we take into account the base effect, Israel’s performance is impressive. Israel has doubled the land under cultivation while India has shown only marginal improvement. Israel’s agriculture basket is a healthy mix of field crops, floriculture, horticulture, vegetables, fisheries etc. India’s on the other hand is heavily skewed towards cereals, mainly wheat and rice. The Jewish nation employs less percentage of its workforce in agriculture but contributes more to the nation’s GDP in stark contrast to India.