India can reap a lot more from its agricultural sector

Our farm sector could grow much faster and also make significant headway with exports

- NITIKA NATHANI & AKSHITA AGARWAL

India has the benefit of favourable climatic conditions that enable diversity in crop production, routinely helping it rank among the world's top two countries for arable land. The country also has the world's second-largest agricultural crop output.

Yet, there are several markers that indicate significant headroom for growth. For example, India's yield for cereals is 25% and 50% lower in kilogram-per-hectare terms than Brazil's and the US's, respectively; India's share of processed food exports is about 25% of its total agricultural exports; and over 90% of Indian farmers are yet to adopt modern agri-technologies such as precision farming and remote sensing.

While strong agri-production fundamentals and the high potential for growth point to greater gains to be made, sectoral challenges and geopolitical uncertainties need to be factored in for India's agricultural sector to generate greater value for farmers, agri-markets and consumers.

Five tailwinds underpin an optimistic view on agricultural growth:

One, changing consumer demand has led to a sharper focus on high-value crops and livestock, like fruits, vegetables and dairy products. The government's aspiration is to boost agri-exports by an incremental $40-50 billion by 2030; and India's biofuel policy is driving expansion in the country's output of key feedstocks such as corn.