Accelerating Agricultural Development for Inclusive Growth: Strategic Issues and Policy Options

1 Like most other developing countries, India has predominantly been an agrarian economy, with agriculture sector contributing the largest share to gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. Under the colonial regime, Indian agriculture was geared towards the production of commercial crops (tea, coffee, rubber, cotton, etc.), while the food crops suffered from neglect. After independence, India depended heavily on imports of foodgrains as it inherited a stagnant, low-productivity, food-crop sector.