MP Model in an Agriculture
Context:
- India’s economy is currently worth $3.5 trillion. According to IMF predictions, the country’s GDP is expected to reach a value of $5.4 trillion by 2027 if the current growth pattern holds.
- The Covid-19 pandemic and the turmoil in Russia and Ukraine have rocked the world economy, but India’s ambitious goal of having a $5 trillion GDP by 2025 is still very much within reach.
India’s economic development following independence:
- Particularly when compared to its development in the first 60 years following 1947, India appears to be on the right track and doing fairly well.
- According to the IMF, it took India nearly 59 years after its independence for its economy to reach $0.95 trillion in 2006. Nonetheless, it later grew to a $2.3 trillion economy by 2016, with $1.35 trillion added in just 10 years.
- And by adding $1.2 trillion in just six years, the GDP grew to $3.5 trillion in 2022.
- By 2047, India’s economy might grow to $25 to $30 trillion if it continues on its current path. It makes sense that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dubbed the 25 years leading up to India’s 100th anniversary of independence as Amrit Kaal.
In spite of this, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development are necessary:
- We need to concentrate on two topics.
- The first is how inclusive this expansion is, and the second is how sustainable it is going to be, particularly in terms of the environment, given that climate change is already at our doorsteps.
What does “inclusive growth” mean?
- We gauge inclusiveness by examining the track records of the underperforming states, particularly the so-called BIMARU states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh), as well as the performance of the agricultural sector, which will employ the largest percentage of workers in 2020–21 (46.5%).
- It is well knowledge that when economies develop, workers leave farmland for employment with better productivity in cities, particularly those involved in building new cities and the infrastructure needed to support them.
- Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, although India’s population is still primarily rural by about two-thirds.
- Construction of infrastructure, notably in rural regions, and preparing a sizable portion of the working population for jobs with increased productivity should be the country’s top priorities during the next 25 years.
- In this regard, the Union budget for 2023–24 has performed admirably, and Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, is deserving of praise.
- performance of the state’s GDP, specifically in the agriculture sector, from 2005–2006 through 2021–2022,
- According to the infographic, the country’s GDP increased by 6.7% year on average over this time, while the growth of its agricultural GDP was 3.8% annually.
- Although not as impressive as China’s performance, this is nonetheless rewarding. With an aggregate GDP growth rate of 8.9%, Gujarat had the highest rate of all the main states, followed closely by Uttarakhand (8.7%), Telangana (8.6%), and Haryana (8.7%). (8 per cent).
- Jammu and Kashmir (5.2%), Assam (5.4%), West Bengal (5.5%), Uttar Pradesh (5.6%), and Jharkhand were at the bottom of this list (5.7 per cent).
- We examine the agri-GDP growth in BIMARU states to assess how inclusive this increase has been.
- Madhya Pradesh has done exceptionally well; its 7.3% agricultural growth rate is the highest in the nation.
- Its overall GDP growth rate is a creditable 7.5%. The state is a shining example of how to double the contribution of horticulture in its value of agriculture and allied sector, and its agri-GDP growth is far above the agri-GDP growth for all of India.
- Rajasthan, one of the BIMARU states, has performed well in agriculture as well, with an average annual growth rate of 5.7%, followed by UP and Bihar with 4.5% and 4.4%, respectively.
The MP model in agriculture as a benchmark for agricultural development:
- Madhya Pradesh has done exceptionally well; its 7.3% agricultural growth rate is the highest in the nation.
- MP has established itself as a key player in the cultivation of soyabeans, mandarin oranges, pulses (particularly gramme), and tomatoes.
- The low water and fertiliser requirements of pulses and oilseeds ensure environmental sustainability. They also fix nitrogen.
- After UP, MP is the second-largest producer of wheat, and after Rajasthan and UP, it is the third-largest producer of milk. It has followed a well-diversified agricultural strategy over the past two decades, increasing irrigation coverage from 24 to 45.3% of its gross cultivated area.
- When compared to 18.8% at the all-India level, MP is the only state where the contribution of agriculture to overall GDP has climbed to 40%; its approach is therefore inclusive and sustainable.
Some areas to consider:
- Punjab, the winner of the Green Revolution, hasn’t fared well. Over this time, its agri-GDP growth was a pitiful 2% annually.
- One could argue that the state already produces a lot of wheat and rice and that additional agricultural expansion may not be possible.
- Yet, Punjab could have had more agricultural growth and, more significantly, conserved priceless groundwater and power subsidies if it had diversified into high-value horticulture or even some pulses and oilseeds.
- There may have been significantly less methane and nitrous oxide emissions as a result of paddy agriculture. Policymakers in Punjab should pause and reflect on this.
Conclusion:
- In order to improve agriculture-led economic growth, states can adopt the MP model with modifications. Moreover, crop diversification is necessary to maintain the environment and natural resources.
- This agriculture expansion approach will then be more successful.
