According to the latest Economic Survey (2017/2018), contribution of agriculture sector to the national GDP is less than 30%, when about 60% of the population are engaged in agriculture. It is an indication of inefficiency of our agriculture sector. At 60 % population participation, contribution of agriculture sector to GDP should be above 90%; or less than 10% population’s engagement in sector should be enough to produce 30% contribution to GDP.
Why is our agriculture sector so inefficient?
Unfortunately there is not a single answer. Inefficiency lies at every level of the value chain from production to retailing. Production is still largely traditional and sporadic. The yield is low and quality is highly inconsistent. The logistics system is fragmented, unreliable and expensive and wholesaling operates as a cartel.