Cabinet Agriculture Mission effect may take a couple of years to reflect: Madan Sabnavis
Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda, says the steps announced by the government cover both crops – horticulture as well as allied activities – and this is required for overall enhancing and creating more steady growth and output as well as income for farmers. Today when we are talking in terms of rural consumption lagging, one of the factors behind it is that we are not seeing a commensurate increase in terms of income.
Sabnavis also says that we may not see the impact in the immediate quarter. 3.5% to 4% should be the trend growth that we should see in the case of overall GDP growth of 7% to 8% at the aggregate level. It will take a couple of years before all these pieces are put together.
Several significant decisions have come in to bolster farm-related activities. There is an outlay of nearly Rs 14,000 crore. How much will these lead to an easing of farm sector stress and, of course, driving consumption so far as the rural economy is concerned?
Madan Sabnavis: It is going to help in both ways. In agriculture, we have seen that the overall output has tended to be fairly whimsical in the past based on the progress of the monsoon. So, the way I look at these measures that have been announced, especially the digital part that the minister had spoken of, is very progressive because one bit of problem that farmers have today is the absence of information.
Today we are trying to use the digital more to make sure that you have access not just to what the crop prices are, the water levels, but also things
