Awaiting an antidote
The state of the agricultural sector has worsened in the past five years, causing acute rural distress and fuelling farmers' protests.
One of the biggest challenges for the Modi government is rural distress and the poor state of agriculture. In fiscal 2017-18, agriculture, which engages 220 million, or almost 47 per cent of the workforce, witnessed a significant drop in performance over the previous year. The growth of Gross Value Added at basic prices from agriculture, forestry and fishing is expected to be 2.7 per cent in 2018-19, as against 5 per cent in 2017-18. This is a matter of concern, as farm incomes significantly affect poverty. The agricultural growth rate-at an
