Question : Contribution of Farm Sector in GDP

(a) whether there has been an adverse impact of global economic recession on the growth of agriculture sector in the country and if so, the details thereof along with the contribution of farm sector to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and its growth rate during the last three years and the current year;

(b) whether public, private and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) are allowed in the agriculture and allied sectors and if so, whether FDI flow into agriculture and allied sectors is very low and if so, the reasons therefor and the measures taken to attract more FDI and private investment to ensure speedy development of these sectors;

(c) whether the Government has launched ''Per Drop More Crop'' Scheme to increase agriculture growth rate at par with international standards and if so, the details and the achievements thereof;

(d) whether the Government proposes to create employment opportunities for new generation in the agriculture sector in the country including Kerala and if so, the details thereof along with the share of employment in agriculture sector in comparison to that of industrial and service sectors in the country; and

(e) whether the Government has recently held any discussion with stakeholders including farmers and entrepreneurs engaged in the agro industries to improve agricultural growth rate in the country and if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereto?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

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(a): There has not been any adverse impact of global economic recession on the growth of agriculture sector in the country.
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As per the latest estimates released by Central Statistics Office (CSO), the details of contribution of Gross Value Added (GVA) of agriculture & allied sector to total economy in the country and its growth rate during the last three years and the current year at 2011-12 basic prices are given as below:

(At 2011-12 prices)
Year Contribution of GVA of Agriculture & Allied Sector in Total Economy (%) Growth rate in GVA of Agriculture & Allied Sector (%)
2012-13 17.8 1.5
2013-14 17.5 4.2
2014-15 16.3 -0.2
2015-16 15.4 1.2
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO)
The growth of the agriculture sector depends on several factors including vagaries of nature, temperature, weather and rainfall scenario, availability of water in reservoirs, etc.

(b): Public and private investments as well as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are allowed in the agriculture and allied sectors. FDI up to 100 percent is permitted under automatic route in specified activities of the agriculture and allied sectors (The details are at Annexure). Further, 100 percent FDI is also allowed under automatic route in the plantation sector namely tea, coffee, rubber, cardamom, palm oil tree and olive oil tree.

(c): Government launched Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) in July, 2015 which aims at providing end to end solutions in irrigation supply chain, viz. water sources, and distribution network and farm level applications. Under the above Scheme, micro irrigation is being popularised to ensure ‘Per drop-More crop’. The achievement made under PMKSY ''Per Drop More Crop'' Scheme, during the year 2015-16 and 2016-17 are given as under:

Year Area covered (Ha)
2015-16 572980
2016-17 (up to 30.11.2016 ) 179122

(d): In order to attract farmers/workers to the agriculture sector a new central scheme, Attracting Rural Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) has been introduced by the Government. It aims to operate through selected Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in the country and envisages supporting and guiding rural youth towards income generating technologies, services and enterprises, which are essentially required in the villages.

As per Employment and Unemployment Survey conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) for 2011-12 (latest available) the share of employment in agriculture & allied has been 48.9% as compared to 24.3% in industrial and 26.8% in service sectors.

(e): No, Madam.