A separate budget for agriculture like the Railways would help improve the economy of the nation and the State, according to S.N. Sugumar, secretary general of the Tamil Nadu Economic Association. Both the Centre and the State should allot 25 per cent of their budget allocation to this sector.
Prof. Sugumar, who spoke to The Hindu on the sidelines of the conference on economic development of Tamil Nadu since the 1950s, regretted that the government was not giving enough attention to agriculture. “It is a matter of survival. Agriculture provides food for all and is the mother of all sciences. Yet, there is no allocation to this sector in the budget,” he says.
Economists at the conference said simple measures like rainwater harvesting, desilting of tanks and making stakeholders responsible for the resource in their villages would help to restore yield and improve food production.
Water management
A.R. Veeramani, Dean, College Development Council, University of Madras, underlined the need for better water management and desilting of tanks. “It is a paradox that though 50 per cent of the workforce depends on agriculture, its contribution to domestic product has fallen from 53 per cent in 1950-51 to just eight per cent in 2013-14.”
In Tamil Nadu, there were as many as 1,821 water bodies with an extent of 6,286 acres, he said. T. Umapathy, assistant professor in D.G. Vaishnav College, has recommended proper regulation of groundwater to prevent its exploitation.
A long-term study of the economic development in the State since 1950, which was presented here at a conference of the Tamil Nadu Economic Association held in Ethiraj College, has provided perspective and an opportunity to strengthen the agricultural sector.
“Both the Centre and State should allot 25 per cent of their budget allocation to this sector”
