Government says, 5 percent growth in Agriculture is possible in near

future. Concurring with the view of Agriculture Scientist Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, Agriculture secretary P K Basu said in an exclusive interview to our correspondent Vijay Raina that several policy interventions have been taken and good monsoon will only help in achieving this target.

Basu said the investment in the agriculture sector has almost tripled in the last three years and many initiatives have been taken to increase production and boost productivity.

Basu expressed confidence that 4 per cent growth will be achieved this year . He said hybrid varieties of crops are being introduced and the agriculture scientists are working overtime to produce heat resistant varieties of crops.

The objective is to increase productivity and fight the impact of climate change. Basu said that the government has constituted a high level committee to prepare a strategy for better irrigation facilities for crops after the meeting of the National Development Council on agriculture. He added this is being done to reduce the dependency on monsoon.

Basu said a multi pronged strategy is in place to boost pulses production in the country to bridge the gap between the supply and demand. The agriculture secretary said in this kharif season, country will have record production of Arhar.