Towards a perspective on flow of credit to small and marginal farmers in India, 1st edition

Abstract

India continues to be a predominantly agricultural economy with agriculture’s contribution of about a quarter to the GDP and about two-third in terms of employment of the rural population. Moreover, robust agricultural growth since 1970s has contributed significantly toward attainment of the goals of food security maintenance of a fairly low level of commodity prices, meeting the growing demand for food and agricultural ingredients (including cheap labor) for expanding industrial and services sectors, and both direct and indirect foreign exchange earnings. When Indian agriculture is rapidly undergoing transformation from a subsistence occupation to a commercial proposition with increasing dependence on purchased material inputs, assets, services and infrastructure, on the one hand, and on highly demanding distant markets, on the other, the need for timely and adequate credit assumes special significance