Research Highlights

Diversification of agriculture towards high-value enterprises such as horticulture and animal husbandry that generate higher returns matches with resource endowments and income requirements of smallholder farmers who allocate larger area to highvalue crops, and are also more efficient in then production compared to lamer farmers. The incidence of poverty is less among those engaged in these enterprises the biggest impact being on marginal and small farmers...

By 2050 availability of resources for agriculture will increase but at a slower rate as compared to the growth in food demand. This underlines importance of improving resource use efficiency and technological breakthroughs. In order to strike a balance between the future demand and supply of agricultural products, the Institute has suggested to target a) significant increase in land productivity, b) twofold increase in water productivity, c) doubling energy use efficiency, and d) five times increase in labour productivity by 2050.

In order to benefit from globalisation, emphasis on food safety measures and compliance with various SPS measures are essential. This is essential to harness the untapped potential of dairy product exports to developed countries like USA, EU and Japan. ...

Price policy and market reforms should (i) enhance competition in the marketplace by linking farmers to markets through institutional innovations such as contract farming and producer associations; (ii) promote investment in public infrastructure (roads electricity, and communication) that reduces transportation and transaction costs...

Livestock sector despite its considerable potential to enhance and sustain agricultural growth has remained underinvested and neglected by financial institutions (credit and insurance) and support services...