Indian Agriculture has been facing one of the worst crises since Independence. The contribution of agriculture to national income is declining at a faster pace compared to the percentage of population depending on it. The trends in profitability are not consistent across the years, which is a typical character of agriculture. A number of studies have tried to examine and understand the reasons; important ones include technological, environmental, and policy related. The poor performance and the declining profitability of agriculture due to one or more reasons have resulted in widespread household indebtedness, which is often indentified as the main reason for the farmer suicides. This volume is a collection of papers in honour of Padma Bhushan Prof. Vijay Shankar Vyas who is amongst the first and leading policy economists in India. He has had significant policy contributions at the national and international levels. This collection is a reflection of his research interests and contribution to agricultural policy research. In total, 16 eminent scholars have contributed to the volume. These papers have been put together in a thematic format and deal mainly with five important aspects of Indian agriculture: i) Indian Agriculture : Policies and Performance, ii) Resource Policies and Agriculture, iii) Employment and Decent Work, iv) New Trends in Agriculture and Challenges, and v) Experiences from Other Countries. It also includes a paper on China which deals with poverty and inequality in the context of reforms. Most of the papers provide an all India perspective. Though some of the papers are specific to the themes and locations, they provide valuable insights in to the broader array of issues and problems afflicting the agricultural sector in India. The authors through their contributions have touched upon issues that are dear to Prof. Vyas and also provide futuristic scenario of Asian agriculture of which Indian agriculture is a vital cog.
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