Agriculture's share in GDP has declined sharply, yet it remains the largest employer. Examine the reasons for this paradox and suggest measures to enhance farm viability.

At Independence, agriculture was India's dominant sector. Today agriculture and allied activities contribute nearly one-fifth of GVA but still employ about 46.1% of the workforce [1]. Output has moved to other sectors while jobs have not. The result is low output per worker and disguised unemployment.

Reasons for the paradox

• Services-led growth: Growth came mainly from skill- and capital-intensive services. These absorbed few rural workers, so labour could not follow output out of farming [1].
• Tiny, fragmented holdings: About 86% of farmers are small or marginal, and the average holding is under 1.1 ha [2]. Such plots cannot achieve economies of scale or mechanise.
• Rainfed dependence: A large share of net sown area is rainfed [3]. This keeps yields low and volatile, and climate stress makes the risk worse.
• Skewed price support: Three states produce 49% of wheat but account for 93% of its procurement [4]. At the same paddy MSP, Punjab farmers earned about 149% over cost while Maharashtra farmers made a 17% loss [4]. Farmers elsewhere effectively sell below MSP.
• Weak exit routes: Limited skills, informal credit and a shortage of rural non-farm jobs keep surplus labour on the land.

Measures to enhance farm viability

• Collectivise: The scheme to form 10,000 FPOs lets small farmers pool inputs, get credit and sell together [2].
• Secure water: Expand micro-irrigation and groundwater recharge, as in the NCF's "Million Wells Recharge" proposal [5]. Adopt the climate-resilient practices promoted under NMSA [3].
• Reform procurement: Take procurement to under-served states, as the Shanta Kumar Committee reviewed [6]. Publish MSP margins state-wise and against C2 (full cost of production) [4].
• Credit and risk cover: Adopt the NCF's proposals for cheaper crop loans and an Agriculture Risk Fund [5].
• Diversify: Move towards horticulture, dairy and fisheries, and build agro-processing to create rural non-farm jobs.

Agriculture's share of output has fallen, but its share of jobs has not, because too little other employment has been created and farm productivity remains low. A two-track approach is needed. Productivity reforms should make farming viable, and rural industrialisation should give surplus labour a way out. The Swaminathan Commission's goal of income security for farmers [5] should guide both tracks and would support SDG 2 and SDG 8.