Roles of Agricultural Sciences for Achieving Sustainable Development in India: Perspectives and Challenges

Agriculture holds a significant position in India’s economy and is dynamic in nature because of its connections to other markets and production sectors. The various sectors’ impact on employment and GDP (gross domestic product) in the Indian economy can be seen through the structural transition from agricultural to industrial activities. Agro-based and other industries also play a pivotal role in the nation’s sustainable economic growth. The careful balance of natural resources leads to the facts related to agricultural sustainability. In India, where more than 50% of people are engaged in agricultural operations, the growth in agricultural sectors provides an impetus to the GDP and employment scenario of the country. The reformation of the economic policies in the areas of fiscal restructuring, price and distribution control, foreign investment policy, and industrial policies along with trades in the financial and public sectors can directly or indirectly help the agricultural sector to achieve improvement in crop production and productivity. The present chapter proposes the sustainable methods by which the negative impact of land’s environmental quality on marginal production of modern inputs can be checked, and it will help ensure food security and food safety. Additionally, this will also drive the quest for improving livelihoods and significant enhancement of the overall nation’s economic growth. The ongoing development of communication and digital media technologies has opened up new doors and transformed conventional agriculture from profit-based to production-based farming processes along with providing more opportunities to the rural youth through sustainable and ecologically friendly farming techniques.