Indian agriculture faces crisis: P Chengal Reddy, Secretary General, Consortium of Indian Farming Associations

DUBAI: India's agriculture sector faces a crisis because of declining productivity due to urbanisation, and the latest technologies are failing to reach many of its farmers, a farmers' leader said on Sunday.

"The agriculture sector faces a critical situation of low productivity - young people running away to the cities," P. Chengal Reddy, secretary general of the Consortium of Indian Farming Associations, said in an address to a conference.

"In India, the land is shrinking because of urbanisation." Chengal Reddy said policy makers had neglected agriculture in India and the latest technologies were failing to reach many of the country's 600 million farmers.

"We need to build bridges between various sectors," he said. Chengal Reddy, speaking at the Feb 4-7 Kingsman Dubai sugar conference, urged increased private investment in Indian agriculture and infrastructure to help raise yields and living standards.