Global agriculture has witnessed a complete metamorphosis
Global agriculture has witnessed a complete metamorphosis in recent decades with the intrusion
of technologies and global participation. Agriculture remains the second-largest source of
employment worldwide after the services sector. The global value-added generated by agriculture,
forestry, and fishing grew by 68 percent in real terms between 2000 and 2020, reaching USD 4.7
trillion in 2020. Asia has emerged as a significant player. Asia was the main contributor to
global agriculture showing an increase of 77 percent, from USD 1.2 trillion in 2000 to USD 2.9
trillion in 2020. The countries with the largest agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector in
terms of value-added were China, India, and the United States of America. Global food production
will continue to rise so as to cater to the burgeoning world population. In the backdrop of the
world population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, food supplies need to increase by 60
percent.
This call for increased dependence on technology-dependent agriculture as the chances of
increasing land area appears to be negligible. The world will see advanced farming systems with
a renewed need for Agri services, improved planting material, state-of-the-art machinery, and
agro-processing equipment, good crop care and soil health products, better infrastructure, value
chain models, Agri, and food businesses. India being an agriculturally significant nation will
actively participate in global food and agro trade. As India’s institutions are providing global
expertise and cooperation, it has become the gateway to almost two dozen Asian countries and the
whole African continent. Though 8% of the world’s food is grown here, the share in global trade
share in global trade remains dismal at 2%.
