Agricultural productivity and food security in India: Issues and concerns

India has been self-sufficient in food grains since the past several decades and has achieved national food security. There are several positive developments associated with the green revolution period. However; this increase in food grains and self-sufficiency in food production at the national level has not ensured food security at the regional or household level and has not led to eradication of malnutrition and starvation in various parts of the country. India may be one of the fastest growing and emerging economies but it has a long way to go in eradicating hunger and food insecurity. Empirical studies support the idea that improvements in agricultural productivity are important for poverty reduction. Thus one needs to stress the fundamental role of agriculture sector in supporting rural livelihoods, generating employment and providing food security. It is most important that productivity should rise. This paper is an attempt to examine the important concerns of deceleration in Indian agriculture growth rate, productivity plateauing, declining public investment and the impact all this has on food security.