Agricultural Technology for Increasing Competitiveness of Small Holders

Abstract

Agricultural technology plays a vital role in building viable and sustainable food systems. The green revolution (GR) is a landmark example of how scale-neutral technology transformed agricultural production. However, one of the limitations of GR technologies was that it was concentrated to a few crops and to high potential regions where irrigation was readily available. Newer approaches to technological interventions need to help increase yields while limiting environmental externalities. In this chapter, we identify that biotechnology will be critical in productivity increase, improving resilience to climate change and reducing environmental impact. For this, there is a need for India to have more forward-looking biotechnology policy to bolster innovation towards climate change mitigation and adaptation.