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Amidst all the farmer protest being staged on the borders of the national capital, New Delhi, world’s leading marketing data and analytics business, Kantar, has come out with a report stating that the growth of the agricultural sector of the country is all set to plunge to a seven year low levels of 1.8 per cent in financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The analytics business has attributed this to the poor condition of the agricultural sector to lower Kharif season’s 2023-24 output due to erratic rainfall. According to the report, as per the first estimates of Kharif crops released, almost all Kharif crops have seen lower yields due to uneven rainfall.

The Kharif season commences in June of every year and concludes in October-November. Crops are sowed at the time of first rains of the monsoon season and crops are harvested at season end. The supply of Kharif output in the market generally extends to late March of the subsequent year.

Agricultural sector growth rate has been in the doldrums in last few years. According to various reports of government authorities, in last few fiscals, this sector has grown by an average of less than four per cent. The annual growth rate trend has been zigzag.

Plus, the share of the agricultural sector in India’s GDP has continuously fallen. Agriculture Minister, Arjun Munda, had informed the Parliament in a written reply last year that, the share of agricultural sector in GDP has fallen from 35 per cent in FY 1991 to 15 per cent in FY 2023.

On the other hand, manufacturing sector has grown at relatively better rate. Its share in GDP currently stands at 17 per cent. And services sector contributes more than 50 per cent in India’s GDP. Although, it share shrunk a little bit after the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a report of the National Statistical Office (NSO) of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India’s manufacturing sector is all set to clock 8.5 per cent growth rate in FY24. While, services sector is expected to grow at 7.7 per cent.