Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said on Wednesday that half of the population will still be living in rural areas even in 2047, which is the targeted year when it is envisioned to transform India into a developed country.

“Previously, rural development was confined merely to agriculture. But now, its area has increased. Agriculture will maintain its dominance over rural development as both rural development and agriculture are inter-related and cannot be separated from each other,” Chand said at an event organised by the web portal Rural Voice.

He said that in 1961, 82 per cent of India’s population lived in rural areas, but now the figure has shrunk to 64 per cent and by 2047 it will shrink further. “But the rural sector will still account for more than 50 per cent of the population,” Chand said. Though the area will shrink, reflecting the growth of urbanisation, there is a need to think about the issue as the share of agriculture is seen to be falling with the passage of time, he added.

A development model for India has to be prepared keeping inclusive development of rural areas in mind, he said, and suggested discussing the rural economy in its entirety, given the importance of agriculture.

Chand recalled one of his research papers, written in 2014, wherein he mentioned that 47 per cent of farmers belong to the small category, but their efficiency is higher than that of big farmers in terms of productivity. It is time to think about agriculture-centric development, keeping in mind agriculture-centric employment, he said.

Declining workforce

Referring to a recent report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), he said 45.8 per cent of the workforce in the country is in the agriculture sector. The survey report of 2022-23 said that the agriculture workforce was declining.

But, looking at sustainability, employment, climate change, and maintaining the pace of growth, agriculture will play a central role in creating a developed India, he noted.

With change of time, the concept of part-time farming should be discussed, as agriculture has become a seasonal activity, he said. “We should make conscious efforts to boost the income of part-time farmers,” he said.

Referring to the growing demand for ethnic products among people in recent times, he said it was a glaring shift from the past, when there was clamour for foreign goods. “These days, rural arts, crafts, handicrafts, and tribal products are much in demand, and the government’s ODOP scheme has brought to limelight products of the countryside,” Chand said.