The targeted four per cent growth in the agriculture sector could be achieved if agricultural schemes such as System of Rice Intensification and Dryland Farming, initiated in Tamil Nadu, are replicated across India, the Planning Commission has said.

"India, producing around 210-220 million tonnes of foodgrains annually, has to increase the productivity from two tonnes per hectare against the world average of four tonnes,'' the Member of the Planning Commission, Dr K. Kasturirangan, said today.

He further told reporters: "This can be achieved only by adopting the systems successfully launched by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU).''

Dr Kasturirangan said the 12th Plan may reflect an important stage of SRI, adopted at various districts in Tamil Nadu, by which rice could be cultivated with 40 per cent lesser water, which is expected to become scarce in the coming years.

Similarly, dryland farming, implemented in Dharmapuri district, by which a farmer earns Rs five lakh from one acre land, could be replicated in other parts of the country including Karnataka, Maharashtra and Northern states.

This will help increase productivity as India may require 350 mt of foodgrains in the future, Dr Kasturitangan, who is visiting TNAU to study various agri-related schemes, said.

The Government has accorded top priority to agriculture and has set a four per cent growth rate target, which could be achieved by adopting these methods, as acreage during the last few years remained at around 145 million hectares, he said.

He added the allocation for agriculture has been increased from Rs 25,000 crore in the 10th Plan to Rs one lakh crore in the 11th Plan, apart from the 50 per cent contribution from states and participation from the private sector, which had however, failed to pump in the expected funds in this Plan.

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