Attributing the high inflation to spurt in prices of primary articles including food items, the government on Tuesday said there is an emerging consensus between the Centre and the states on launching a mission to increase the production of wheat, rice and pulses.
"It is in our common interest that we agree on a plan of action for the central government and state governments (for the proposed mission) and implement it without hindrance," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said addressing a meeting of the 53rd National Development Council (NDC).
The success of the proposed mission would depend on the willing participation of states to the actions that fall within their areas of responsibility, he said.
Recognising the different requirements of states, the Finance Minister supported the view that state-specific plans for agriculture should be developed.
"Even a state-specific plan should be an aggregate of district specific plans, formulated for the districts in that state," Chidambaram said.
Each state should also ensure that its current level of expenditure on agriculture as a proportion of total state plan expenditure is maintained and additional resources are found by them from their own resources.
The minister said the additional resources of the Central and state governments should be spent without wastage and corruption on irrigation, seeds, soil testing, better delivery of fertiliser subsidy, modern markets and agricultural research and extension.
He said the proposed mission should aim at not only increasing production, but also productivity.
The major sectors that have caused a deceleration in productivity and growth include over-exploitation of soil nutrients, reserves, improper water management and imbalanced and optimal use of fertilisers, he said.
Lack of technological breakthrough in the development of agro-climate specific seeds, particularly for rain-fed areas, has also been a cause of decelerating productivity, the minister said.
"I realise that when we launch the mission, there will be demand for more funds.... hence, I would support the proposal to provide additional resources and transfer the same through the method of additional central assistance," Chidambaram said.
He said in his view, horizontal allocation across the state should be based on a transparent formula. The size of agricultural GDP of the state and the prevalent yield gap could be some of the parameters.