Abstract:
The Food and Agriculture Commission was Instituted in pursuance of
the policy of the present Government to review conditions in various aspects of
national life and was inaugurated by the Minister o f Agriculture on 16th July
1959. A paramount need had arisen to increase agricultural production not only
to meet’ recurring food shortages and to raise the standard of living of the
farming population but also to provide additional material, both raw and processed,
to increase export earnings. The continual increase in populati6n has
emphasized the need to generate greater economic activity to provide more
employment. The demand for foodstuffs is bound to rise steadily and the
purchase of foodgrains from abroad is already 'causing a drain on foreign
currency resources. 'To stop this drain, self-sufficiency in staple foods has
become well-nigh a necessity. Moreover, at present, the only method of
substantially increasing the earnings of foreign exchange is to bring about a large
scale rise in export of commodities originating in agriculture. On both counts,
therefore, increased production from the land is now a matter of the highest
national priority.
