Thread. Agriculture as shock absorber.

In all the discussions on Indian agriculture and farming, one aspect of this sector gets largely overlooked.

Its role as a social safety net.

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For the poor and the vulnerable, the agricultural and allied sectors are still the main safety net in times of crisis.

And it is much bigger and more effective than all the other safety nets - like MNREGA - that we currently have.

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Safety nets are most important in countries that have a lot of vulnerable people and have adopted a market-led growth strategy.

Markets are useful in driving higher growth over time, but are also much more vulnerable to many types of shocks.

Covid-19 is a good example.

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Vulnerable people do not have adequate savings to fall back on in times of such shocks.

Social safety nets are the only mechanism that can prevent them from life and health risks during these shocks.

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Think of the reverse migration that India experienced after the imposition of the first lockdown.

The only reason so many wage workers took such a risky decision was because they trusted the agricultural sector to save their lives. And arguably it did.

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