Transformation of agriculture should be top priority

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said transformation of the agricultural sector should be the top priority of the country’s public policies including those on science and technology.

He also said that complex issues related to genetically modified food, nuclear energy or the exploration of outer space cannot be settled by faith, emotion and fear, but by a structured debate. “Nearly 65% of our people live in rural areas. The 12th Five-Year Plan assumes that a sustained growth in agriculture at the rate of 4% per annum is essential to achieve food security,” Singh told the centenary session of Indian Science Congress here.