ple were migrating from the agricultural sector to the other sector. So with this policy, we want to bring their people back to the agricultural sector so that they have an interest in this.

No, the new policy would need to enhance agricultural growth, economic development, and removal of unemployment in the rural areas.

So the thrust areas are: One is, economic upliftment. The most important thrust area for agricultural policy is that the rural people should, whether it be the farmers or women or agricultural laborers or backward classes, they should all get economic upliftment through employment and reduction of underemployment.

What is happening in India is that during the lean season, there is a lot of underemployment. The farming season is for about four to six months. Then first six months there is no employment for the rural farmers. So that under-employment has to be tackled as one of the main thrust areas.

Then investment. To be able to upgrade their investment, which is for a one-year crop only. But what is required is an investment for long term development. But this infrastructure development will take priority. That means irrigation, wells, tube-wells, roads, transportation and communication. All these sectors will be given importance so that after agricultural production has increased, the marketability of the agricultural production is also increased.

The next thrust area is research and education.

Now, today, what is happening is, the researches are taking place only in the laboratories. It is now being transmitted to the field areas. A11 their research activities should be concentrated.

For the various regions, there should be separate thrusts of research and education, and then it should go down from the laboratory to the field areas. There should be proper demonstration of techniques to the farmers and the advantages would be brought out to them -- what exactly would be the advantage in forming a particular research system.

Then land development. There are may areas in India, about hundred million hectares, which are unproductive, which are lying barren. So, the aim is to bring more and more area under cultivation by giving proper treatment in the form of watershed development, tree plantation, and other activities so that land, which is fertile, should become more fertile.

Than we go to the sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is conservation of land, as what others are mentioning, plus the water resources, So, whatever water resources are there, if we are going to exhaust all these resources in the near future, the land would become dry very shortly. For our future farmers, that will be a problem. So, there should be no wastage -- there should be proper lining of canals, there should be proper regimentation of the water supply to the farmers.