RAS question
According to NITI Aayog's 'Reimagining Agriculture' roadmap, what percentage of Indian farmers are categorized as 'Aspiring' farmers?
Correct answer: (B) 70-80%.
NITI Aayog's Reimagining Agriculture roadmap categorises 70-80% of Indian farmers as Aspiring farmers.
Explanation
NITI Aayog's Reimagining Agriculture roadmap divides Indian farmers into three broad archetypes so that frontier-technology recommendations can match the diversity of Indian farming. The roadmap says this segmentation is based on factors such as income, landholding size, irrigation, cropping pattern, technology adoption and needs. Within this framework, Aspiring farmers form the largest group at 70-80%. The roadmap describes them as small-holder, rain-dependent, subsistence-oriented and under-mechanised farmers, for whom farming is typically high-risk and low-margin. This is why the 70-80% figure is not just a statistic: it signals that most Indian farmers need solutions designed for trust, affordability and last-mile adoption rather than advanced, capital-intensive innovation.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 50-60% understates the Aspiring category, which the roadmap places at 70-80% of farmers.
- (C) 15-20% refers to Transitioning farmers in the roadmap, not Aspiring farmers.
- (D) 85-90% is higher than the roadmap's stated 70-80% share for Aspiring farmers and is not one of the listed archetype ranges.
Concept
This tests agricultural transformation and policy-led technology adoption in Indian Economy. It recurs in RAS because farmer heterogeneity shapes how public policy designs technology, advisory and market-support interventions.