Accelerated growth of service sector, almost stagnant growth of industrial sector and decelerated growth of agricultural sector have been registered as the pattern of growth in India during the last two decades or so. As a result, among other things, rural-urban development divide has broadened and deepened. The need for placing agricultural sector on the top of development agenda has led to identification of search areas, of which investment in agriculture to build up the capital stock so as to increase the productivity of labour engaged in agriculture and of land is well placed.

Keeping the above perspective in view, the book has documented and analysed the cross-country evidences to establish relationship between capital and growth, and growth, and poverty. Following this as a backdrop, the book has analysed macro evidences on investment behaviour in Indian agriculture, shifting composition of public and private sector investment in agriculture, and the relationship among capital formation, agriculture growth and poverty alleviation. The book has provided comprehensive micro (field) level evidences on capital structure, growth, composition, capital intensity, the impact of capital stock on productivity of labour and land, and determinants of farm level capital formation. The last chapter of the book has effectively extracted the substantive inferences from the analysis of macro and micro evidences on investment in Indian agriculture.

At the end, pathways and policy directions have been derived from the analysis of macro and micro evidences, focusing on public investment policies and priorities, and on public policy regime for inducing private investment.

S. Bisaliah, PhD in Agriculture Economics from University of Minnesota, has been engaged in teaching, research, development work and academic administration for the last four decades. He had served as Chairman, Karnataka State Agricultural Price Commission, contributing for policy and programme formulation for agriculture development. He has 170 research articles and policy reports on agriculture/rural development and capital formation in agriculture.

S. Mahendra Dev is Director, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, India. He received his PhD from the Delhi School of Economics and his Post-doctoral research at Yale. He has more than 100 research publications in national and international journals and has written extensively on agricultural development, poverty and public policy, food security, employment guarantee schemes, social security, farm and non-farm employment. 

Saifullah Syed is Senior Policy Officer, Policy Assistance and Support Service, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations He completed his MSc in Economics  from Birkbeck College, University of London and PhD in Economics from University of Paris-Dauphine, France. He has published several research papers and is co-author of the book: Agriculture in the Cook Islands: New Directions (1993).