Building an Infrastructure-and-Intelligence Architecture for Agricultural Resilience in India
I. Introduction: Agricultural Resilience Begins Beyond the Farm Agricultural resilience is frequently discussed in terms of what happens on farms: productivity, cultivation practices, crop choices, input costs, and yields. Other familiar policy concerns include access to agricultural credit, insurance coverage, and government support. These are important considerations, but they do not encompass the entire system on which agricultural activity depends. Agriculture relies on a much wider network of physical infrastructure, supply chains, markets, and institutions. Inputs must be manufactured or procured, transported, and made available to farmers. Water must be stored, conveyed, and distributed. Agricultural produce must connect to appropriate storage facilities, procurement systems, transportation networks, and markets. Farmers must also be able to access the equipment, technologies, and services required for their activities. Meanwhile, changing environmental conditions, geopolitical ...