CHENNAI: State Planning Commission executive vice-chairman Dr J Jeyaranjan on Monday said that the movement of workers out of agriculture into non-agriculture industries is a positive structural shift – a view also endorsed by the Economic Survey of Tamil Nadu for the year 2025-26.
Addressing a press conference after submitting the Economic Survey to Chief Minister M K Stalin at the secretariat, Jeyaranjan said that in Tamil Nadu, agriculture’s share in the economy has steadily declined – both in terms of output and the number of people dependent on it. Only about 25% of the population now works in agriculture.
He said that although agricultural production may remain stable or grow in absolute terms, other sectors are expanding faster, reducing its relative share. Unlike some states where people remain trapped in agriculture despite shrinking returns, Tamil Nadu has seen a healthy shift of workers to other sectors, reducing poverty risks, he added.
Jeyaranjan also pointed out that agriculture faces serious climate challenges, including erratic rainfall, unexpected heat, and crop losses during harvest. While productivity remains high and horticulture shows progress, overall growth has stagnated. Managing climate change remains a major challenge.
In this regard, the chapter on agriculture in the survey underscored the fact that TN’s economy is transitioning away from farming as its primary engine of growth and employment. The survey said that while agricultural production remains important and certain sub-sectors are thriving, slower growth, climate instability, and faster expansion in other sectors mean farming will play a smaller economic role over time. “The movement of workers out of agriculture into industry and services is seen as a positive structural shift,” he said.
Asked whether the shrinking workforce for the agriculture sector is a matter of concern, Jeyaranjan replied in the negative and explained: “In many other states, while agriculture’s economic contribution declines, people continue to depend on it, leading to persistent poverty. In contrast, in TN, both the sector’s share and the number of people dependent on it are declining, which reflects a healthy structural shift. If opportunities in other sectors shrink and people are unable to move out of agriculture, it would lead to serious distress. However, in Tamil Nadu, a large number of people are moving into other occupations.”
Jeyaranjan pointed out that mechanisation of agricultural work is playing an important role in this. The workers are moving to non-agricultural sectors because employment in agriculture is seasonal, and they cannot depend on it year-round. Asked whether food production would be affected by this, he denied this and said: “Food production never goes down because of this trend. In fact, we are not able to fully procure what is being produced.”
He also pointed out that even though agricultural production and productivity remain relatively high, overall growth in the sector has almost stagnated, and some sub-sectors have even gone down. However, horticulture and fruit cultivation have shown notable progress. The major challenge ahead is managing the impact of climate change, he said.