India, Aug. 11 -- At a national-level meeting on agriculture some years ago, a senior participant asked, almost dismissively, "Why should we worry so much about a sector that contributes only 14-15% to the GDP?" The room fell silent. I was then serving as agriculture secretary in Punjab. Given the setting and the authority behind the remark, no one challenged it. The Government of India was quick to contain the fallout, and the comment did not travel beyond the room.

The episode stayed with me because it captured a misconception that still influences policy: as agriculture's share in national income declines, its importance must also be declining. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In every developing economy, agriculture's share ...