New Delhi  - India expects a good harvest of rice, corn and soya bean this year because of good monsoon rains and higher incentives on fertilizers given to farmers, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said Wednesday.

"The onset and distribution of monsoon rains across the country in the current season has been very encouraging, and we are hopeful of a rich harvest, especially of rice, maize and soya bean," Pawar said addressing a function organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in New Delhi.

Pawar said huge investments in agriculture over the last few years had started showing results.

"The recent decisions regarding the increase in the minimum support price of paddy and incentives on use of nutrient-based fertilizers are expected to help in improving overall farm profitability, productivity and production," the minister said.

India has been witnessing record double-digit inflation due to the increasing cost of food and petrol. The South Asian country has also been facing declining productivity in the agriculture sector amid rising suicides by impoverished farmers.

But the government is hoping that plentiful monsoon rains between June and September will bring down the price of food and pulses. Indian agriculture mainly depends on monsoon rains that account for four-fifths of the annual rainfall.

Addressing scientists at the same function, Indian President Pratibha Patil has expressed concern over the slow growth in the farm sector. He asked policy makers to keep agriculture as the centre of the country's development agenda.

According to official data, more than 100,000 farmers have committed suicide over the past decade. In February, the government announced a 15 billion-dollar farm debt waiver that is estimated to benefit 4.1 million farmers.

"The slow growth of farm economics is a major challenge before the policy makers and the scientific community," Patil said.

"We must enhance productivity on a constant basis and bring about a second green revolution, which along with agro-biotechnology can translate into an ever-green revolution in India," she said. (dpa)