In the early 1960s, economist CD. Deshmukh came to me with some seeds of acacia and eucalyptus. He was worried because the seeds had failed to germinate. I x-rayed the seeds and found their embryos normal. So I treated the seeds with acid and thinned their thick coat. After this, Deshmukh was able to germinate the seeds, and acacia and eucalyptus trees grew all over Delhi. Ever since, technology-dependence has grown in agriculture. This dependence is more widespread today as agriculture supports India's massive population. The next government will have to determine ways to stop agricultural decline with a wise mix of technology, capital and manpower. Conversion of fertile farmland into non-farm land should stop. The government should come up with a proper land use policy. It should ensure an end to overexploi-tation of ground water, and increase water harvesting. The special economic zone (SEZ) policy should be reviewed, because conversion of farmland into SEZs might lead to a major food crisis in India. Secondly, the government should bridge the gap between potential and actual yield of agricultural land. This is a major problem for small and marginal landholders. Almost 85 per cent of our agricultural land is with small landholders. Most of them do not produce as much as their land is capable of yielding. Better agriculture management can help bridge the gap between actual and potential yield. The government should start a small-farm management revolution to achieve this target. Promoting group insurance and group credit for farmers and investing heavily to create marketing infrastructure hold the key. Better marketing infrastructure will help small farmers who own less than two hectares. Better rural warehousing facilities will help small farmers store a portion of their crops to be sold at a higher price, and earn a profit. The next government should set up a farmers' income commission on the lines of the Sixth Pay Commission for government servants, to find out the causes of the low income of farmers even in states with good irrigation. Punjab is a relevant case. Despite good irrigation, farmers in the state are unable to come out of debt, which is a major cause of farmer suicide. The government should set up a national biotechnology authority to promote safe and responsible biotech use. The authority should be open to public scrutiny. The next government should devise plans to save India's low-lying coastal agricultural land from the rising sea level. If India can plan a manned mission to the moon, it can certainly deal with more down-to-earth issues like agriculture. Swaminathan is an agriculture scientist.