Agricultural

Development in India
• Agriculture is the key sector in the Indian economy and it plays a very
important role in the process of economic development of a country.

• Agricultural development has helped to a greater extent in the process of

economic development, especially in developed nation.
• The Indian agriculture sector, traditionally seen as low-tech and
subsistence-oriented, has the potential to become a driver of growth and
job creation.

• While agriculture currently employs 46% of the workforce and contributes

18% to GDP, its growth is inconsistent and environmentally costly.
• To make agriculture a key engine for growth, it is essential to
overcome ecological, technological, and institutional challenges.

• This includes regenerating water resources, expanding irrigation, embracing

crop diversity, and adopting high-tech solutions like micro-irrigation and
climate-resilient farming methods.
• In first five year plan of India was focused on the agricultural development and one of the
main objectives of first five year plan was to develop the agriculture sector.

• Various initiatives taken by government of India to improve the agriculture production and
their result shown as food grains production increased from 51 million tonnes in 1950-51
to 176.22 million tonnes in 1990-91.

• Since the 1960s, government provided active support to farmers in the form of subsidies
seed, fertilizer, and water, as well as through grain market support prices.
• It is seen that with the growth of the secondary and tertiary sectors in the
post-independence period in India.

• The participation level of agricultural worker has been declining day by day;
share of agriculture in GDP has also been showing a declining trend, but the
productivity of food grains has been increasing and trade of agricultural
commodities has also improved
• In 1951, around 69.7 per cent of working population was involved in the
agriculture in which the percentage of cultivator is higher than the
agricultural labour.

• This percentage of working population in this sector has subsequently

declined i.e. in 1981 was 60.5 per cent and in 2001 this has fallen to 58.2 per
cent and in 2011 this population fell to 54.6 per cent.
• In 2004-05, the percentage of share of agriculture in GDP was 16 and fell to 14.7
per cent in 2006-07.Further it fell to 12.4 per cent in 2010-11.

• The percentage of agriculture growth in India revealed that it is fluctuated i.e. in

2005-06 it was 5.5 per cent and in the next financial year it came down 4.1 per cent.

• This percentage fell to 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent in 2008-09 and 2009-10. But
this percentage shows tremendous growth i.e. 9.5 per cent in 2010-11
• Production and yield of food grains increased from 108.4 million tonnes and 872
kg/hectare in 1970-71 to 252.22 million tonnes and 2056 kg/hectare in 2015-16.

• Area under cultivation throughout the years is almost similar to each other. India’s imports
and exports of agricultural commodities have shown an increasing trend year by year but in
which the value of export was higher than the value of import.

• The percentage of export and import of agriculture to total export and import in 1990-91
was 18.4 and 2.4. But this percentage has grown in 2015-16 as 12.55 % in export and 5.63 %
in import
 Fragmented Land Holdings
• India's agricultural land is highly fragmented, with the average farm size
decreasing from 2.3 hectares in 1970-71 to 1.08 hectares in 2015-16.
• As per India's Agriculture Census 2015-16, 86.1% of Indian farmers are small and
marginal (SMF) i.e., have a landholding size smaller than 2 hectares
• More than half of these live in five Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
• This fragmentation limits economies of scale, mechanization, and access to credit.
• Such small plots make it challenging to implement modern farming techniques or invest
in technology, leading to lower productivity and income for farmers.
 Irrigation Challenges in a Changing
Climate
• Despite having 18% of the world's population, India has only 4% of global
water resources.
• Over Reliance on monsoon rains, coupled with inefficient irrigation practices,
hampers agricultural productivity.
• As of 2022-23, only 52% of cultivated land has access to irrigation.
• The Economic Survey 2017-18 estimated that climate change could reduce annual
agricultural incomes by 15-18% on average, and up to 25% in unirrigated areas.
• The recent heat waves in 2022 and 2023, which damaged wheat crops in several states,
exemplify the vulnerability of Indian agriculture to climate variability.
 Technological Lag, Innovation Gap
• While the Green Revolution significantly boosted productivity in the 1960s
and 70s, Indian agriculture has since struggled to keep pace with
technological advancements.
• The adoption of precision farming, drone technology, and AI-driven
solutions remains low.
• This technological lag contributes to lower yields compared to global standards -
India's rice yield is less compared to China's.
 Market Inefficiencies
• The Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) system, while
intended to protect farmers, has often led to exploitation by intermediaries.
• Farmers typically receive only 15-20% of the retail price of their produce.
• The recent farm laws of 2020 (now repealed) attempted to address this issue but
faced significant opposition.
• E-NAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market) launched in 2016 aims to create
a unified national market, but as of February 2024, only about 1.77 crore farmers were
registered on the platform.
 Credit Crunch- The Debt Trap
• Limited access to formal credit forces many farmers to rely on informal lenders
who charge exorbitant interest rates.According to NABARD's All India Rural
Financial Inclusion Survey 2017, only 30.3% of agricultural households availed
credit from institutional sources.
• According to the latest 'Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and
Land Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019’, over half of India's
agricultural households were in debt, with an average outstanding amount
of ₹74,121.
• This debt burden often leads to a cycle of poverty and, in extreme cases, farmer
suicides.
 Policy Paralysis-The Subsidy Conundrum
• : India's agricultural policy has long been dominated by subsidies, which often
distort market dynamics and resource allocation.
• The Government recently estimated that total subsidy on fertilizer could touch ₹2.25-lakh
crore during FY24.
• While these subsidies aim to support farmers, they often lead to overuse of inputs like
water and fertilizers, causing environmental degradation.
• The Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, while providing a safety net, has led to
overproduction of certain crops like wheat and rice at the expense of more nutritious and
environmentally suitable alternatives.
• This policy-induced cropping pattern mismatch affects both agricultural sustainability and
farmers' incomes.
 Post-Harvest Losses
• India loses a significant portion of its agricultural produce due to inadequate
storage and transportation infrastructure.
• According to the ICAR-Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and
Technology, annual post-harvest losses are estimated at ₹92,651 crore.
• The cold storage capacity in India can only accommodate about 11% of the
country's total produce.
• This leads to distress sales by farmers during harvest seasons, further reducing their
income potential.
 The Knowledge Deficit
• Despite employing a large workforce, Indian agriculture suffers from a
significant skill gap.This lack of formal training hampers the adoption of
modern agricultural practices and technologies.
• For example, the improper use of pesticides not only reduces crop yields
but also poses health risks.
• The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) has tried to
address this, but its impact on the agricultural sector remains limited.
What Measures can be Adopted to Enhance the Productivity of the
Agricultural Sector?
 Precision Agriculture-Farming by the
Numbers
• Implementing precision agriculture techniques can significantly boost
productivity.
• This involves using GPS-guided machinery, IoT sensors, and data analytics to
optimize resource use.
• A pilot project in Maharashtra using precision agriculture techniques reported
significant increase in crop yield and a significant reduction in water usage.
• Scaling this nationwide could potentially save billions of liters of water and increase
overall agricultural output.
 Crop Diversification-Beyond Wheat and
Rice
• Encouraging farmers to diversify crops can increase income and improve soil
health.
• The government's recent push for millets is a step in this direction.
• States like Odisha have successfully implemented crop diversification programs. This
not only improved farmer incomes but also enhanced nutritional security.
• Expanding such programs nationwide, with a focus on region-specific high-value
crops, can transform agricultural productivity.
 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)

• Promoting and strengthening FPOs can help small and marginal farmers
achieve economies of scale.
• The Sahyadri Farmers Producer Company in Maharashtra has increased farmer
incomes by 25-30% through collective bargaining and direct market access.
• Replicating this model across India, with adequate support and capacity building,
can significantly enhance farmer incomes and agricultural productivity.
 Climate-Smart Agriculture
• Implementing climate-smart agricultural practices is crucial for long-term
sustainability.
• This includes promoting drought-resistant crop varieties, water conservation
techniques, and climate forecasting tools.
• For example, the flood-tolerant rice variety Swarna-Sub1 has shown yield advantages.
• The Indian Prime Minister recently unveiled 109 varieties of 61 crops, comprising 34
field crops and 27 horticultural crops, is a step in the right direction.
 Agri-Tech Startups
• Fostering a vibrant agri-tech startup ecosystem can drive innovation in the
sector.
• Startups like DeHaat, which provides end-to-end services to farmers, have shown
promising results.
• Creating a supportive ecosystem for such startups through incubation centers,
funding, and policy support can accelerate technological adoption in agriculture.
 Minimizing Waste, Maximizing Value
• Investing in post-harvest infrastructure, including cold storage, food
processing units, and efficient transportation, can significantly reduce
losses and increase farmer incomes.
• For instance, the mega food park in Rayagada, Odisha, has benefited a large number
of farmers by providing processing facilities for their produce.
• Establishing similar infrastructure across the country, especially in major producing
regions, can help reduce the estimated annual post-harvest losses of ₹92,651 crore.
 Agricultural Education and Extension
• Strengthening agricultural education and extension services can bridge the
knowledge gap in farming communities.
• The PRAGATI (Promoting Risk Aware Governance and Technology Infusion) scheme
aims to revamp agricultural extension services.
• Scaling such innovative extension models, coupled with modernizing agricultural
universities, can create a more skilled and knowledgeable farming workforce.
 The Government of India should take the following important steps to save the agricultural
sector and also the people dependent on agriculture:

i) Credit should be created to farmer at the reasonable rates from which the
financial requirement of farmer fulfilled easily at the time of cropping of
crops.

ii) Better and quality seeds should be provided by the government and
provision of quality seeds should be included.
iii) Better irrigation facilities are a need especially in hill regions of India.

iv) In India, majority of population depends on agriculture sector. This pressure leads
to leads to sub division and fragmentation of land holdings. There is a need to reduce
this pressure on this sector.

v) There is a need to consolidate all the fragmented land into a good size land with the
help of co-operative farming and consolidation of holding which gives profitable
returns.
vi) Agricultural marketing system should be improved that the cultivators can sell their
products at reasonable prices and can also purchase their necessary inputs from
government arranged input shops. There is also a need to improve the agriculture
marketing especially in the hill regions of India.

vii) Agricultural education should be provided to the farmer related to land

management, agriculture and natural resources from which it helps the farmer as
increased production, conservation of soil and other natural resources etc.
viii) Storage centers and Godowns centers should be established at district levels so
that these centers improve marketing efficiency for various farm produce and
influence the farming communities to maximize the production of various high value
crops.

ix) Forecasting and early warning system should be build up to make them farmers
oriented. It helps in appropriate training of farmers in operating agriculture practices
to reduce losses in disasters and another climate- related risk.
 Causes of Regional disparities in Indian
Agriculture
• Agriculture forms the backbone of the Indian economy. This sector provides
employment to around 65% of the total work force in the country and it
contributes a sizable share in Indian GDP which is very essential for economic
development of the country.

• But India is characterized by wide regional variation in agro-climatic condition.

Agricultural output in different region is varied due to varied agro- climatic factors,
physical resource endowment and also varying level of investment in rural
infrastructure and technological innovations.
• Moreover, the disproportionate distributions of public and private
investment in favour of agriculturally developed states are found to be
responsible for wide disparity in agricultural performances in India which, in
turn, is considered to be responsible for wide disparity in the per capita net
state domestic product across states in India.

• The regional variation in agricultural infrastructure and the use of

agricultural inputs in India is quite high
• The regional agriculture disparity remained a serious problem in India.
Reduction of regional imbalance is one of the key challenges of Agricultural
Development in India.

• Indian agriculture has witnessed tremendous changes during the last 4

decades following the adoption of green revaluation technology during late
1960’s; the green revaluation technology was initially adopted on a large scale
in the region well endowed with irrigation.
• As this technology possessed vast potential for increase in productivity, it led
to impressive growth in agriculture output in the region where it was
adopted.

• Because the spread of green revaluation technology was highly skewed in

favour of certain regions and states, this led to a high growth in agricultural
output in selected regions while the other regions suffered from stagnancy or
poor growth in agriculture output
• Regional disparities may vary from period to period , region to region and sector to
sector.

• A number of studies have been conducted at the world level, India level, and district
level. It is an accepted fact that in even developed regions / states / districts there
are backward pockets and that at no level there exist perfect equality.

• Therefore, it is true that perfect regional balancing of economic development is

neither feasible nor economically desirable.
WHAT IS GREEN REVOLUTION

• The Green Revolution was a period when the productivity of global agriculture
increased drastically as a result of new advances. During this time period, new
chemical fertilizers and pesticides were created. The chemical fertilizers made it
possible to supply crops with extra nutrients and, therefore, increase yield. The
newly developed pesticides controlled weeds, deterred or kill insects, and
prevented diseases, which also resulted in higher productivity.
 History and development of Green Revolution

• The beginnings of the Green Revolution are often attributed to Norman Borlaug,
an American scientist interested in agriculture Dr. Norman E. Borlaug receives the
Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. Burlaug, a 1970 Nobel Laureate, was honored
for his work in the 'Green Revolution,' saving millions of lives from famine in
India, Mexico, and the Middle East.
 Green Revolution in India

• In 1965 the government decided to major steps on agriculture conditions.

• Thus Green Revolution was applied to the period from 1967 to 1978 basically in
the parts or Haryana and Punjab.

• At this stage concern was on Wheat and Rice.

• Dr. MS Swaminathan from India led Green Revolution as a Project.

Methods used in Green Revolution

• Multiple Cropping System

• Seeds with superior genetics
• Proper irrigation system
• HYV seeds
• Pesticides and fertilizers
• Modern machines
• Expansion of farming areas
Effects of Green revolution
• Increase in production
• Capitalistic farming
• Rural employment
• Import of food grains
• Development of industries
• Economic growth
• Thinking of farmers
 Important aspect of Green Revolution
• In addition to producing larger quantities of food, the Green Revolution was also
beneficial because it made it possible to grow more crops on roughly the same amount
of land with a similar amount of effort.

• This reduced production costs and also resulted in cheaper prices for food in the
market. The ability to grow more food on the same amount of land was also beneficial
to the environment because it meant that less forest or natural land needed to be
converted to farmland to produce more food.
Issues regarding Green Revolution
• Pollution and erosion of soil
• Pollution of water
• Unemployment among uneducated farmers
• Deadly disease
• Harmful for farmers
• Consumption may be adverse
Failures of Green Revolution
 Conclusion

• Green Revolution has done a lot of positive things, saving the lives of millions peoples and
exponentially increasing the yield of food crops.

• But environmental degradation makes the Green Revolution an overall inefficient, short-
term solution to the problem of food insecurity.

• So, more sustainable and environmental friendly system of cultivation needs to be practiced.
The world needs green Revolution 2, which promises to feed a growing world population
sustainably –without compromising the needs of future generations.