Agriculture Development in India

• During partition about one-third of the irrigated land in undivided India went to Pakistan.
• After Independence
• Switching over from cash crops to food crops.
• Intensification of cropping over already cultivated land.
• Increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable and fallow land under plough.
• Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) were launched.
• Two consecutive droughts resulted in food crisis. So import food.
• Wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) - high yielding varieties (HYVs) were available for cultivation by mid-1960s.
• ‘Green Revolution’ - Increasing the cropped area, Number of crops grown, improving irrigation facilities, use of fertilizers and high yielding variety of seeds, Agro-Processing industry & Small scale Industry. Made country self-reliant in foodgrain production.
• initiated agro-climatic planning in 1988 to induce regionally balanced agricultural development in the country. need for diversification of agriculture and harnessing of resources for the development of dairy farming, poultry, horticulture, livestock rearing and aquaculture.
• Mechanisation of agriculture & increase food security.
• Developing countries - practise intensive agriculture where crops are grown on small holdings mostly for subsistence.
• Larger holdings are more suitable for commercial agriculture as in USA, Canada and Australia.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)

• Make agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific integrated/composite farming systems and to conserve natural resources through appropriate soil and moisture conservation measure.
• Promoting organic farming. Schemes Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) & Rashtriya Vikas Yojana (RKVY).

Technological and Institutional Reforms

• Collectivization, consolidation of holdings, cooperation and abolition of zamindari, etc.
• Land reform (laws of land reforms were enacted but the implementation was lacking or lukewarm).
• Fragmentation of land holdings necessitating consolidation of holdings.
• Green Revolution & White Revolution (Operation Flood).
• Provision for crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease, establishment of Grameen banks, cooperative societies and banks for providing loan facilities to the farmers at lower rates of interest.
• Kissan Credit Card (KCC) & Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
• Minimum support price, remunerative and procurement prices for important crops.

Bhoodan – Gramdan Gandhi’s concept of gram swarajya. After Gandhi, Vinoba Bhaye undertook padyatra. Bhoodan - 80 acres of land to be distributed among 80 land-less villagers. Gramdan - Some zamindars, owners of many villages offered to distribute some villages among the landless.

• Farmer’s Portal of India
• Detailed information on farmers’ insurance, agriculture storage, crops, extension activities, seeds, pesticides, farm machineries, etc.
• Details of fertilizers, market prices, package and practices, programmes, welfare schemes.
• Details of soil fertility, storage, insurance, training, etc.

Growth of Agricultural Output and Technology

• Increase production and yield of many crops.
• Expansion of irrigation introduction of modern agricultural technology, net irrigated area in the country has also increased. Modern agricultural technology.
• Consumption of chemical fertilizers has increased by 15 times since mid-sixties.

Problems of Indian Agriculture

• Agro-ecological and historical experiences of its different regions
• Dependence on Erratic Monsoon – Irrigated only about 33 per cent. Poor performance of south-west monsoon also adversely affects the supply of canal water for irrigation. Droughts and floods
• Low productivity - yield of the crops & Labour productivity in the country is low in comparison to the international level. Vast rainfed areas of the country, particularly drylands which mostly grow coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds have low yields.
• Constraints of Financial Resources and Indebtednes - inputs of modern agriculture are very expensive. Intensive approach has become unmanageable for marginal and small farmers. very meagre or no saving to invest in agriculture. Crop failures and low returns from agriculture. Fall in the trap of indebtedness.
• Lack of Land Reforms - unequal distribution of land. Mahalwari, Ryotwari and Zamindari. land reforms were accorded priority, but these reforms were not implemented effectively due to lack of strong political will.
• Small Farm Size and Fragmentation of Landholdings - large number of marginal and small farmers, average size of land holding is shrinking under increasing population pressure. land holdings are mostly fragmented. Small size fragmented landholdings are uneconomic.
• Lack of Commercialisation - farmers produce crops for self-consumption. do not have enough land resources to produce more than their requirement. Modernisation and commercialization, taken place in irrigated area.
• Vast Underemployment - particularly in the unirrigated tracts, seasonal unemployment ranging from 4 to 8 months. operations are not labour intensive.
• Degradation of Cultivable Land - degradation of land resources lead to depletion of soil fertility alarming in irrigated areas, land has lost its fertility due to alkalisation and salinisation of soils and waterlogging. Excessive use of chemicals such as insecticides and pesticides. Leguminous crops have been displaced from the cropping pattern in the irrigated areas and duration of fallow has substantially reduced owing to multiple cropping. process of natural fertilization such as nitrogen fixation. Rainfed areas in humid and semi-arid tropics like soil erosion by water and wind erosion, often induced by human activities.

Contribution of agriculture to the national economy, employment and output

• 52% of the total work. declining share of agriculture in the GDP.
• Effort to modernise agriculture. Establishment of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), agricultural universities, veterinary services and animal breeding centres, horticulture development, research and development in the field of meteorology and weather forecast, etc.
• Facing a big challenge from international competition and reduction in the public investment.
• Subsidy on fertilisers is decreased leading to increase in the cost of production.
• Reduction in import duties on agricultural products proved detrimental to agriculture in the country.

Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture

• 1917, Champaran movement in Bihar.
• Under globalisation, particularly after 1990, the farmers in India have been exposed to new challenges. producer of rice, cotton, rubber, tea, coffee, jute and spices our agricultural products are not able to compete with the developed countries because of the highly subsidized agriculture in those countries.
• Green revolution promised much, but today its under controversies. It is being alleged that it has caused land degradation due to overuse of chemicals, drying aquifers and vanishing biodiversity.
• India’s rural population is about 833 million (2011) which depends upon 250 million (approximate) hectares of agricultural land, an average of less than half a hectare per person.
• Indian farmers should diversify, cereals to high-value crops, it increases incomes and reduce environmental degradation.
• fruits, medicinal herbs, flowers, vegetables, bio-diesel crops like jatropha and jojoba need much less irrigation than rice or sugarcane.
• India’s diverse climate can be harnessed to grow a wide range of high-value crops.