Agriculture and Indian Economy:Introduction: Agriculture has long history, the first productive task taken by early man was agriculture in the form of animal rearing. But the history of early cultivation of plants, and domestication of crops long back to 9000 BC. Double monsoon season acted as stimulating factor for growth and development in India. Before Independence Britishers have launched the “Grow More Food Campaign” in 1940s to increase production of cash crops for the benefit of their Industry. After Independence Govt. of India had started “Integrated Production Programme” in 1950s to increase the production of food and cash crops which resulted in ‘Green Revolution’ in Indian in the decade of 1960. Presently, agriculture is one of the important sector of Indian economy,which contribute 14.3 % to GDP and more important provides livelihood to 67% of Indian Population.

ETYMOLOGICAL MEANING:

• The word agriculture is derived from two LATIN WORDS

• Ager : field

• Cultura : cultivation

So, agriculture is cultivation and breeding of animals, plants.

GENERAL MEANING:

The science or practice of farming including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to get food, wool and other products.

DEFINITIONS:

“Agriculture is the science of cultivating the soil, harvesting crops and raising livestock and the science and art of the production of plants and animal useful to man and in varying degrees the preparation of such products for Man’s use and their disposal.” Miller and Dixon

‘Agriculture is the deliberate effort to modify a portion of earth surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for economic gain.’ Rubenstein

“Agriculture is an exploitation of solar energy and adequate supply of water and nutrients to maintain plant growth.” Monteith

“Agriculture is the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products.” Merriam Webster Dictionary

“Agriculture is the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.” - Oxford Dictionary

CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE:

1. Subsistence Type: Indian agriculture is subsistent type of agriculture whose prime aim is to meet the food and other requirements of its vast population. Farmers select food crops with major objective of meeting their domestic needs rather than generating surplus for national and international markets. It is recently that agriculture is becoming commercialised and market oriented, a role gaining popularity in developed areas and amongst the big farmers.2. Heavy Population Pressure:

Indian agriculture is characterised by heavy population pressure. About 67 per cent of the country's population derives its livelihood from agriculture and allied occupations. Since India's population is growing at a faster rate of 2.1 per cent per annum the per capita availability of agricultural land has declined from 0.75 ha. This puts enormous pressure on agriculture.3. Dominance of Food Crops:

Indian agriculture has the predominance of the cultivation of food grains which occupy 76% of the total cropped area and account for 80% of the total agricultural production of the country. These cereals include rice, wheat, millet, gram, maize and pulses which are grown to meet the food requirements of India's vast population which is 121.7 millions in census 2011.4. Diversity of Crops:

The agriculture shows diversity of crops. Sometimes four-five crops are grown simultaneously in the same field. This is done to ensure some agricultural production during unfavorable weather conditions. This mixed cropping reduces the agricultural output and per hectare yield.5. Highest Percentage of Cultivated geographical Area:

India has the highest percentage (53%) of its geographical area under cultivation in comparison to many countries (USA 16.3%, China 11.8%, Japan 14.9%, Canada 4.3%, etc.) of the world. The climatic conditions especially temperature helps in providing a long growing season throughout the year. Due to pressure of population and consequent expansion in agricultural lands vast tracts of forests have been removed from the plains. Here there is very little scope for increasing cropped area and in certain pockets even negative trend is being witnessed.6. Tiny and Fragmented Land holding:

Due to physical, economic and social factors the landholdings are tiny, fragmented which is unsuitable for modern methods of agriculture.7. Intensive Farming:

In India intensive farming is carried on in limited areas. Elsewhere it is practiced on traditional lines. That is why per hectare yield of different crops is much lower than other countries of the world and India's total agricultural production is not very satisfactory and rewarding.8. Use of Animals:

Indian agriculture utilises a number of draught animals like bullocks, he buffaloes, camels etc. in agricultural work. Although the use of agricultural machinery is replacing animal power but the pace of progress is very slow and confined to rich sections of the cultivators.9. Labour Based:

It is also labor based enterprise where all agricultural operations like till-ing, sowing, weeding, sprinkling of insecticides/ pesticides, harvesting, threshing etc. are carried by human hands. Although the use of agricultural machinery is replacing human power but the pace of progress is very slow and confined to rich sections of the cultivators10. Dependence on Rainfall:

Indian agriculture is mostly dependent on rainfall whose variability in time and place has adverse effect on agricultural output. It is really a matter of concern that despite seven decades of constant endeavor only 41.2% of the total cropped area has been brought under irrigation. Rest is at the mercy of rain-God( Indera). That is why when rain fails agricultural production is badly affected, scarcity prevails and prices reach sky high. If

the entire agricultural area is brought under irrigation agricultural production may be easily doubled.11. Favourable Climatic Situations:

On an average, climatic and seraphic factors are favourable for agriculture in India. That’s why where enough moisture is available either through rainfall or irrigation three to four crops can be raised in a year. But in the absence of adequate moisture even the cultivation of single crop becomes difficult.12. Minimum Fodder Crop Cultivation:

Indian agriculture puts minimum attention on fodder crops (4% of cropped area). This together with lack of good pastures has detrimental effect over the development of dairy farming. India has the largest number of cattle but it occupies an insignificant place in respect of cattle products in the world.13. Step motherly treatment and negligence by the government:Indian agriculture has been the victim of negligence and step motherly treatment by the government. Still much attention is focused on the development of industries and urban areas neglecting the vast countryside. The remunerative price for agricultural products, restoring tiller's right over land, and schemes of crop insurance are still Cherished dreams difficult to be realised in near future.14. Traditional Structure of Agriculture:

Despite some breakthroughs, the basic structure of the agrarian economy still remains traditional in India. Established centuries ago, these structures of a self-contained rural economy, founded in caste-derived occupational land tenures made complex by absentee and parasitic landlords, have been slow to respond to modernization.15. Suffers from numerous problems:

Indian agriculture suffers from numerous problems, i.e., small land holdings, unscientific method of farming, less irrigational facilities, less use of chemical, bio and natural fertilisers, greater vulnerability to pests and diseases, less remunerative prices for agricultural products, poverty amongst and lack of infrastructural facilities etc.16. Lacks definite land use policy:

Indian agriculture also lacks definite a cultural land use policy at national or regional it is on the sweet will of the farmer to grow one another crop. This sometimes leads to excess production and sometimes scarcity. Lack of marking and storage facility and the activity of bro and middlemen deprive farmers to fetch reductive prices for agricultural products.

17. No more honorable profession:

In India agriculture is not considered to an honorable profession. This leads to dissepiments and lack of enthusiasm amongst farmers people prefer a petty government job to agriculture Rich farmers invest their agricultural profits in agricultural sectors which are more remunerate There is mass exodus of people from rural to areas in search of lucrative jobs. There is con flow of human and material resources from villa to the cities. This has led to mushroom growth urban centers and slums.

18. Need for agricultural rehabilitation Process:

There is a need for initiating the process agricultural rehabilitation which should consist effecting improvements on several fronts, in inquest, in social institutions and in reducing de graphic pressures.

ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN INDIAN ECONOMY:India is mainly an agricultural country. Agriculture is the most important occupation for most of the Indian families. In India, agriculture contributes about sixteen percent (14.3%) of total GDP, ten percent (10%) of total exports and providing livelihood to near about 67% of Indian Population as well as food security to world second largest population( 121.7 Crore).

Over 60 % of India’s land area is arable making it the second largest country in terms of total arable land. Agricultural products of significant economic value includes rice, wheat, potato, tomato, onion, mangoes, sugar-cane, beans, cotton, etc.

Prof. Gunar Myrdal has highlighted the role of agriculture in Indian Economy by rightly remarked, "It is the agricultural sector that the battle for long term economic development of India will be won or lost."

The Role of the Indian Agriculture can be listed as below:

i) Share in national income:

Agriculture is India's biggest sector of the economy. Although the share of agriculture in the total national income has been gradually decreasing on account of development of the secondary and tertiary sectors, it's contribution continues to be significant. In 1950, the share of agriculture was 57% but it is only 14.3% now. The more developed a country is the

lesser is the contribution of agriculture. Although the share of agriculture has been declining gradually with the growth of other sectors but the share still remained very high as compared to that of the developed countries of the world. For example, the share of agriculture has declined to14.3 % in 2016-17, whereas in U.K. and U.S.A. agriculture contributes only 3 per cent to the national income of these countries.

ii) Source of Employment:

Today almost 67% of the population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture. The greater dependence of working population on agriculture indicates the underdevelopment of non-agricultural activities in the country.

iii) Importance in industrial development:

Agriculture provides raw materials to our leading industries such as cotton textiles and sugar industries. Not only this the workers in industries depend on agriculture for their food. Agriculture also provides the market for a variety of goods i.e. chemical industry, machinery and other inputs.

iv) Importance in international trade and Foreign Exchange Reserve:

A number of the agricultural commodities like tea, coffee, spices and tobacco constitutes our main items of exports, these amount to almost 10% of our total exports. Hence agriculture provides foreign exchange which helps us to buy machines from abroad. It also maintains a balance of payments and make our country self-sufficient.

v) Development of tertiary sector:

Tertiary sector provides helpful services to the industries and agriculture like banking, warehousing etc. Internal trade is mostly done in agricultural produce. For example, various means of transport get bulk of their business by the movement of agricultural goods.

vi) Revenue to the government:

State government get a major part of their revenue in terms of land

revenue, irrigation charges, etc. Central government also earns revenue from export duties on the agricultural production. Moreover our government can raise substantial revenue by imposing agricultural income tax. However this has not been possible due to some political reasons.

vii) International importance:

Our agriculture has brought fame to the country. India enjoys first position in the world as far as the production of tea, milk and groundnuts are concerned.

viii) Internal trade

Agriculture plays a important role in the internal trade. It is because of the fact that 90% of of our population spends 60% of their income on the purchase of the items like food, tea, milk etc.ix) Economic Growth: Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. Though, with the growth of other sectors, the overall share of agriculture on GDP of the country has decreased. Still, Agriculture continues to play a dominant part in the overall economic scenario of India.

x) Source of Food for domestic consumption: Food is essential for life. We depend on agricultural outputs for our food requirements. India produces large quantity of food grains such as millets, cereals, pulses, etc. A major portion of the food-stuffs produced is consumed within the country. Our farmers works day and night to feed our population that counts over 1.21 billion.

xi) Agriculture in India is a ‘way of life’:

Agriculture in India is more a ‘way of life’ then a ‘mode of business’. Subsistence agriculture with its emphasis on the production of food for the cultivator’s family is widespread. Traditionally, Agriculture is followed as the simplest method of obtaining food for the family and survival of life. So, India it is basically way of Life. 

xii) Export:

Indian Agriculture is playing a very important role both in the internal and external trade of the country. India exports are mainly food and agricultural products. A large proportion of India’s export trade is based on the agricultural products, such as jute, tea, tobacco, coffee, spices, and sugar, cashew-nuts etc. are the main items of our exports and constitute about 50 per cent of our total exports. Besides manufactured jute, cotton textiles and sugar also contribute another 20 per cent of the total exports

of the country. Thus nearly 70 per cent of India’s exports are originated from agricultural sector. Further, agriculture is helping the country in earning precious foreign exchange to meet the required import bill of the country. It helps in increasing the foreign exchange. India is ranked seventh in terms of agricultural exports. In Jan., 2017, India exported agricultural products valuing around 187.93 billion Rupees.

xiii) Basic occupation of millions: 

Agriculture is the basic occupation for majority of main-workers in India. Agriculture is the largest employer industry in India. According to 2011 census, over 67.6% of the main workers in India are engaged in agricultural and allied activities.

xiv). Source of Livelihood:In India over two-thirds of our working population are engaged directly on agriculture and also similarly depend for their livelihood. According to an estimate, about 67 per cent of our working population is engaged in agriculture at present in comparison to that of 2 to 3 per cent in U.K. and U.S.A., 6 per cent in France and 7 per cent in Australia. Thus the employment pattern of our country is very much common to other under-developed countries of the world.

xv). Source of Food Supply:Agriculture is the only major source of food supply as it is providing regular supply of food to such a huge size of population of our country. It has been estimated that about 60 per cent of household consumption is met by agricultural products.

xv). Role of Agriculture for Industrial Development:Agriculture in India has been the major source of supply of raw materials to various important industries of our country. Cotton and jute textiles, sugar, vanaspati, edible oil plantation industries (viz. tea, coffee, rubber) and agro-based cottage industries are also regularly collecting their raw materials directly from agriculture.

About 50 per cent of income generated in the manufacturing sector comes from all these agro-based industries in India. Moreover, agriculture can provide a market for industrial products as increase in the level of agricultural income may lead to expansion of market for industrial products.

xvi).Role of Agriculture in Economic Planning:The prospect of planning in India also depends much on agricultural sector. A good crop always provides impetus towards a planned economic development of the country by creating a better business climate for the transport system, manufacturing industries, internal trade etc. A good crop also brings a good amount of finance to the Government for meeting

its planned expenditure. Thus the agricultural sector is playing a very important role in a country like India and the prosperity of the Indian economy still largely depends on agricultural sector. Thus from the foregoing analysis it is observed that agricultural development is the basic precondition of sectoral diversification and development of the economy.

xvii) Reduce inequality of incomes in rural areas: It is desired that distribution surplus land among small and marginal farmers in such a way so that there would be some degree of equality and justice in the rural areas will play major role to reduce inequalities in India.

LANDMARKS OF AGRICULTURE SECTOR: India is largest Producer of :

Tea, Mica, Iron Ore, Milk, Cashew Nuts, Coconuts, Gingers, Turmeric & Black Pepper.

India is Second Largest Producer of: Wheat, Rice, Sugar, Groundnut and Pulses.

Third largest Producer of Tobacco.

INDIAN AGRICULTURE AND FIVE YEAR PLAN:First Five-Year Plan (1951-56):

Agriculture was given the topmost priority in the First Five-Year Plan. The First Five-Year Plan was based on the Harrod–Domar model with few modifications. The Plan was mainly directed towards increasing agricultural production and strengthening economic infrastructures like irrigation, power and transport after independence, there was an acute

food shortage in the country and to solve the food problem priority was given to increase production of food grains.The abolition of zamindari system, the launching of the community development programme, growing more food campaign along with improvement in other related spheres like marketing, fisheries, animal husbandry, soil conservation and forestry were the notable features of the First Five-Year Plan. There was a remarkable increase in agricultural production during the First Plan period.The production of food grains increased from 54 million tones in 1950-51 to 65.8 million tones at the end of the Plan. Production of all agricultural commodities increased by 22.2 per cent to 32 per cent of the total outlay during the First Plan was to be spent on agriculture and irrigation. The targets sent out for the Plan were almost achieved, and, even in some cases, exceeded. A good monsoon was helpful for the success of agriculture during the First Plan period.Second Five-Year Plan (1956-61):In the second plan, emphasis was shifted from agriculture to industry because the Second Plan was particularly in the development of the public sector and "rapid Industrialisation". The plan followed the Mahalanobis model, an economic development model developed by the Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1953. The plan attempted to determine the optimal allocation of investment between productive sectors in order to maximise long-run economic growth. It used the prevalent state of art techniques of operations research and optimization as well as the novel applications of statistical models developed at the Indian Statistical Institute. The plan assumed a closed economy in which the main trading activity would be centred on importing capital goods. In 2nd Plan only about 21 per cent of the actual plan expenditure was spent for agricultural development. The food production rose from 65.8 million tones to 79.7 million tones as against the fixed target of 80.5 million tones. There was a shortfall in the production of all crops except sugarcane, As a result of this unsatisfactory agricultural production; the country had to import food grains from abroad to overcome the food shortage. During this Plan, an inflationary situation started in the economy.Third Five-Year Plan (1961-66):

The Third Five-year Plan, stressed agriculture and improvement in the production of wheat, but the brief Sino-Indian War of 1962 exposed weaknesses in the economy and shifted the focus towards the defence industry and the Indian Army. In 1965–1966, India fought a War with Pakistan. There was also a severe drought in 1965. The war led to inflation and the priority was shifted to price stabilisation. The construction of dams continued. Many cement and fertilizer plants were also built. Punjab began producing an abundance of wheat. The objective of the Third Five-Year Plan was to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains and to increase the agricultural production to meet the needs of industry and

export- The plan accorded higher priority (20.5 per cent) to agriculture and irrigation than to industrial development (20.1 per cent).The Plan targeted to increase overall agricultural production by 30 per cent, but the achievements were disappointing. The actual output of food grains was 88.4 million tones in 1964-65 and 72.3 million tons in 1965-66, caused due to the drought condition of 1965-66. The food production increased by 10 per cent only as against the target of 30 per cent. Consequently, the country has to import Rs. 1,100 crores worth of food grains to meet the domestic demand.Three Annual Plans (1966-69):

During this period, a high priority was given to minor irrigation and this was followed by adoption of a high yielding variety programme to increase agricultural production and productivity. Thus, this period is considered crucial for Indian agriculture as the green revolution took place during this period and the Government set up Agricultural Prices Commission to assure minimum support prices to farmers and the Food Corporation of India for maintaining buffer-stock to overcome fluctuation in the supplies of food grains and their prices.Due to implementation of H.Y.V. programme, there was a recorded food grain production of 95.6 million tones in 1967-68 and 1968-69.Fourth Five-Year Plan (1969-74):

At this time Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. The Indira Gandhi government nationalised 14 major Indian banks and the Green Revolution in India advanced agriculture. The Fourth Plan had two objectives in the agricultural sector:(i) to provide the conditions necessary for a sustained increase of food production by about 5 per cent per annum over the decade 1969-78 and (ii) to enable a large section of the rural population including small farmers, farmers in the dry areas and agricultural labourers to participate in the process of agricultural development and share its benefit.The Green Revolution introduced during the annual plans had a good result and the farmers particularly in the wheat-producing belt were here interested to adopt H.Y.V. cultivation. The actual production of food grain was 104.7 million tones in 1973-74 as against the targeted increase of 129 million tones.Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974-79):

The Fifth Five-Year Plan laid stress on employment, poverty alleviation (Garibi Hatao), and justice. The plan also focused on self-reliance in agricultural production and defence. In 1978 the newly elected Morarji Desai government rejected the plan. The Minimum Needs Programme (MNP) was introduced in the first year of the Fifth Five Year

Plan (1974–78). The objective of the programme is to provide certain basic minimum needs and thereby improve the living standards of the people. During the Fifth Plan, Rs. 8080 crores (nearly 21 per cent of the plan outlay) was made for agricultural development and irrigation. The Fifth Plan accorded priority for the spread of H.Y.V. cultivation, double or multiple, greater use of fertilizer pesticides and insecticides to increase agricultural production.The Plan further provided special emphasis on; (i) small and marginal farmers, (ii) dry farming technique, (iii) evolving H.Y.V. seeds for other crops like paddy, (iv) social conservation measures on saline and alkaline soils and for desert land reclamation.During this Fifth Plan, the production of food grains increased substantially i.e. 232.5 million tones. But the output of pulses and oil-seeds, paddy remained stagnant and caused considerable hardship for the common man.Sixth Five-Year Plan (1979-83):

The Sixth Five-Year Plan recognised that the growth of the Indian economy depends significantly on a rapid growth in agriculture and rural development. The main objective of the Plan, therefore, was to increase agricultural production, generate employment and income opportunities in rural areas and strengthen the forces of modernization for achieving self-reliance.Further, the plan aimed at accelerating the pace of the implementation of the land reforms and institution building for beneficiaries. The Sixth Plan aimed at 3.8 per cent annual growth in agricultural production. But, the actual growth-rate was 4.3 per cent. The Sixth Plan was officially held as a great success particularly due to its success on the agricultural fund.Seventh Five-Year Plan (1983-87):

The Seventh Plan aimed at an annual average increase of 4 per cent in agricultural production. The Plan allocated Rs. 39,770 crores for agricultural sector which is 22 per cent of the total plan outlay. The major programmes adopted during the plan were, a special rice production programme in the eastern region, national water-shed programme for rain-fed agriculture, national oil-seed development project and social forestry.Unfortunately enough, the first three years of the Seventh Plan were poor monsoon years. As a result, agricultural production received a set-back during these years. However, it increased sufficiently during the last two years for which the agricultural production recorded a commendable growth of 4.1 per cent in the Seventh Plan as against the target of as per cent rice.Eighth Five-Year Plan (1987-91):

The basic objectives of the Eighth Five-Year Plan were(i) To consolidate the gains already achieved in agricultural productivity and production during the last 40 years;(ii) To sustain agricultural productivity and production in order to meet the increased demands of the growing population;(iii) To enlarge the income of the farmers;(iv) To create more-employment opportunities in the agricultural sector; and(v) To step up agricultural exports.22 per cent of the total plan outlay amounting to Rs. 93,680 crores was allotted for agriculture and irrigation. The Plan targets a growth rate of 4.1 per cent per annum for the agricultural sector.Thus, during different plan periods, the Government has accorded vital importance to the agricultural sector and has tried to increase the agricultural production and productivity through different policy measures.(i) Special rice production programme, initiated by the Government in Assam, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and eastern Uttar Pradesh.(ii) National water-shed development programme which gives emphasis on dry land horticulture, optimal cropping system, firm forestry and fodder production. Here, the aim is to develop areas under dry land agriculture which are characterized by low productivity and high risk.The Ninth Plan (1997-02): witnessed a mixed success. There were fluctuations in the foodgrain production. During this plan period National Agricultural Policy, 2000, was framed and several measures were announced including, watershed management, development of horticulture, agricultural credits and insurance scheme for crops. Tenth Plan (2002-2007): focus is placed on (i) sustainable management of water and land resources, (ii) development of rural infrastructure to support agri-culture, (iii) dissemination of agriculture technology, (iv) credit flow to agriculture sector, and (v) agricultural marketing reforms. The New Agricultural Policy The Government of India has announced (28 th July 2000) a new National Agricultural policy, 2000, in the light of changes arising out of economic liberalization and globalization.

The main aims of the policy are :(i) achieving more than 4 per cent per annum growth rate in agriculture sector, (ii) growth based on efficient use of resources and conservation of soil, water and biodiversity, (iii) growth with equity-in region and among the farmers, (iv) growth that caters to domestic mar-ket and maximizes benefits from exports of agricultural products and (v) techno-logically, environmentally and economically sustainable growth.

The main features of this policy are:(1) privatisation of agriculture and price protection of produce, (2) land leasing and contract farming by private companies, (3) raising the ceiling of land holdings, (4) involving national livestock breeding strategy to meet requirement of milk, meat, egg and livestock products. (5) protection of plant varieties and improvement of horticultural crops, live-stock species and agriculture. (6) liberalization of domestic market by dismantling of restriction on movement of commodities in the country. (7) improving the domestic and international marketing system. (8) facilitating the flow of credit to farmers against pledging of their products and providing them most other facilities available to manufacturing sector. (9) keeping agriculture outside the regulatory and tax collection system. (10) encouraging consolidation of land holdings and speeding up tenancy re-forms to recognize the right of the tenants and sharecroppers.

It may be noted that the policy are intentions of Government, thus, its success depends on the commitment of the Government to convert it into reality.

Twelfth Plan (2012–2017):The Twelfth Five-Year Plan of the Government of India has been decided to achieve a growth rate of 8.2% but the National Development Council (NDC) on 27 December 2012 approved a growth rate of 8% for the Twelfth Five-Year Plan.With the deteriorating global situation, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that achieving an average growth rate of 9 percent in the next five years is not possible. The Final growth target has been set at 8% by the endorsement of the plan at the National Development Council meeting held in New Delhi.The government intends to reduce poverty by 10% during the 12th Five-Year Plan. Ahluwalia said, “We aim to reduce poverty estimates by 9% annually on a sustainable basis during the Plan period". The plan aims towards the betterment of the infrastructural projects of the nation avoiding all types of bottlenecks. The document presented by the planning commission is aimed to attract private investments of up to US$1 trillion in the infrastructural growth in the 12th five-year plan, which will also ensure a reduction in the subsidy burden of the government to 1.5 percent from 2 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product). The UID (Unique Identification Number) will act as a platform for cash transfer of the subsidies in the plan.

PROBLEMS FACED BY INDIAN AGRICULTURE:Although Indian agriculture has progressed by leap and bounds after independence but still it is facing number of problem which are discussed here:

1. Small and fragmented land-holdings:

The seemingly abundance of net sown area of 142 million hectares and total cropped area of 190.7 million hectares (2016-17) pales into insignificance when we see that it is divided into economically unviable small and scattered holdings.

The average size of holdings was 2.28 hectares in 1970-71 which was reduced to 1.82 hectares in 1980-81 and 0.57 hectares in 2016-17. The size of the holdings will further decrease with the infinite Sub-division of the land holdings.

Nearly 80% of the 140 million farming families hold less than 2 acres of land. As land holdings are small, more people invariably work on the farms in the rural areas and coupled with the obsolete technology, farm incomes come down. The problem of small and fragmented holdings is more serious in densely populated and intensively cultivated states like Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and eastern part of Uttar Pradesh where the average size of land holdings is less than one hectare and in certain parts it is less than even 0.5 hectare.

Large land holdings enable the farmer to implement modern agricultural techniques and boost productivity. Small land holdings restrict the farmer to use traditional methods of farming and limit productivity. 

The main reason for this sad state of affairs is our inheritance laws. The land belonging to the father is equally distributed among his sons. This distribution of land does not entail a collection or consolidated one, but its nature is fragmented.

Different tracts have different levels of fertility and are to be distributed accordingly. If there are four tracts which are to be distributed between two sons, both the sons will get smaller plots of each land tract. In this way the holdings become smaller and more fragmented with each passing generation.

Sub-division and fragmentation of the holdings is one of the main causes of our low agricultural productivity and backward state of our agriculture. A lot of time and labour is wasted in moving seeds, manure, implements and cattle from one piece of land to another.

Irrigation becomes difficult on such small and fragmented fields. Further, a lot of fertile agricultural land is wasted in providing boundaries. Under such circumstances, the farmer cannot concentrate on improvement.

The only answer to this ticklish problem is the consolidation of holdings which means the reallocation of holdings which are fragmented, the creation of farms which comprise only one or a few parcels in place of multitude of patches formerly in the possession of each peasant. But unfortunately, this plan has not succeeded much. Although legislation for consolidation of holdings has been enacted by almost all the states, it has been implemented only in Punjab, Haryana and in some parts of Uttar Pradesh.

2. Problem of Low quality Seeds:Seed is a critical and basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Unfortunately, good quality seeds are out of reach of the majority of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers mainly because of exorbitant prices of better seeds.

In order to solve this problem, the Government of India established the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) in 1963 and the State Farmers Corporation of India (SFCI) in 1969. Thirteen State Seed Corporations (SSCs) were also established to augment the supply of improved seeds to the farmers.

High Yielding Variety Programme (HYVP) was launched in 1966-67 as a major thrust plan to increase the production of food grains in the country, which resulted in ‘Green Revolution’ in India.

The policy statements are designed towards making available to the Indian farmer, adequate quantities of seed of superior quality at the appropriate time and place and at an affordable price so as to meet the country’s food and nutritional security goals.

Indian seeds programme largely adheres to limited generation system for seed multiplication. The system recognises three kinds of generation, namely breeder, foundation and certified seeds. Breeder seed is the basic seed and first stage in seed production. Foundation seed is the second stage in seed production chain and is the progeny of breeder seed.

Certified seed is the ultimate stage in seed production chain and is the progeny of foundation seed. Production of breeder and foundation seeds and certified seeds distribution have gone up at an annual average rate of 7.5 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively, between 2001-02 and 2015-16.

But Most of the farmers – especially the poor and marginal ones – are dependent on seeds sold in the market. Moreover, the HYV seeds as well as the GM seeds which promise higher yields force the farmers to buy seeds for every crop. With spurious seeds hitting the market, the farmers’ woes have exceeded all limits. Sometimes seeds do not give the stated/claimed yields and farmers run into economic troubles. 

In many cases of GM and HYV seeds, farmers are forced to use high amounts of fertilisers and pesticides, provide large amounts of water (irrigation) and abide to all the other farming requirements that the companies mandate to get the proper yields.

A proper regulation/legislation to hold seed companies accountable for false claims is the need of the hour as companies use legal loopholes to push the blame on to the farmers in the case of failed crops. 

Although India is the second largest irrigated country of the world after China, only one-third of the cropped area is under irrigation. Irrigation is the most important agricultural input in a tropical monsoon country like India where rainfall is uncertain, unreliable and erratic India cannot achieve sustained progress in agriculture unless and until more than half of the cropped area is brought under assured irrigation.

Most of the farming in India is monsoon dependent – if monsoons are good, the entire economy (and not just the agricultural sector) is upbeat and when the monsoon fails, everyone everywhere takes a hit to some extent. The problem here is of proper management of water or the lack of it. 

Irrigation which consumes more than 80% of the total water use in the country needs a proper overhaul if the country has to improve agricultural output and boost the overall economy.

This is testified by the success story of agricultural progress in Punjab Haryana and western part of Uttar Pradesh where over half of the cropped area is under irrigation! Large tracts still await irrigation to boost the agricultural output.

However, care must be taken to safeguard against ill effects of over irrigation especially in areas irrigated by canals. Large tracts in Punjab and Haryana have been rendered useless (areas affected by salinity, alkalinity and water-logging), due to faulty irrigation. In the Indira Gandhi Canal command area also intensive irrigation has led to sharp rise in sub-soil water level, leading to water-logging, soil salinity and

alkalinity.

11. Manures, Fertilizers and Biocides:Indian soils have been used for growing crops over thousands of years without caring much for replenishing. This has led to depletion and exhaustion of soils resulting in its low productivity. The average yields of almost all the crops are among the lowest in the world. This is a serious problem which can be solved by using more manures and fertilizers.

Manures and fertilizers play the same role in relation to soils as good food in relation to body. Just as a well-nourished body is capable of doing any good job, a well nourished soil is capable of giving good yields. It has been estimated that about 70 per cent of growth in agricultural production can be attributed to increased fertilizer application.

Thus increase in the consumption of fertilizers is a barometer of agricultural prosperity. However, there are practical difficulties in providing sufficient manures and fertilizers in all parts of a country of India’s dimensions inhabited by poor peasants. Cow dung provides the best manure to the soils.

But its use as such is limited because much of cow dung is used as kitchen fuel in the shape of dung cakes. Reduction in the supply of fire wood and increasing demand for fuel in the rural areas due to increase in population has further complicated the problem. Chemical fertilizers are costly and are often beyond the reach of the poor farmers. The fertilizer problem is, therefore, both acute and complex.

It has been felt that organic manures are essential for keeping the soil in good health. The country has a potential of 650 million tonnes of rural and 160 lakh tonnes of urban compost which is not fully utilized at present. The utilization of this potential will solve the twin problem of disposal of waste and providing manure to the soil.

The government has given high incentive especially in the form of heavy subsidy for using chemical fertilizers. There was practically no use of chemical fertilizers at the time of Independence As a result of initiative by the government and due to change in the attitude of some progressive farmers, the consumption of fertilizers increased tremendously.

In order to maintain the quality of the fertilizers, 52 fertilizer quality control laboratories have been set up in different parts of the country. In addition, there is one Central Fertilizer Quality Control and Training Institute at Faridabad with its three regional centres at Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Pests, germs and weeds cause heavy loss to crops which amounted to about one third of the total field produce at the time of Independence. Biocides (pesticides, herbicides and weedicides) are used to save the crops and to avoid losses. The increased use of these inputs has saved a lot of crops, especially the food crops from unnecessary wastage. But indiscriminate use of biocides has resulted in wide spread environmental pollution which takes its own toll.

12. Lack of mechanisation:In spite of the large scale mechanisation of agriculture in some parts of the country, most of the agricultural operations in larger parts are carried on by human hand using simple and conventional tools and implements like wooden plough, sickle, etc.

Little or no use of machines is made in ploughing, sowing, irrigating, thinning and pruning, weeding, harvesting threshing and transporting the crops. This is specially the case with small and marginal farmers. It results in huge wastage of human labour and in low yields per capita labour force.

There is urgent need to mechanise the agricultural operations so that wastage of labour force is avoided and farming is made convenient and efficient. Agricultural implements and machinery are a crucial input for efficient and timely agricultural operations, facilitating multiple cropping and thereby increasing production.

Some progress has been made for mechanising agriculture in India after Independence. Need for mechanisation was specially felt with the advent of Green Revolution in 1960s. Strategies and programmes have been directed towards replacement of traditional and inefficient implements by improved ones, enabling the farmer to own tractors, power tillers, harvesters and other machines.

A large industrial base for manufacturing of the agricultural machines has also been developed. Power availability for carrying out various agricultural operations has been increased.

This increase was the result of increasing use of tractor, power tiller and combine harvesters, irrigation pumps and other power operated machines. Strenuous efforts are being made to encourage the farmers to adopt technically advanced agricultural equipments in order to carry farm operations timely and precisely and to economise the agricultural production process.

13. Soil erosion:Large tracts of fertile land suffer from soil erosion by wind and water. This area must be properly treated and restored to its original fertility.

14. Agricultural Marketing:Agricultural marketing still continues to be in a bad shape in rural India. In the absence of sound marketing facilities, the farmers have to depend upon local traders and middlemen for the disposal of their farm produce which is sold at throw-away price.

In most cases, these farmers are forced, under socio-economic conditions, to carry on distress sale of their produce. In most of small villages, the farmers sell their produce to the money lender from whom they usually borrow money.

According to an estimate 85 per cent of wheat and 75 per cent of oil seeds in Uttar Pradesh, 90 per cent of Jute in West Bengal, 70 per cent of oilseeds and 35 per cent of cotton in Punjab is sold by farmers in the village itself. Such a situation arises due to the inability of the poor farmers to wait for long after harvesting their crops.

In order to meet his commitments and pay his debt, the poor farmer is forced to sell the produce at whatever price is offered to him. The Rural Credit Survey Report rightly remarked that the producers in general sell their produce at an unfavourable place and at an unfavourable time and usually they get unfavourable terms.

In the absence of an organised marketing structure, private traders and middlemen dominate the marketing and trading of agricultural produce. The remuneration of the services provided by the middlemen increases the load on the consumer, although the producer does not derive similar benefit.

Many market surveys have revealed that middlemen take away about 48 per cent of the price of rice, 52 per cent of the price of grounduts and 60 per cent of the price of potatoes offered by consumers.

15. Inadequate storage facilities:Storage facilities in the rural areas are either totally absent or grossly inadequate. Under such conditions the farmers are compelled to sell their produce immediately after the harvest at the prevailing market prices which are bound to be low. Such distress sale deprives the farmers of their legitimate income.

The Parse Committee estimated the post-harvest losses at 9.3 per cent of which nearly 6.6 per cent occurred due to poor storage conditions alone. Scientific storage is, therefore, very essential to avoid losses and to benefit the farmers and the consumers alike.

16. Inadequate transport:One of the main handicaps with Indian agriculture is the lack of cheap and efficient means of transportation. Even at present there are lakhs of villages which are not well connected with main roads or with market centres.

Most roads in the rural areas are Kuccha (bullock- cart roads) and become useless in the rainy season. Under these circumstances the farmers cannot carry their produce to the main market and are forced to sell it in the local market at low price. Linking each village by metalled road is a gigantic task and it needs huge sums of money to complete this task.

17. Scarcity of capital:Agriculture is an important industry and like all other industries it also requires capital. The role of capital input is becoming more and more important with the advancement of farm technology. Since the agriculturists’ capital is locked up in his lands and stocks, he is obliged to borrow money for stimulating the tempo of agricultural production.

The main suppliers of money to the farmer are the money-lenders, traders and commission agents who charge high rate of interest and purchase the agricultural produce at very low price. All India Rural Credit Survey Committee showed that in 1950-51 the share of money lenders stood at as high as 68.6 per cent of the total rural credit and in 2016-17 their share declined to 34 per cent of the credit needs of the farmers.

This shows that the money lender is losing ground but is still the single largest contributor of agricultural credit. Rural credit scenario has undergone a significant change and institutional agencies such as Central Cooperative Banks, State Cooperative Banks, Commercial Banks, Cooperative Credit Agencies and some Government Agencies are extending loans to farmers on easy terms.

18. Sustainability problems:

Indian agricultural productivity is very less compared to world standards due to use of obsolete farming technology. Coupled with this, lack of understanding of the need for sustainability in the poor farming community has made things worse.

 

Water usage is also unplanned with some arid areas misusing the irrigation facilities provided by planting water intensive crops. In areas where irrigation in the form of rivers and canals is not sufficiently available, ground water resources are heavily exploited.

Sustainability in agriculture is of utmost importance as many problems faced by farmers are related to this. Excess fertiliser usage not only

makes the plants dependent on artificial fertilisers but also erodes the land quality, polluted ground water and in case of a surface runoff, pollutes the nearby water bodies.

Similarly, planting crops which require more water like rice on the basis of irrigation facilities extended to areas which are water deficient uses up more water than required. Besides, the excessive evaporation cause salts to accumulate on the fields making them lose their fertility quickly. 

Lack of proper understanding of the need to grow crops sustainably will push farmers into a vicious circle – of debts, heavy use of fertilisers, water mismanagement, low productivity and thus more debts for the next cycle. 

19. Over dependence on traditional crops like rice and wheat

Every crop requires certain climatic conditions to give the best yields. Though rice and wheat are produced in a large area in India, certain areas can readily switch to other crops to get better productivity. India is importing cooking oil from abroad though we have the necessary conditions to grow more oilseeds here. 

Heavy dependence on traditional rice and wheat points to the lack of a proper national plan on agriculture. Excess stocks in a few crops lead to problems in the selling of the produce, storage and shortage of other essential farm output. 

Moreover, if the farm output is skewed towards crops like rice, irrigation and ground water facilities are misused by farmers, which leads to a host of other problems. 

20. Supply channel bottlenecks and lack of market understanding

Supply channel bottlenecks and lack of a proper marketing channel are serious problems for a farmer who is already burdened with a host of troubles. These are issues which need to be tackled at the regional, state and national levels. 

Lack of a proper marketing channel forces the farmers to distress sale, makes them victims in the hands of greedy middlemen and ultimately restricts their income. 

An improper marketing and storage channel also leads to storage problems in the years where productivity is good, leads to poor agricultural exports due to problems in maintaining quality and in many cases leads to gross wastage of valuable food grains and other farm output.

Food wastage running into thousands of crores of rupees every year is nothing short of a crime in a country where more than 25% is below poverty line and where millions go hungry day after day. 

Lack of a national strategy in terms of agricultural production leads to production of some crops exceeding the requirement and to some crops well below the minimum limits. The problem is more acute in case of perishable agri output like vegetables and fruits where estimates of wastage are around 40%.

India produces over 265 million tonnes of food grains per year, which is more than enough to feed all its citizens for a long time. Yet, we see so much of unwanted food wastage, rising food price inflation and millions of hungry people. This has to be stopped.

21. Minimum Support Prices (MSP) :The Minimum Support Prices (MSP) offered by the Government is a double edged sword – MSPs protect farmers from being exploited by middlemen but during times of excess crop, Government runs the risk of an unnecessary fiscal deficit by buying the excess produce. Lack of proper storage facilities and lack of a proper international market linkage leads to lower exports and in many cases leads to huge amount of wastage.

22. Low penetration of high-yield Hybrid varieties:Due to lack of awareness among farmers about Low penetration of high-yield Hybrid varieties as per proper varieties attuned to Indian Climate and suitability to varieties for rainfed and loamy soil and their low availability farmer are not in position to select right seeds for right areas. There is a practice of Re-planting of home made Seeds, which are not treated result in low productivity.

23. Unscientific Agricultural Techniques:The farmer in India use Unscientific Agricultural Techniques, which is frankly immaterial in so far as this problem is concerned;

24.  Pest Management : The indian farmer does not have any awreness about new techniques of pest management, which has more to do with Agronomical and Mechanical Techniques than technology and Chemicals alone, this resulted in low productivity.

25. Illiteracy of Farmers: Lack of quality education and schools has resulted in this community to depend on traditional means of agriculture and less exposure to scientific methods of cultivation.

26. Banking facility in rural areas:Failures in better regulation of banks and policies to ensure financial inclusion of this community has led them to depend on local moneylenders who charge exorbitant interest charges and risk of losing their lands to these wealth hungry class.

27. Crop Insurance Policy:In the age of twenty first century in India farmers pray to the almighty to mitigate the risk rather than opting for crop insurances. Lack of knowledge and banking has still kept them in the dark. Less than 2% of the farming community is covered under insurance.

28. Sustainable Agricultural Practices:Indiscriminate use of highly subsidized fertilizers has made the land infertile and reduced productivity. Also MSP - Minimum support prices for only selected crops has pushed the entire farming community to grow only these crops and thereby not allowing the market forces to decide the prices. MSPs have discouraged farmers from exploring integrated farming and other crops which is sustainable for their location.

29. Alternate source of Income:Many of the tillers are landless and lack skills for employment at the time of draught or periods between sowing & harvest.

30. Instability:

Agriculture in India is largely depends on monsoon. As a result, production of food-grains fluctuates year after year. A year of abundant output of cereals is often followed by a year of acute shortage.

31. Cropping Pattern:

The crops that are grown in India are divided into two broad categories: food crops and non-food crops. While the former comprise food-grains, sugarcane and other beverages, the latter includes different kinds of fibres and oilseeds.

In recent years there has occurred a fall in agricultural production mainly due to fall in the output of non-food articles. This indicates a structural change in agricultural production.

32. Land Ownership:

Although the ownership of agricultural land in India is fairly widely distributed, there is some degree of concentration of land holding. Inequality in land distribution is also due to the fact that there are frequent changes in land ownership in India. It is believed that large parcels of land in India are owned by a- relatively small section of the rich farmers, landlords and money-lenders, while the vast majority of farmers own very little amount of land, or no land at all.

Moreover, most holdings are small and uneconomic. So the advantages of large-scale farming cannot be derived and cost per unit with ‘uneconomic’ holdings is high, output per hectare is hectare is low. As a result peasants cannot generate sufficient marketable surplus. So they are not only poor but are often in debt.

 33. Land Tenure:The land tenure system of India is also far from perfect. In the pre-independence period, most tenants suffered from insecurity of tenancy. They could be evicted any time. However, various steps have been taken after Independence to provide security of tenancy.

34. Conditions of Agricultural Labourers:The conditions of most agricultural labourers in India are far from satisfactory. There is also the problem of surplus labour or disguised unemployment. This pushes the wage rates below the subsistence levels.

35. Mono Culture and Neglect of crop rotation:

Successful conduct of agricultural operations depends upon a proper rotation of crops.-If cereals are grown on a plot of land its fertility is reduced to some extent. This can be restored if other crops such as pulses are grown on the same plot on a rotational basis. Most farmers in India are illiterate and do not understand this important point. Since they are not aware of the need for crop rotation they use the same type of crop and, consequently, the land loses its fertility considerably.

36. Inadequate use of efficient farm equipment:

The method of cultivation in most areas of India are still primitive. Most farmers continue to use native plough and other accessories. However, the problem is not one of shortage of modern machinery. The real problem is that the units of cultivation are too small to permit the use of such machinery.

37. Agricultural Credit:The typical Indian farmer is almost always in debt. The farmer is a perennial debtor. Once the farmer falls, into debt due to crop failure or low prices of crops or malpractices of moneylenders he can never come out of it. In fact, a large part of the liabilities of farmers is ‘ancestral debt’. Thus, along with his landed property, he passes on his debt to his successors.

38. Agricultural Prices:In order to increase food production, it is necessary to ensure that prices of Food-grains set by the Government from time to time give sufficient incentive to farmers so that they can earn reasonable incomes. In India, bumper crop leads to fall in revenue of farmers.

39. Need for price stabilisation:In view of the rising and fluctuating trends in agricultural prices, there is need for stabilisation of prices of agricultural commodities. Price fluctuation in any direction may spell disaster since both rising and falling prices have had harmful consequences.

SOME OF THE RECENT MAJOR GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES IN THE SECTOR ARE AS FOLLOWS:

With an aim to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture, the Government of India is introducing a new AGRI-UDAAN programme to mentor start-ups and to enable them to connect with potential investors.

The Government of India has launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) with an investment of Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.7 billion) aimed at development of irrigation sources for providing a permanent solution from drought.

The Government of India plans to triple the capacity of food processing sector in India from the current 10 per cent of agriculture produce and has also committed Rs 6,000 crore (US$ 936.38 billion) as investments for mega food parks in the country, as a part of the

Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters (SAMPADA).

The Union Cabinet, Government of India, approves Rs 9,020 crore (US$ 1.4 billion) as Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) for execution of projects under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) and their command area development (CAD) works under PMKSY.

A new platform for selling agricultural produce named e-RaKam has been launched by the Government of India and will operate as a joint initiative of Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited and Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited (CRWC).

The NITI Aayog has proposed various reforms in India's agriculture sector, including liberal contract farming, direct purchase from farmers by private players, direct sale by farmers to consumers, and single trader license, among other measures, in order to double rural income in the next five years. The Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, has been conducting various consultations and seeking suggestions from numerous stakeholders in the agriculture sector, in order to devise a strategy to double the income of farmers by 2022.

The Government of India has allowed 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products and in food product e-commerce under the automatic route.

The Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board (MSAMB) has operationalised 31 farmer-to-consumer markets in the state, and plans to open 100 more such markets in the future, which would facilitate better financial remunerations for the farmers by allowing them to directly sell their produce in open markets.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment plans to amend the Minimum Wage Act to raise the daily minimum wage of unskilled agricultural labour in C-class towns to Rs 350 (US$ 5.2) in the central sphere, from the current wage of Rs 160 (US$ 2.4) per day.

The Government of India and the Government of Israel have expressed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral relations in the field of agriculture and allied sectors, as well as enhance cooperation at the government-to-government and business-to-business levels between the two countries, in a bid to further enhance the relationship.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, 50,000 hectares of area is available for coconut cultivation in Bihar, the Coconut Development Board plans to equip the farmers thus making India the world leader in production, productivity, processing for value addition and export of coconut.

Regulated Market Facility:

In order to save the farmer from the clutches of the money lenders and the middle men, the government has come out with regulated markets. These markets generally introduce a system of competitive buying, help in eradicating malpractices, ensure the use of standardised weights and measures and evolve suitable machinery for settlement of disputes thereby ensuring that the producers are not subjected to exploitation and receive remunerative prices.

Storage Facility to Farmers:

At present there are number of agencies engaged in warehousing and storage activities. The Food Corporation of India (F.C.I.), the Central Warehousing Corporation (C.W.C.) and State Warehousing Corporation are among the principal agencies engaged in this task. These agencies help in building up buffer stock, which can be used in the hour of need. The Central Government is also implementing the scheme for establishment of national Grid of Rural Godowns since 1979-80.

This scheme provides storage facilities to the farmers near their fields and in particular to the small and marginal farmers. The Working Group on additional storage facilities in rural areas has recommended a scheme of establishing a network of Rural Storage Centres to serve the economic interests of the farming community.