Agriclture

Agriculture in India

Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy because of its high share in employment and livelihood creation notwithstanding its reduced contribution to the nation's GDP .. This sector continues to support more than half a billion people providing employment to 52 per cent of the workforce. It is also an important source of raw material and demand for many industrial products, particularly fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural implements and a variety of consumer goods. Growth of agriculture over a period of time remained lower than the growth in non-agriculture sectors and this decelerating trend is cause for concern The gap between the growth of agriculture and nonagriculture sector began to widen since 1981-82, and more particularly since 1996-97, because of an acceleration in the growth of industry and services sectors.

After Independence :-

Special programs were undertaken to improve food and cash crops supply. The Grow More Food Campaign (1940s). and the Integrated Production Programme (1950s) focused on food and cash craps.supply respectively. Five-year plans of India-oriented towards agricultural development-soon followed. Land reclamation, land development, mechanization, electrification, use of chemicals-fertilizers in particular, and development of agriculture oriented 'package approach' of taking a set of actions instead of promoting single aspect soon followed under government supervision. The many 'production revolutions' initiated from 1960s onwards }ncluded Green Revolution in India, Yellow Revolution (oilseed: 1986-1990), Operation Flood (dairy: 1970-1996), Blue Revolution (fishing: 1973-2002), Following the economic reforms of 1991, significant growth was registered in the agricultural sector, which was by now benefiting from the earlier reforms and the newer innovations of Agro-processing and Biotechnology"

Doe to the growth and prosperity that followed India's econimic reforms a strong middle class has emerged as the main consumer of fruits, fish, meat and vegetables- a marked shift form the earlier staple based consumption. Since 1991, changing consumption patterns have led to a 'revolution' in high value' agriculture while the need for cereals is experiencing a decline.

Contract farming-which requires the farmers to produce crops for a company under contract-and high value agricultural product increased. Contract farming led to a decrease in transaction costs while the contract farmers made more profit compared to the non-contract workforce, However, small landholding continued to create problems for lndia's farmers as the limited land resulted in limited produce and limited profits.

Since independence, India has become one of the largest producers of wheat, edible oil, potato, spic~s, rubber, tea, fishing, fruits, and vegetables in the world. The Ministry of Agriculture oversees activities relating to agriculture in India. Various institutions for agriculture related research in India were organized under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (est 1929). Other qrganizations such .as the National Dairy

Development Board (est. 1965), and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (est 1982) aided the formation of cooperatives and improved financing.

India is the world's largest producer of milk, fruits, cashew nuts, coconuts, ginger, turmeric, banana, sapota, pulses, and. bla~k pepper. India is the second largest producer of groundnut, wheat, vegetables, sugar and fish in the world, India is also the third largest producer of tobacco and rice, the fourth largest producer of coarse grains, the fifth largest producer of eggs, and the seventh largest producer of meat.

The green revolution introduced. high yielding varieties of crops which also increased. the usage of fertilizers and pesticides, About 90% of the pesticide usage in India is accounted for by DDT and Lindane (BHC/HCH). There has been a shift to organic agriculture particularly for exported commodities, The spectacular story of Indian agriculture is known throughout the world for its multi-functional success in generating

employment, livelihood, food, nutritional and ecological security. Agriculture and allied activities contribute about 30% to the gross domestic product of India. With arable land area at 168 million hectares, India ranks second only to the U.S. in size of agriculture, A well-developed agricultural research system, a significant area of almost 60 million hectares under irrigation and an increasing productivity in major crops

enable Indian agriculture to become a globally competitive player. The United Nations estimates that with assured irrigation, India's food grains output can increase six times within five years- enough to feed two planet Earths!

Achievements of Indian Agriculture:

1. India is the largest producer of wheat in the world
2. India IS the largest producer of Rice tn the world
3. India is among the largest vegetable oil economies in the world
4. India is the largest producer of Tea in the world
5. India is the second largest producer of Fruits in the world
6. India is the largest producer of Milk in the world
7. India is the largest producer of Coffee in the world
8. India is the largest producer of Cotton in the world
India has 52% of cultivable land and varied climates. With sunshine round the year it's the world's best country to grow crops round the year. Due to Urbanization and rapid growth in the metropolis there is increased demand in the food supply. Too many layers of middlemen, weak supply chain, lack of proper information to the farmers, are some of the factors leadings to wastage and inefficiencies in food supply chain and gives opportunity to improve by using IT and collaborations though "Farm to Fork Strategy".