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Indian Agriculture

The contribution of agriculture in GDP of India is only 17.6% but 58.2% population is engaged in agriculture. Agriculture sector is very important for the economy –

1. It gives food security.
2. It gives raw material for industries.
3. Major source of employment.
4. Major source of rural income which increases rural purchasing power and helps the market.
5. Agriculture has a 10.23% share in export income.
6. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world.
7. The production of food grains was approximately 275.11 Million Tons in 2016-17 and is estimated to increase to 277.49 MT in 2017-18.

Terminology –

Mixed Cropping – Different crops in the same field, e.g. growing ocra and cotton together.

Mixed Farming – Other activities like animal husbandry, sericulture, apiculture, fisheries along with agriculture.

Shifting cultivation – Tribal people fell clear the forest for agriculture and after some time when the fertility of the soil decreases shift to another area by clearing forest in that area. It is also called Jhum cultivation.

Commercial or cash crops – Those crops which are grown for the purpose of commerce and getting cash by selling them, e.g. cotton, tobacco, opium, sugarcane, oil seeds etc.

Kharif – This is the crop of the rainy season which is sown in June-July and harvested in October-November, e.g. Paddy, Jowar, Bajra, Maize, cotton, groundnut, arhar etc.

Rabi – This is the crop of winter season which is sown in October-November and harvested in March-April, e.g. Wheat, Peas, gram, alsi, mustard etc.

Zaid – This is the crop of summer months e.g. Water melon, melon, cucumber etc.

Fertilizer – Fertilizers are very important for agriculture. India is the biggest producer and biggest consumer of fertilizers in the world. The recommended proportion of N:P:K for India is 4:2:1.

Irrigation – irrigation projects with command area of more than 10,000 hectares are called Major projects, those with a command area of 2000 to 10,000 hectares are called medium projects and less than 2000 hectares are called minor projects.

Agriculture credit – Loans of less than 15 months duration are called short term loans, those of 15 months to 5 years duration are called medium term loans and more than 5 years are called long term loans.

Classification of Agriculture farms – Farms smaller than 1 hectare are called marginal farms, those from 1 to 2 hectare are small farms, 2-4 hectares are small-medium farms, 4 to 10 hectares are large-medium farms and more than 10 hectares are called big farms. According to agriculture census in India in 2010-11 the average farmsize in India was 1.16 hectares. Average farm size in Chhattisgarh is 1.5 hectares. Farm sizes re larges in Nagaland and smallest in Kerala. 67% farmers in the country are small and marginal farmers and they have only 29% of agricultural farmland area.

Land Reforms – In a narrow meaning it means re-determination of land ownership for the benefit of small and marginal farmers. In wider meaning it means structural reforms in land ownership pattern.

Land reforms in India –

1. Zamindari abolition
2. Farming reforms e.g. regulation of land revenue, security of tenure, ownership rights to tenants etc.
3. Ceiling on the maximum size of farms – It is different for different states.
4. Consolidation of land holdings.
5. Bhoodan

Kisan Credit Card – This is to simplify the process of crop loans.

Nation Agriculture Insurance Scheme – It provides coverage to farmers against natural disasters like drought, floods, cyclone, insects and pests etc. It is implemented by the Agriculture Insurance Corporation of India. All farmers are covered in it whether they have taken loans or not. Crops of food grains, oil seeds, sugarcane, potato, cotton, ginger, onion, turmeric, chillies, etc. are covered in this scheme. Small and marginal farmers get a subsidy of 10%. This scheme is functional in 25 states and 2 Union Territories. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) is implemented from the 11th five year plan. Under this scheme additional central assistance (ACA) is provided for agriculture and allied sectors. The target was a 4% annual growth in agriculture sector. Now in partial modification the target of doubling incomes f farmers has been added.

Revolutions in the Primary sector –

1. Green revolution – For food grains – started in the decade of 1960.
2. White revolution – Milk
3. Blue revolution – Fisheries
4. Yellow revolutions – Oil seeds
5. Pink revolution – Prawns

Horticulture – India is the biggest producer and exporter of spices in the world. India is second after Brazil in fruit production. Main fruits are mango, papaya, banana, chiku, pomegranate, anwla, coconut etc. India is second after China in vegetable production. India is the largest exporter of cashew nuts.

Animal husbandry and dairy – India is the largest producer of milk in the world. Largest numbers of cattle are in India. It has 57% of world’s buffalos, 14% of cows. India has 9.9 crore buffaloes and 18.5 crore cows and bullocks.

Fisheries – India is third in the world in fish production and first in Commonwealth countries.

Price Support scheme

Government announces minimum support price for certain crops. It means that if the market price goes below the support price then Government gives a guarantee to purchase at the support price from farmers. This scheme is available for many crops but actual procurement arrangements are made only from some crops like wheat, paddy maize etc. and that too only in a few states like Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Many large states like UP and Bihar do not have a good procurement system. Minimum support price is announced by the Government on the recommendation of Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices –CACP.

Public Distribution System – The objective of this scheme is to provide essential commodities specially food grains to the poor at reasonable prices. It is called Targeted Public Distribution System. It is managed by Food Corporation of India. It is being implemented from 1st June 1997. It was given statutory status by the Food Security Act, 2013. Chhattisgarh was the first state in the country to pass its Food Security Act, which was passed by the State Assembly in 2012.

Sarwapriya Scheme – This scheme was stared on 21st July 2000. Under his scheme 11 basic commodities like pulses, oil, tea, iodized salt, detergent, soap, copies, toothpaste etc, are sold at reasonable price to the poor from fair price shops.

Procurement Price is the price at which commodities are procured by the Government for PDS.

Issue Price is the price at which commodities under PDS are issued to the fair price shops for sale to the public.

Buffer Stock – This is the stock of food grains kept for emergencies by Food Corporation of India.

Warehousing – Scientific warehousing is done by the Central warehousing corporation of India.

Main problems of agriculture sector in India – The production of wheat, fruit-vegetables, milk etc. is one of the highest in the World. However the productivity of even these things is very low in India. The Productivity of rice in India is 2.4 MT/Ha. The productivity of rice in China is 4.7 MT/ha, and in Brazil it is 3.6 MT/Ha. The rank of India in productivity of rice is 47th in the World. The productivity of wheat in India is 3.15 MT/Ha and in China it is 4.9 MT/ha. Agricultural income has decreased in the country over the years. In the year 1950, agriculture accounted for 50% of GDP which decreased to 17.5% in 2015-16. On the other hand more than half of the population of the country is still dependent on agriculture. This is the main reason of poverty and pain of farmers.

Main reasons for low productivity of agriculture in India are –

1. Small farm size –86% farmers in India have holdings less that 2 Hectares. Farmers are therefore not able to invest adequately due to poverty.
2. Non-availability of agricultural credit –40% of agricultural loans in our country are from informal sources. These loans are very expensive. Farmers have to take loans for things other than farming as well e.g. illness, weddings, festivals, etc. Sometimes farmers suffering under excessive loans are even forced to commit suicides. Loan waiver can only be a temporary measure to help the farmers but if long term policy changes are not brought about, farmers will once again become burdened with high levels of loans.
3. Absence of High Technology – India does not use technology in most of agricultural operations like sowing, irrigation, fertilizer, harvesting, warehousing transportation and marketing of agricultural produce.
4. Farmers do not have access to markets – Small and poor farmers are not able to take their produce to markets. They do not have the capacity to keep their produce for long periods and wait for prices to rise. They are therefore forced to sell their produce at low prices. We have even seen incidents of farmers throwing their produce on the road of burning their crops because of low prices. Such incidents happen when prices are so low that farmers are not able to get even the money which they spent to grow their crops. Government announces MSP for more than 20 crops, but there is not proper arrangement for actually procuring from farmers except for wheat and paddy and farmers are forced to sell at low prices. The system of procuring even wheat and paddy is poor in many states like UP and Bihar. MSP is announced on the recommendation of CACP but the input cost of small and marginal farmers is sometimes much higher and it becomes difficult to manage the expenditure of heir families by agricultural income. The policy of central government is against bonus on procurement price so State Governments are also not able to give bonus to farmers.

Recommendations of Swaminathan Commission on agriculture -

1. Land reforms – According to report of NFC of 1992 50% families with lowest income own only 3% land while 10% families with highest incomes own 54% land. 11.24% families are landless and 60.63% families are marginal farmers. The Commission has recommended – ceiling surplus land and wasteland should be distributed, industrial use of agricultural land should be banned, farmers should be allowed grazing rights on common land, land advisory service should be constituted and sale of agricultural land should be regulated.
2. Irrigations - 60% farmlands in India are un-irrigated and depend wholly on rains. 45% of total agricultural production comes from rain fed areas. It is necessary to provide for proper distribution of water and make a plan for increase in irrigation. Big investment is needed for irrigation in India.
3. Productivity – Soil testing labs should be made and farmers should be trained in the use of technology. Government should also increase public sector investment in agriculture sector.
4. Agriculture credit and Insurance – Farmers are often not able to get proper price for their produce and are therefore not able to repay their loans and become defaulters. They do not remain eligible for fresh crop loans after that. Some times they have to spend huge money for illness and weddings etc. and are compelled to sell their land in distress. It is necessary to give loans to farmers at low interest rates and have a mechanism for automatic loan waivers in case of natural disasters. Farmers should also have access to cheap consumption loans.
5. Food security – It may seem paradoxical that farmers who produce food grains also need food security. They have to sell all their produce soon after harvest to repay their loans and fulfill family responsibilities. Later they have to buy the same food grain at high prices for their own consumption. It is necessary to create procurement systems for proper procurement at MSP and also have a mechanism for availability of food grains at reasonable prices in villages.
6. Small and marginal farmers are not able to compete in the market – MSP should be declared for more corps and proper arrangements should be made for procurement on MSP. Farmers should be able to sell near their villages and should be paid immediately. Warehouse receipts should be made negotiable so that farmers can get loans on them and are not forced to sell at low prices and wait for prices to rise. Cooperatives of farmers should also be encouraged to make them more competitive.