Agriculture in India:

• India being an agricultural economy, is largely dependent on the farmer community.
• The role of Indian Agriculture stands at the highest rank among all other factors contributing to the GDP of the country.
• It also implies a contribution of 19 % to the GDP of India.
• As per data, more than 70% of rural households depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
• India stands at the 9th rank concerning global agricultural exports and 2nd in production.
• Agriculture in India is the largest industry, contributing to the country’s capital formation.
• The responsibility of monitoring and assisting growth in the agriculture sector has been given to the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture.

Agriculture Sector in India:

Agriculture in India is counted as the primary sector. The Indian agriculture sector has gradually increased production from 87 USD bn to 459 USD bn, which indicates a 12% annual growth. We rank second in the matter of agricultural production.

• India is the largest producerof potatoes, ginger, okra, onions, brinjal, etc., out of all vegetables.
• India is also the largest producer of bananas, coconut, mango, spices, cashew, papaya, pulses, milk, and jute.
• India is the biggest cotton exporter in the world.
• Animal Husbandry also forms an important part of the agriculture sector in India. It accounts for almost 32% of the output.

Potential of Agriculture in India:

Indian agricultural production increased from 253.16 million tons to 280 million tons (food grains). It stood at 3.6% annually, sustained by developing infrastructure, etc. A large population creates demand for high productivity. Also, rising urban and rural income increases the quality-based demand.

• External demand is also increasing due to new markets and strategic alliances. India is among the 15 leading exporting countries of agricultural products. This grew by 16.45% over the last decade to reach approx. 38 US $ in 2018.
• As the urban population is increasing, with changing lifestyles, the sector has also been diversifying from grains towards pulses, fruits, vegetables, and livestock products. This helps in increasing the value addition of the produces and raw materials and development of food processing industries.
• Opportunities in the sector are increasing. Scientific inventions in biotechnologycan be seen in developing GM Crops, hybrid seeds, and fertilizers.
• Promising storage capacities, infrastructure development like cold storage, logistics, etc.
• Competitive advantage due to the high ratio of agricultural land (157 Million hectares), the leading producer of spices, Jutes, pulses, and the second-largest producer of wheat, fruits, paddy and vegetables.
• Increasing policy support and subsidies from the government.
• However, it is plagued by various paradoxes and problems hampering the desired growth, and the consequences are increasingly harmful.

Indian Council of Agricultural Resource (ICAR):

• An autonomous organisationunder the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE).
• Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research,it was established on 16 July 1929.
• Headquartered at New Delhi.
• It is the apex bodyfor coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.

Problems of Indian Agriculture:

India is well-known for its agriculture, producing the most pulses, milk, and spices. In India, approximately 70% of the population lives in rural areas. The majority of farmers devote their entire lives to farming, making agriculture the primary source of income for two-thirds of all families.

Recently, farmers protested against three farm bills as they feared they would lead to the corporatization of agriculture. However, several other problems faced by Indian farmers were also highlighted during this protest. Some of the main problems of agriculture in India have been listed below.

• Irrigation:A major challenge that Indian farmers face is the unpredictability of rainfall in India. Their dependency on rain affects their ability to produce crops consistently. In some states, improper water use and waste have resulted in a drop in groundwater levels. In agricultural lands, water resources and irrigation have become a problem. Despite the fact that irrigation capital expenses are increased to 3.5 times for major irrigation projects and 2.5 times for minor irrigation projects, there are still gaps in providing irrigation facilities to farmers with small lands.
• Irregular Land Ownership:Land ownership is another issue in agriculture. The majority of agricultural land in India is distributed unequally, affecting land ownership. This leads to poor economic advantages from large-scale farming.
• Poor infrastructure and facilities:The biggest challenge farmers face today is the loss incurred at the sale and post-harvest stages. Although the country takes pride in being the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables, it is vital to take note that these perishable goods incur high post-harvest losses due to a lack of infrastructures like cold chain facilities and cold storage.
• Lack of information and education on improved farming techniques:Indian soil has been used to produce crops for a long time. It is important to create awareness among farmers and educate them on new farming methods. Crop rotation is essential for the soil to regain its lost nutrients. Few farmers know the importance of using natural manure like cow dung and compost. Educating them on these aspects can enhance their production and relieve them of several issues.

Initiatives in the Field of Agriculture:

Looking at the magnitude of problems and issues cropping up in India’s agriculture field, the government has stepped up and tried to put forth some measures to tackle the issues.

• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana –The scheme advertises the idea of ‘Per Drop More Crop’. It was introduced with the idea of reducing the wastage of water & supporting the idea of ‘precision irrigation.
• Soil Health Card –The idea of a soil health card was generated to provide genuine information on nutrients required by particular crops.
• Availability of Fertilizers –Neem Coated Urea was introduced by the government.
• Cold Storage and Food Processing –This method has been introduced to increase the life span of agricultural products.
• Organic Farmingis the new trend that has amped up recently.

Government Schemes for Agriculture in India:

The government has introduced various schemes to adopt sustainable methods and increase agriculture productivity in India. The following schemes have put forth various innovative measures to increase the amount of agricultural produce while maintaining quality.

• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana
• National Agriculture Market
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana
• Pradhan Manthri Fasal Bima Yojana
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana

Uzhavan App:

• The app provides complete real-time information related to agriculture and also provides 9 important services such as weather updates and latest crop rates.
• The app supports two languages Tamil and English

Services:

• Information on farm subsidies
• Farmers can book farm equipments
• Details about crop insurance and services
• Weather forecast for next 4 days
• Information on schemes such as seeds, anti-bird net, plastic mulching, beehives, machinery, pre-cooling chamber, reefer van, mobile vendor cart, solar pump set, shade net, poly house, pack house, hi-tech nursery, small nursery, new tissue culture lab, low-cost onion storage and mushroom cultivation
• Farmers can also register themselves on the app and apply for subsidies and schemes
• Information on availability of seeds and fertilizers in various government, cooperative and private outlets nearby.

e-NAM:

• In May 2020, the Government of India had announced the integration of 38 new Mandis with e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM). With the addition of these 38 Mandis the total tally of Mandis reached the milestone of 1000 spanning across 18 states and 3 Union Territories.
• In March 2021, it was reported that about 39% of APMCS in Maharashtra had joined e-NAM
• e-NAM or the e-trading platform (online trading portal) for the National Agriculture Market (NAM) was launched by the Prime Minister of India, on April 2016.

Significance:

• It is expected to boost the turnover of the platform.
• e-NAM aims to create a central online platform for agricultural commodity price discovery by integrating all existing APMC markets.
• The unified market is expected to aid price discovery and boost farm income.
• The platform will also offer choices to farmers to sell their produce as multiple APMC mandis will be integrated.
• Along with APMC integration, the Platform of Platforms (PoP) within the e-NAM portal will facilitate farmers to sell their produce outside their State borders.
• Due to digital access, the reach will widen to multiple markets and buyers.
• The move will also help bring transparency to business transactions which will help in better price discovery.