Agriculture in India: Contemporary Issues

India has a long history of agriculture. It’s about ten thousand years since the first seedling sprouted here. India’s 60% manpower still earns its livelihood from farm sector. We are among the largest producers of most of the cereals, cash crops, vegetables and fruits. When the agricultural output of India dribbles, food prices all over the world shoot up. We drive the food economy of the world. Though India leads in terms of gross output but our productivity is dismally low. We have some serious issues to be resolved. The large subsidies being given in the form of fertilizer subsidy, loan waivers etc. are continuing to lay heavy burden to the exchequer. This eats up bulk of govt. spending in the sector resulting in meagre amount left for innovations to be tried out. There are issues with the concept of minimum support price (MSP) too. Every financial year witnesses a whooping increase in MSPs. Govt. makes it a point to lift them in order to avoid any political consequence. The whole idea to repudiate the cobweb cycle is creating a new Frankenstein’s monster. The wide spread social backwardness and illiteracy along with the decreasing average land size hampers the future prospects. We have a poor credit delivery mechanism. There is a need to revitalize the cooperative credit structure. The cooperatives are at the crossroads of existence in this globalised and liberalized world. The commercial banks should be persuaded to aim for inclusive growth. Some pre operating conditions can be put on the foreign banks to strengthen the rural banking structure. The present farm- industry interface is too weak to cater to the needs of large sector. The innovations achieved in lab never reach down to the poor while the field breakthroughs hardly get their due recognition. There is a huge scope of R&D in the sector and the tillers need them badly. After ten thousand years of agro civilization, we are still dependent primarily on the monsoon to irrigate our farms. The agricultural output oscillates between robust and sluggish depending on the year’s monsoon. Water shed developed programs should be implemented in all spirit. The marketing channels for agricultural goods are too complex lacking in the basic infrastructure. We need to revamp post harvesting mechanisms, build storage capacities, ensure standardization and deploy proper grading system to protect farmers. A new threat due to climate change and global warming is questioning the very existence of the life on earth. Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors. People often talk about 2nd green revolution but that in the absence of technological breakthroughs seems improbable. Organic farming is the one promising field where India can make the best use of its large organic wastes to reduce its reliance on synthetic fertilizers. We have a tremendous potential to develop a rich culture of bio fertilizers, bio pesticides and green manure. There is a strong wave going in favor of diversification of traditional crop patterns and agro practices. Diversification is the need of the hour. Most of our farmers thrive upon subsistence agriculture. The fields of horticulture, fishery, poultry, hatchery, silkworm farming etc. if efficiently capitalized can provide them profitable business during low times. The National Bamboo Mission launched by Govt. is an honest effort in this direction. The local needs specific interventions can truly bear fruits. Every now and then we found ourselves grappled in the food shortages and inflation. The situation mandates us to focus on low yielding areas. Crops like pulse, oilseeds need to be given a boost. A dedicated organization promoting the rural entrepreneurs, innovators, mechanics and other local skilled people must be set up. Besides these awareness has to be spread among farmers and cultivators regarding the upcoming technologies, export prospects, govt. policies etc. Recently govt. announced the renovation of hundreds of ITI’s for the purpose. A lot of Kisan Call Centres have also become operational. The power shortage can be addressed by setting up mini power plants in the villages which use bio fuels, solar, wind, rice husk etc. as its fuel. Funds for National Solar Mission which aims at installing capacity of 20k MW by 2020 can be utilized for the purpose.
Thus there are plenty of agendas before the nation to be addressed. The challenge is to evolve the best agricultural practices based on local experiences making optimum use of resources. The idea is to create ecologically sustainable, economically efficient and socially equitable agriculture in India.