Agriculture Sector in India: Trends, Issues and Challenges Essay

IntroductionAgriculture is a critical field of the Indian economy. Though manufacturing and service sector industries gained prudence during the farming couple of decades, kitchen-gardening remains to be the or so outstanding contributor of harvest-time in India. Nearly two-thirds of Indias population depends this instant on market-gardening for its livelihood. It converges the nutrition affectments of the people and wee-wees several raw materials for industries.From agricultural point of view, India has gigantic expanse of level demesne, wild climatic variations conform to for various types of crops, rich deformitys, abundant sunshine and a long harvest-festival season (rabi and kharif). Approximately, 140-145 million hect bes of land is under culture. Post Independence, large aras in India obtain been brought under irrigation but only one-third of the cropped argona is re on the wholey irrigated. There are many reasons responsible for the low productivit y of agriculture. estate depends mainly upon monsoon rain and farmers own grim pieces of land and grow crops primarily for consumption. Another reason for low productivity of agriculture is insufficient remembering facilities for crop yield.About one-third of land holdings are very small and little than one hectare in size. Due to small size of land holdings, modern way of cultivation cannot be used. Even today the farmers are using very old methods, tools and implements for farming. Artificial ways of cultivation are not implemented in India. Because of various reasons like lack of awareness, most farmers do not use better quality of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. There is pass out of exploitation of fringy farmers. There is also low productivity because of increase pressure on land and absence of bank computer address.Agriculture contributes in foreign exchange of our country. India exports agricultural products and earns foreign currency. Agricultural exports have help ed India in earning valuable foreign exchange and thereby modify economic development. object glassIndia is an emerging market and the objective of this project is to study the important usance that the agricultural sector will play in the economic growing in India. Though much than 70% of the population depends on the Indian agriculture, the productivity has ebbd post independence area. Lot of emphasis is apt(p) on the service sector which has shown ugly growth in the last few years. Its time now that policies are introduced to take deal of the different issues and altercates in the Agricultural sector.Performance of agriculture sector in indiaThe agriculture sector in India has undergone significant changes in the form of decrease in share of gross domestic product from 30 percentageageage in 1990-91 to 14.5 percent in 2010-11 indicating a shift from the traditional agrarian economy towards a service dominated one. The same is reflected from the below bit 1. This dec rease in agricultures contribution to GDP has not been accompanied by a matching reduction in the share of agriculture in fight. About 52% of the total workforce is still busy by the farm sector which makes more than half of the Indian population dependant on agriculture for sustenance. However, non-farm activities also contributed to the growth from rural economy.Source CSO examine 1 Sectoral Composition of GDPThe average size of operational holdings in India has diminished progressively from 2.28 ha in 1970-71 to 1.55 ha in 1990-91 to 1.23 ha in 2005-06 (Figure 2). As per Agriculture nose count 2005-06, the proportion of marginal holdings (area less than 1 ha) has increased from 61.6 percent in 1995-96 to 64.8 percent in 2005-06. This is followed by about 18 percent small holdings (1-2 ha.), about 16 percent medium holdings (more than 2 to less than 10 ha.) and less than 1 percent large holdings (10 ha. and above).(Reference 3)Source Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Agricultural Census Division, Ministry of Agriculture. Figure 2 Average size (ha) of holdings as per different Agriculture Census Because of increasing population, land fragmentation is increasing which is reducing availability of genteel land area per household. Added to this, because increasing challenges in agriculture sector, this remains to be least contributor of employment opportunities in rural areas. Because of this additional employment opportunities in the non-farm and manufacturing sector ( oddly in agro based rural industries) have to be created. Because of this, people have to enhance their skills in corresponding sectors to gain employment. This way, more and more employment opportunities can be created which will be multipurpose in making agriculture practical in a sustainable sort.Figure 3 Farms in rural India. Most farms in India are small p corporations such as in this image. The growth performance of the agriculture sector has been fluctuating across the plan periods (Fig 4). It witnessed a growth ramble of 4.8 per cent during the Eighth plan period (199297). However, the agrarian situation adage a downturn towards the beginning of the Ninth plan period (19972002) and the one-tenth plan period (200207), when the agricultural growth rate came down to 2.5 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.This crippling growth rate of 2.4 percent in agriculture as against a robust annual average overall growth rate of 7.6 per cent for the economy during the tenth plan period was intelligibly a cause for concern. The trend rate of growth during the period 1992-93 to 2010-11 is 2.8 percent while the average annual rate of growth in agriculture & allied sectors-GDP during the same period is 3.2 percent.(Reference 3).Source CSOFigure 4 ontogeny Rates GDP (overall) and GDP (Agriculture & Allied Sectors)Note Figures are at 2004-05 prices.Source CSO.Figure 5 Comparative Performance of Growth of GDP and Agri-GDP Government policies in agriculture sectorThe Indian governance has employed several steps to improve the situation of agriculture sector in the country.Land ReformsLand reforms were introduced. The government has encouraged consolidation of land holdings to push use of modern farm machines. The government took lands of big land owners off and redistributed to landless laborers. The government abolished the Zamindari System.Public investmentModern methods of cultivation were introduced in the country. The government has meliorate on providing infrastructure facilities such as irrigation, electricity and transportation. Agricultural equipment such as pesticides, pump harvesters, tractors, fertilizers were do accessible to farmers. Constructing irrigation reservoirs has helped in supplying water for irrigation in the areas of water scarcity. To ensure a significant growth in this sector, the government is taking steps to interpret the necessary infrastructure in terms of cold storage, food mite storage, food processing, r efrigerated transported as the industry is estimated to be losing 20% of its produce due to poor storage facilities. The governments have allowed foreign equity company of up to 51% in cold chain projects.Major policies* The government has introduced significant changes in Incentive policies and Input subsidies. Getting finance from banks was made easier for the farmers. * The crop insurance was another step to protect the farmers against losses caused by crop failure on account of natural calamities like overgorge cyclone, drought etc. * High-yielding varieties of seeds, fertilizers and irrigation gave birth to Green Revolution. All these led to tremendous increase in the production of crops.Output subsidies* Procurement-cum-distribution policies* Minimum support prices inform by Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices* (CACP) during sowing* Food Corporation of India (FCI) buys all the grains offered for sale at these prices(Above points are from class PPTs)suggestionsnew pol icy billhook to help agriculture sector* The Eleventh Five Year project has highlighted such a holistic framework and suggested the following strategy to kick upstairs agricultural output. * Rate of growth of irrigated area has to be doubled* water management, watershed development and rain water harvesting has to be improved * Degraded land to be reclaimed and focusing on soil quality * Reducing the knowledge gap by organizing awareness camps * variegation of high value outputs like fruits, vegetables, flowers but with adequate measures to ensure food security * Animal husbandry and fishery to be promoted* Reforms in improving the incentive structure and functioning of markets * Provide easy access to credit at affordable rates* Agriculture can impact exiguity alleviation and rural development with far reaching ability. There are several areas of importance for the agriculture sector growth. These include, increasing public sector investment in research, effective transfer of t echnology along with institutional reforms in the research set up to make it more responsible and geared towards conservation of land, water and biological resources, the development of rain supply agriculture, delivery, the development of minor irrigation, timely and adequate availability of inputs, support for trade infrastructure, an increase in flow of credit particularly to the small and marginal farmers.* Achievement of food and nutrition security and alleviation of poverty and unemployment on a sustainable basis depend on the expeditious and keen-witted use of natural resources (land/soil, water, agri-biodiversity and climate). Inefficient use and mismanagement of productive resources, especially land, water, energy and agro-chemicals has vastly reduced fertility and damaged to the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. The limitation on availability of agricultural land has already reached. We have continuous failed to utilize the non-renewable natura l resources and this will have serious implications.* tercet fourths of total investments in agriculture are by closed-door investments. These are the primary drivers of transition from traditional to high value agriculture. To ensure savourless transition from traditional to high value agriculture, government should support private investments by way of providing greater investments in R&D, public irrigation, roads and other infrastructural facilities. * A strategic vision for agriculture must element in three important elements (a) Indias comparative advantage (b) efficient markets at home and freer trade and (c) environmental sustainability. There is a lot of scope for major reforms, from marketing to investment and institutional change, especially in water management, new technologies, land markets and creation of efficient value chains. shutdownThe country on an average has enough in stock to meet the food requirements of its citizens. There is a significant increase in th e productivity of the land through the years, but there is still a long gap between the current productivity and international productivity levels. Indian agriculture is quite diversified into various sectors and contributes largely to the nations economy. But the coming years pose a lot of challenge in this area with an estimated outburst of population that would reach to approximately 1500million. This would require a huge amount of food grains along with non-food grains. India has to use its vast potential of agriculture in a systematic and planned manner along with reforms in export and import policies of agricultural products.Indian agriculture sector remains to be one of the most interested subjects for academicians more or less the world. Nobel Memorial prize winner, Prof. Gunar Myrdal of Stockholm University, has rightly remarked, It is the agricultural sector that the difference for long term economic development of India will be won or lost. In fact the prosperity of ag riculture is the prosperity of Indian economy. We should not build industries at the cost of agricultural land.References1. http//nicsr.in/?p=12412. diffidence Bank Of India http//www.rbi.org.in/scripts/AnnualPublications.aspx?head=Handbook%20of%20Statistics%20on%20Indian%20Economy 3. http//agricoop.nic.in/SIA111213312.pdf