Agriculture and Allied Sectors

The role of agriculture is highly important in the economy of all countries. It fulfills the food and nutrition requirements of its entire population. The country becomes politically, socially, and economically stable when the agriculture sector is stable.

Introduction-Agriculture is the backbone of the economies of developing countries like India. Agriculture contributes 26.8% towards the Gross Domestic Product, i.e., the GDP.

The sectors allied to the agriculture sector are Fishery, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairy farming, poultry and milk production. All these sectors are integrated to aid proper planning and effective execution of the developmental policies.

Agriculture Allied Sectors

Agriculture is the most contributing and critical sector of the Indian economy. 

Along with the 26.8% it contributes to Gross Domestic Product; it also provides employment opportunities to nearly 2/3rd of the working force.

It can be said that agriculture is the central sector of the Indian economy. And any changes in the agriculture sector have a large effect on the country’s economy. The biggest industries like textiles, food processing, milk, jute, and sugar all depend on agriculture to obtain the raw material.

Important Facts

A few important points about the agriculture and allied sectors are:

1.  Agriculture and allied sectors primarily depend on rain.

2. Growth in agriculture production hasn’t been seen for the past few years.

3.  The famine in FY2009, which affected the western and northern parts of the county, resulted in a shortage of food grains supply.

Benefits  of Agriculture and Allied Sectors

Apart from a significant contribution to the country’s GDP, agriculture and allied sectors have more benefits.

1. These sectors provide raw materials to the industrial sector

2.  They are a market for industrial products

3.  Through the export of goods produced by the agriculture and allied sectors, foreign currency is earned

4.  It provides employment opportunities to more than 2/3rd of India’s population

5.  Their share in national income is quite significant

Growth Rate of Agriculture and Allied Sectors

Let’s understand the growth rate of agriculture and allied sectors. 

The world’s second-largest production of pulses, roots, tuber crops, several dry fruits, textile raw materials based on agriculture, coconut, sugarcane, farmed fish, eggs comes from India.

The per-person annual rice supply in India is even greater than a person’s annual consumption of rice in Japan.

India has been growing as the exporter of agricultural products for about ten years. The net export is around $39 billion. This is twice the combined exports of the European Union.

India’s average nationwide increase in mass production per year per hectare has been steady for 60 years.

Significant Events for the Agriculture and Allied Sector of India

Few events proved as a catalyst in the development of agriculture and allied sectors. Let’s take a look at them.

Green Revolution

The green revolution of India started in the late ’60s.

The following things were followed and hence aided the green revolution:

1.  Adopting the modern and scientific methods for agriculture

2.  Utilisation of latest technology

3.  The seeds of high yielding variety were used

4.  The chemical fertilizers were used properly

5.  Landholdings were consolidated

6. Several mechanical machines were put into use.

M. S. Swaminathan was the agriculture scientist who led this revolution.

The White Revolution:

The white revolution is commonly referred to as “Operation Flood.” It began on 13 January 1970.

The world’s largest dairy development program is India’s National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). Before that, India was a milk-deficient country. However, it was later transformed into the world’s largest milk producer.

India surpassed the United States of America in 1998. The global output of India in 2018 was 22.29%. Just in 30 years, the white revolution successfully doubled the milk available per capita in India. Dairy farming became India’s largest self-sustainable rural employment generator.

The person who made this attainable was Harichand Megha Dalaya. The Anand Pattern Experiment at Amul, a dairy co-operative, had a significant role in the success of this revolution.

Agriculture Allied Sectors:

Let us understand what sectors fall under allied sectors of agriculture.

Horticulture:

The Department of Horticulture was distinguished from the Department of agriculture in 1979 and 1980.

In Punjab, 64799 hectares of area is occupied by fruits, and the production is 1182884 metric tonnes. 

Vegetables cover around 178412 hectares of land with the production of 3410315 metric tonnes at the state level.

Animal Husbandry:

The Department of Animal husbandry is important as it provides foods in high demand like meat, egg, milk, and milk products. The growth of this sector could go up if it gets the resources it requires.

Fisheries:

The fishery sector has a share of 1.07% in the GDP of India. The National Fisheries Development Board states that the fishery sector generates Rs 334.41 billion in export.

Conclusion

Agriculture and allied sectors can be regarded as the backbone of the Indian economy. They generate around 25% of India’s GDP and provide employment to around 50% of India’s workforce. These sectors provide the country with food and raw materials for Industries. They also help to bring in foreign currency through export. The top exported products from India are fresh vegetables and fruits, spices, Basmati and Non- Basmati rice, buffalo meat, and milk. Some of the important agriculture and allied sectors are Fishery, animal husbandry, milk production industries, dairy farming, Horticulture, etc. The green revolution and the white revolution helped the growth of these sectors.