Issues with Indian Agriculture

Introduction

India is called the global powerhouse of agriculture where 1.3 billion are engaged in this sector and it accounts for about 28% of the employees across the world. Two-thirds of the population in poor countries and 5% of the population of rich countries are dependent on the agrarian sector leading to an increase in productivity. The male workers employed in agricultural activities declined from 78% in 1983 to 53 % in 2018 while female employment in the rural non-agricultural sector eventually rose from 12% to 29%. Still, the start of privatisation and the industrial era demonstrably damaged the poor’s living standards, which eventually led to the fall of rural culture. With the rapid increase of prices, competence, and decrease in productivity, the agriculture actor could not evolve at an accelerated pace which eventually led to many challenges. The significant challenges and threats faced by the agriculture sector are essential to understanding globalisation’s impact on agriculture. 

The agrarian society is plagued by various serious problems which need to be addressed quickly to retain the quality and national heritage of the country. Being the most populous country globally, It is the largest producer of rice, wheat, milk, meat, and other vegetables, and the farmer is treated as the living God who feeds the economy irrespective of various threats and obstacles. The awareness is provided to the students in their standards which has Geography Class 10: Issues with Indian Agriculture. This is the subject of concern to all the policymakers to initiate public awareness programs to preserve the sector from vanquishing and is responsible for its viability to turn the agricultural sector diversified and prosperous. 

Major Issues

1. Technological Issues 

The primary challenge to Indian agriculture is the technological issues which are Long-term land use without compatible technical and institutional reforms that have slowed agricultural development. Water is limited and must be used for irrigation purposes that must be able to combat the needs in urban areas. Hence all the measures are taken to increase yields, diversification & development of value chains to comprehend the market prices.

2. Monsoon Dependence

It is the next significant issue where most farmers in substantial portions of the country still rely on monsoon and natural fertility to sustain their agriculture. In addition to this, Land Fragmentation which is the inheritance right had resulted in fragmented landholdings.

There are severe regional disputes among the rural areas, and reaching such minority groups was not easy. The rural populace’s benefits through inclusive strategies containing agricultural and non-farm employment were reduced.

3. Small and marginal farmers

They are the primary concern as the small and marginal landholdings dominate Indian agriculture, impacting overall agricultural development. The agricultural intensification experienced the deficiency of rural labourers as people slowly shifted to the industries for better wages. There was a sharp rise in food production, and India’s rice cycle yield fell to one-third of China’s.

4. Investments and Other Issues

They have intensified as the farmers were withdrawing their investment from agriculture, resulting in a decrease in agricultural employment. Agriculture’s growth rate has been slowing. Eventually, Import levies on agricultural products have been reduced, which has harmed the country’s agriculture.

5. Lack of credit card facilities

This became a significant threat to the Farmers who are heavily dependent on middlemen. As a result, there were Poor marketing facilities, and at many times perishable crops like vegetables get damaged due to poor market facilities. The issues and ways to overcome these threats are mentioned in Geography Class 10: Issues with Indian Agriculture to spread awareness among students who are tomorrow’s future.

Institutional and Technological Reforms:

The collectivisation, consolidation of holdings, cooperation and eradication of zamindari, etc., were given preference to bring about organisational reforms in the country following Independence. Land reform was the principal emphasis of our First Five Year Plan. Green Revolution, which centred on the utilisation of package technology, and the White Revolution, which centred on Operation Flood, were some of the efforts initiated to improve the situation and to check the impact of globalisation on agriculture. 

Important Policy Initiatives in the 1980s and 1990s where a comprehensive land development initiative was launched. It involves providing crop insurance against land fragmentation, drought, flood, storm, fire, and illness, development of Grameen banks, cooperative societies, and banks for giving lending facilities to the farmers at cheaper rates of interest, etc.

Institutional Credit Facilities like Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS) were introduced. The administration also announces minimum support price, financially rewarding, and purchase prices for major commodities to check the exploitation of farmers by investors and middlemen.

Other Ways to Improve Agriculture:

Efforts to modernise agriculture include the establishment of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), agricultural universities, veterinary services, animal breeding centres, horticulture development,  various technological and institutional reform, meteorology and weather forecast research, and development.

To make the agriculture sector successful and profitable, implement specific necessary strategies. Strong emphasis needs to be placed on improving the conditions of marginal and small farmers, countering all the technological issues the agricultural sector faces.

Few farmers can shift their crops from cereals to high-value crops. This will raise revenues while decreasing environmental degradation. The diverse climate of India can be used to grow a wide range of high-value crops.

Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture:

When European traders arrived in India in the nineteenth century, Indian spices were transported to various places worldwide, and farmers in south India were encouraged to produce these commodities. During British time, the cotton belts of India drew British attention, and cotton was eventually supplied to Britain as a raw material for their textile industry. Because of the availability of high-quality cotton from India, the cotton textile industry in Manchester and Liverpool boomed.

Farmers in India have faced additional challenges such as technological Issues that strongly influenced the economy and resulted from globalisation, notably since 1990. All these challenges are covered in Geography Class 10: Issues with Indian Agriculture to educate and motivate the students about the importance of the agricultural sector. Despite being a major producer of rice, cotton, rubber, tea, coffee, jute, and spices, our agricultural products cannot compete with the industrialised world due to heavily subsidised agriculture in those nations.

Conclusion 

Indian agriculture suffers from many issues like dependence on monsoon for irrigation, land fragmentation, long-term land use without the proper technology, low investment in agriculture, inconsistent use of fertilisers and pesticides. The Indian government has performed some technological and institutional reforms to improve the condition of agriculture like consolidation of land holdings, eradication of zamindari system, green revolution, the incentive to farmers Inform of subsidies, institutional credit facility like Kisan credit card extra. Globalisation has opened the world market for Indian agriculture. Still, it only proved beneficial for the British textile industry. Despite being the primary producer of rice, cotton, flower, tea, coffee, and spices, our agricultural products cannot compete with those of the industrialised world because of their low price.