india an

agrarian
economy
 Introduction
The history of agriculture in India dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization. India ranks second worldwide in
farm outputs. As per 2018, agriculture employed more than 50% of the Indian work force and contributed
17–18% to country's GDP.[1
India is the second largest producer of wheat and rice, the world's major food staples.[13]

India is currently the world's second largest producer of several dry fruits, agriculture-based textile raw
materials, roots and tuber crops, pulses, farmed fish, eggs, coconut, sugarcane and numerous
vegetables. India is ranked under the world's five largest producers of over 80% of agricultural produce
items, including many cash crops such as coffee and cotton, in 2010.[13] India is one of the world's five
largest producers of livestock and poultry meat, with one of the fastest growth rates, as of 2011.[

agriculture and allied sectors like animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries accounted for 15.4% of the
GDP (gross domestic product) with about 41.49% of the workforce in 2020
The economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is steadily declining with the country's
broad-based economic growth. Still, agriculture is demographically the broadest economic
sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India.
Background
India has a particularly large agricultural sector.
Growth in agricultural output over the past three
While the sector’s share of GDP has halved in the
decades has been strong and, importantly, crop
past 30 years to around 15 per cent, it still employs production has been able to broadly keep pace
with the demands from a growing population
around half of India’s workforce and accounts for

much of the volatility in Indian GDP. India has the

second largest area of arable land in the world and

is a major producer of a number of agricultural

products. Around the turn of the century,

India overtook the United States as the world’s

largest producer of milk and is also a major producer

of pulses, such as chickpeas and lentils, which are

major sources of protein in vegetarian diets.

 History
Indian agriculture before
independence
India has a particularly large agricultural sector.
While the sector’s share of GDP has halved in the
past 30 years to around 15 per cent, it still employs
around half of India’s workforce and accounts for
much of the volatility in Indian GDP. India has the
second largest area of arable land in the world and
is a major producer of a number of agricultural
products
Some claim Indian agriculture began by 9000 BC as a result of early cultivation of plants, and domestication
of crops.[33] Settled life soon followed with implements and techniques being developed for
agriculture.[34][35] Double monsoons led to two harvests being reaped in one year.[36] Indian products soon
reached trading networks and foreign crops were introduced.
The history and past accomplishments of Indian agriculture thus influenced, in part, colonialism,
slavery and slavery-like indentured labour practices in the new world, Caribbean wars and world
history in 18th and 19th centuries.
Indian agriculture after independence/ agriculture on eve
9of independence
In the years since its independence, India has made immense progress towards food security.
Indian population has tripled, and food-grain production more than quadrupled. There has been a
substantial increase in available food-grain per capita.

Agriculture is an important sector of Indian economy as it contributes about 17% to the

total GDP and provides employment to over 60% of the population. Indian agriculture
has
registered impressive growth over last few decades. The foodgrain production has
increased
from 51 million tonnes (MT) in 1950-51 to 250 MT during 2011-12 highest ever since
independence. The production of oilseeds (nine-major oilseed) has also increased from
5 MT to
28 MT during the same period. The rapid growth has helped Indian agriculture mark its
presence
at global level.
Importance of agriculture
(1) Source of Livelihood: The incoming sources of many peoples depends on the
agriculture, about 70% population of directly rely with agriculture for livelihood. This
gigantic ratio in this sector is as a result of none development of non-agricultural
activities to absorb the fast-growing population. Nevertheless, mostly populations of
developed countries do not rely on agriculture.

(2) Contribution to National revenue: Mostly developing counties depends on agriculture for
their source of national income. While for developed countries it contributes as smallest ration
to their national income.

(3) Supply of Food as well as Fodder: It provides feed and silage to the domestics animals.
Moreover, livestock provides milk and proteins as people’s foods requirements.
(4) Significance to the International Trade: Various commodities as sugar, tea, rice, cotton, tobacco, coffee etc.,
that rely on agriculture are the major items to be exports to the other countries. This practice is helpful to
decrease countries critical balance of expenditures and saving foreign exchange. This volume may be well used
to import other vital inputs, machinery, raw-material, and other infrastructure that is supportive for country’s
monetary development.

(5) Marketable Surplus:

The advanced of agriculture sector that share to marketable surplice. Most of population related with
manufacturing, mining that depends on food production that might meet from the nation’s marketable surplus.
As agricultural sector development takes place, production increases and this leads to expansion of marketable
surplus. This may be exported to other nations.

(6) another ther role of this sector is to reduce the poverty of rural population. GDP of agriculture was
approximately 4.1% per year since 1975 to 2000. The GDP increase due to green revolution technology,
improved seeds as well as fertilizers performed a chiefly part to enhance the agriculture production.
Problems in agriculture
1. Rural-urban gap
India’s most of the farming is done in rural parts of the country. While India has witnessed an
improvement in rural fortunes, it has not been enough to bridge India’s rural-urban gap.
While rural monthly per capita expenditure grew at an insipid annual rate of 0.8% between
1993-94 and 2004-05, it grew at a much faster pace of 3.3% a year between 2004-05 and
2011-12 (at constant 1987-88 prices).
But, the growth rate of urban incomes has been faster, and the difference between rural and
urban consumption increased slightly over this period. Thus, despite rising rural incomes and
falling rural poverty, disenchantment with farming has only grown in the countryside.
2. Lack of Investment in Agriculture

There has been a paucity of fresh investments in agriculture sectors. Several economists have given various
reasons for this. Many believe that land inequality as the root cause of agricultural stagnation. It is argued that under
the landlord-tenant farming arrangement, all production expenses were borne by the latter because of the
competition to secure tenancy.
3. Lack of Effective Policies

Despite several efforts done by the governments in order to solve the problems related to agriculture in
India, India has no coherent agriculture policy in place. There is also a broad agreement on the need for
a coherent farm policy that addresses issues of sustainability and productivity growth in Indian
agriculture.
There are both political and economic reasons for the neglect of broad-based farm interventions by the
Indian state over the past decades.

4. Negligence of Natural resources

India has not preserved and developed its natural resources when it comes to farming. Little was done
in order to preserve resources mainly related to irrigation. The severity of the situation is evident from
the stories of migration and severe water crisis in Maharashtra and elsewhere.
5. Impact of Demonetization

Incidences of stress in agriculture have begun to appear because of demonetization. In this fiscal year, there was a
decrease in farm products. Cash is the primary mode of transaction in agriculture sector which contributes 15% to
India’s total output.Agriculture is impacted through the input-output channels as well as price and output feedback
effects. Sale, transport, marketing and distribution of ready produce to wholesale centres or mandis, is dominantly
cash-dependent.

6. Excessive Interventions on Prices

In India there are several restraints on price control. Those restraints are to be freed from Indian agriculture.
Apart from it, commercial risks due to volatile prices, restrictions on movement of farm produce, and the lack of
access to global markets are in need of corrective measures.
Many experts argue that the solution to farm distress lay in dismantling the system of state controls that were in
effect a massive tax on farming.

7. Farmer suicides

In 2012, the National Crime Records Bureau of India reported 13,754 farmer suicides.[119] Farmer suicides
account for 11.2% of all suicides in India.[119][120] Activists and scholars have offered a number of
conflicting reasons for farmer suicides, such as monsoon failure, high debt burdens, genetically modified
crops, government policies, public mental health, personal issues and family problems
Irrigation in india
Indian irrigation infrastructure includes a network of major and minor canals from rivers, groundwater
well-based systems, tanks, and other rainwater harvesting projects for agricultural activities. Of these, the
groundwater system is the largest.[59] Of the 160 million hectares of cultivated land in India, about 39
million hectare can be irrigated by groundwater wells and an additional 22 million hectares by irrigation
canals.[60] In 2010, only about 35% of agricultural land in India was reliably irrigated.[61] About 2/3rd
cultivated land in India is dependent on monsoons.[62] The improvements in irrigation infrastructure in the
last 50 years have helped India improve food security, reduce dependence on monsoons, improve
agricultural productivity and create rural job opportunities. Dams used for irrigation projects have helped
provide drinking water to a growing rural population, control flood and prevent drought-related damage to
agriculture.[63] However, free electricity and attractive minimum support price for water intensive crops
such as sugarcane and rice have encouraged ground water mining leading to groundwater depletion and
poor water quality.[64] A news report in 2019 states that more than 60% of the water available for farming
in India is consumed by rice and sugar, two crops that occupy 24% of the cultivable area.[65]
 Horticulture

The total production and economic value of horticultural produce, such as fruits, vegetables and nuts
has doubled in India over the 10-year period from 2002 to 2012. In 2012, the production from
horticulture exceeded grain output for the first time. The total horticulture produce reached 277.4 million
metric tonnes in 2013, making India the second largest producer of horticultural products after
China.[82] Of this, India in 2013 produced 81 million tonnes of fruits, 162 million tonnes of vegetables,
5.7 million tonnes of spices, 17 million tonnes of nuts and plantation products (cashew, cacao, coconut,
etc.), 1 million tonnes of aromatic horticulture produce and 1.7 million tonnes of flowers (7.6 billion cut
flowers).
Organic culture

Organic agriculture has fed India for centuries and it is again a growing sector in India. Organic production
offers clean and green production methods without the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides and it
achieves a premium price in the market place. India has 6,50,000 organic producers, which is more that
any other country.[86] India also has 4 million hectares of land certified as organic wildculture, which is
third in the world (after Finland and Zambia).[87] As non availability of edible biomass is impeding the
growth of animal husbandry in India, organic production of protein rich cattle, fish and poultry feed using
biogas /methane/natural gas by cultivating Methylococcus capsulatus bacteria with tiny land and water
foot print is a solution for ensuring adequate protein rich food to the population
Agriculture based cooperatives
India has seen a huge growth in cooperative societies, mainly in the farming
sector, since 1947 when the country gained independence from Britain. The
country has networks of cooperatives at the local, regional, state and national
levels that assist in agricultural marketing. The commodities that are mostly
handled are food grains, jute, cotton, sugar, milk, fruit and nuts[92] Support by the
state government led to more than 25,000 cooperatives being set up by the 1990s
in the state of Maharashtra.[93]
1. Sugar industry
Most of the sugar production in India takes place at mills owned by local cooperative
societies.[65] The members of the society include all farmers, small and large, supplying
sugarcane to the mill.[94] Over the last fifty years, the local sugar mills have played a
crucial part in encouraging political participation and as a stepping stone for aspiring
politicians.[95] This is particularly true in the state of Maharashtra where a large number
of politicians belonging to the Congress party or NCP had ties to sugar cooperatives from
their local area and has created a symbiotic relationship between the sugar factories and
local politics.[96] However, the policy of "profits for the company but losses to be borne
by the government", has made a number of these operations inefficient.[9
 2. Marketing
As with sugar, cooperatives play a significant part in the overall marketing of fruit and vegetables
in India. Since the 1980s, the amount of produce handled by Cooperative societies has increased
exponentially. Common fruit and vegetables marketed by the societies include bananas,
mangoes, grapes, onions and many others.[98]

However, on marketing front, Indian agriculture

is still facing the problems such as low degree of market integration and connectivity,

accessibility of reliable and timely information required by farmers on various issues in

agriculture.
 3. Dairy industry

Dairy farming based on the Amul Pattern, with a single marketing cooperative, is India's largest self-sustaining
industry and its largest rural employment provider. Successful implementation of the Amul model has made India
the world's largest milk producer.[99] Here small, marginal farmers with a couple or so heads of milch cattle queue
up twice daily to pour milk from their small containers into the village union collection points. The milk after
processing at the district unions is then marketed by the state cooperative federation nationally under the Amul
brand name, India's largest food brand. With the Anand pattern three-fourth of the price paid by the mainly urban
consumers goes into the hands of millions of small dairy farmers, who are the owners of the brand and the
cooperative.[100]
 Initiative
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), established in 1905, was responsible for the search
leading to the "Indian Green Revolution" of the 1970s. The ICAR is the apex body in agriculture and related
allied fields, including research and education.[128] The Union Minister of Agriculture is the president of the
ICAR. The Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute develops new techniques for the design of
agricultural experiments, analyses data in agriculture, and specialises in statistical techniques for animal and
plant breeding.[
Recently (May 2016) the government of India has set up the Farmers Commission to completely
evaluate the agriculture programme.[129] Its recommendations have had a mixed reception.

In November 2011, India announced major reforms in organised retail. These reforms would
include logistics and retail of agricultural produce.

In 2015, Narendra Modi announced to double farmer's income by 2022.[131]

Startups with niche technology and new business models are working to solve problems in Indian
agriculture and its marketing.[
 1. Agriculture and Indian economy

The contributions of agriculture in the Indian economy have been increasing over the years.
According to the economic survey, the share of agriculture in gross domestic product (GDP)
reached almost 20% for the first time in 17 years, making a sole bright spot in performance during
financial year 2020–2021.[133]

Modern farms and agriculture operations have changed over the years primarily because of
advancements in technology, including sensors, devices, machines, and information
technology.[134]

Personalized e-commerce stores and market places have brought farming products like fertilizers,
seeds, machines and equipment that help farmers grow quality products. Educational portals let
farmers know innovative things about farming that increase the contributions of agriculture to the
economy.
2. Organic farming
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) was launched in 2015 by the Narendra
Modi regime to promote organic farming, under which farmers form organic
farming clusters of 50 or more farmers with a minimum total area of 50 acres to
share organic methods using traditional sustainable methods, costs, and
marketing, etc. It initially aimed to have 10,000 clusters by 2018 with at least
500,000 acres under organic farming and government "cover the certification
costs and promote organic farming through the use of traditional resources."
Government provides INR 20,000 per acre benefit over three years
 3. Schemes launched by the Modi regime
Agriculture initiatives schemes launched by the Modi regime are:

2020 Indian agriculture acts

Atal Bhujal Yojana
E-NAM for online agrimarketing
Gramin Bhandaran Yojana for local storage
Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF)
National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
National Scheme on Fisheries Training and Extension
National Scheme on Welfare of Fishermen
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKSN) for
minimum support scheme
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) for
irrigation
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) for organic
farming
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for crop
insurance
Budget 2022 for agriculture
This year’s Budget had four broad themes — (i) PM Gati Shakti, (ii) Inclusive Development, (iii) Productivity
Enhancement & Investment, Sunrise Opportunities, Energy Transition, and Climate Action and (iv)
Financing of Investments.

The total allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare for 2022-23 is ₹1.32 lakh crore ,
0.7 per cent higher than the Budget estimates of 2020-21 and 4.3 per cent higher than the revised
estimates (RE) of 2021-22. In real terms, there is no increase in the Budget for agriculture.

The vision of the Budget 2022-23 has been limited regarding the agricultural sector. This is true for both
the sectoral focus as well as for the allocations.

However, there is one notable change related to the semantics: The flagship Green Revolution scheme
(which included more than 15 missions and schemes) and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana
(PMKSY) are restructured and are replaced by two schemes — Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (renewed)
and the Krishionnati Yojana.
 Conclusion
Agricultural development is crucial for the economic growth, rural development, and poverty alleviation of
low-income developing countries. Improvements in agricultural productivity are a key driver of economic
growth and poverty reduction both inside and beyond the agricultural business. In connection with increase
in productivity, suitable infrastructure, well-functioning domestic markets, adequate institutions, and access
to proper technologies are all required. Agriculture is the most important contributor to India's GDP.
Agriculture contributes around 20.19 percent of the country's GDP. The agricultural sector's contribution
has decreased in recent years, despite the fact that it is still the greatest contributor. Agriculture plays a vital
role in Indian economics not just because of its contribution to "GDP," but rather because it employs a huge
portion of the people.

The green revolution significantly enhanced the production of critical

food grains while also introducing agricultural technical improvements. India's net trade balance reflects
this improvement. Whereas India used to rely on imports to feed its people, it has become a net exporter of
agri-food products since 1990.
As commodity prices rise once more, it is critical to implement measures to
prevent volatility and put adequate coping mechanisms in place. Macroeconomic attempts to price
stabilisation in national markets are unpromising. Policies that assist the poor in dealing with financial
instability, such as social safety nets, have the ability to attenuate negative consequences and keep
households from sliding into chronic poverty. The Government of India prioritises poverty reduction
through increased agricultural productivity in order to boost agricultural and rural development. To develop
a “solid foundation for a highly productive, internationally competitive”, and diverse agricultural industry,
policymakers will need to take significant action to change away from the current “subsidy-based regime”,
which is no longer economically viable.
Statistical information

indian gdp from agriculture

Bibliography
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Wikipedia

The hindustan times

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