Overview of Indian agriculture scenario

• Agriculture, also known as farming

• Humans invented agriculture between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago,

during the Neolithic era, or the New Stone Age.

• Eg; Wheat
• Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and many
other desired products by the cultivation of certain plants and the
raising of domesticated animals (livestock)
Role of Agriculture

• It gives food to the people

• Provides raw material for industry

• Employment to a large number of people

• Capital for agrarian development

• Surpluses for national economy

• One of the strong sector of Indian economy

• Indian agriculture sector accounts for 17-18 percent of India's gross

domestic product (GDP) and provides employment to around 50% of
the country’s workforce

• Agriculture is also called as backbone of Indian economy

History of Indian agriculture

• Indian agriculture began by 9000 BC

• Double monsoon leads two harvest in a year

• The Grow More Food Campaign (1940s)

• Integrated Production Program (1950s)

• 1960s Green revolution

 Facts
• India is the world's seventh largest country along with a population of about 1.39
billion people
• Currently, India provides food to 18% of the world's population but occupies only
2.4% of the world's total land area
• Total Geographical Area - 328 million hectares
• Net Area sown - 142 million hectares
• Gross Cropped Area – 190.8 million hectares
• Major Crops
• Rice
• Wheat
Indian Agriculture Scenario
STRENGTHS

• Indian agriculture is famous for its rich biodiversity

• Almost 60% of Indian land comprises of agricultural land

• Climate is suitable for agriculture

• Strong and well dispersed research and extension system

WEAKNESS
• Average yield in India is just 30% to 50% of the highest average yield in the world

• Agriculture in India is not technically developed

• Irrigation facilities are inadequate, which results in farmers still being dependent
on rainfall

• Illiteracy and socio-economic backwardness results in low productivity in India

• Share of agriculture in GDP has declined in past few years

Cropping Pattern

• Cropping Pattern defined as the proportion of area under various

crops at a point of time. Since it changes over time and space, it is a
dynamic concept

• In India, the cropping pattern determined by rainfall, climate,

temperature, soil type, and technology
Cropping seasons

• Rabi:- Rabi crops are sown in winter from

October to December and harvested in

summer from April to June

• Some of the important rabi crops are

wheat, barley, peas, gram, and mustard

 Kharif
• The Kharif crop is the summer crop or monsoon crop
in India. Kharif crops are usually sown with the
beginning of the first rains in July, during the south-
west monsoon season
• Major Kharif crops of India include Millets (Bajra &
Jowar), Cotton, Soybean, Sugarcane, Turmeric, Paddy
(Rice), Maize, Moong (Pulses), Groundnut, Red
Chillies, et
Zaid

• This crop is grown in some parts of the country from

March to June. Prominent examples are Muskmelon,

Watermelon, bitter gourd, pumpkin, ridged gourd

etc.,
GREEN REVOLUTION
• During 1960s India was facing huge shortage of food which could
have caused mass famine
• Two successive drought years had caused tremendous food shortage
• India had to import food grains under PL 480 law of USA.
• Indian economy was passing through turbulent phase after wars with
China and Pakistan
• To solve problem of shortage of food grains once and for all, Green
Revolution was initiated
• Meanwhile Norman Borlaug was successful in developing new
dwarf variety of wheat seed and he is famously known as father of
Green Revolution
• Borlaug was invited to India by the adviser to the Indian minister
of agriculture Dr.M.S Swaminathan
• In India, the seeds of Green Revolution were first field tested in
drought year 1964-65.
• India soon adopted IR8 – a semi-dwarf rice variety developed by
the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) that could produce
more grains of rice per plant when grown with certain fertilizers
and irrigation
Pillars of Green Revolution
High Yielding Varieties of Seeds

• Their main characteristics are increased

responsiveness to chemical fertilizers, short

maturity period, resistance to wind

damage, large leaf size to increase

photosynthesis
Irrigation

• Irrigation is precondition for successful

introduction of HYV seeds even in areas of Heavy
rainfall

• The success of Green Revolution lies in availability

of water at the right time and in the right quantity
Use of Fertilizers

• HYV seeds need heavy dose of irrigation and

fertilizers to give high yields.

• Multiple cropping is possible with trio of HYV

seeds, irrigation and chemical fertilizers
Use of Insecticides and Pesticides

• Since the monoculture promoted by the

Green Revolution technology is more

vulnerable to the insects and pests, use of

insecticides and pesticides is essential

Consolidation of Holdings

• Small and fragmented land holdings have been one of main obstacles

in the progress of agriculture in India.

• Consolidation of holdings has been introduced to solve this problem.

Supply of Agricultural Credit

• Credit is no doubt, the most crucial input in all agricultural

development programmes.

• All other inputs are dependent on the availability of credit.

Impact of Green Revolution
Increase in Agricultural Production

• Introduction of Green Revolution has resulted in phenomenal

increase in the production of agricultural crops specially food grains.

• Overall foodgrain production in 1965 was only 110 million tonnes

which has increased to 175 million tonnes in 2017.
Diffusion of Rice and Wheat Cultivation to non-traditional
areas

• Green Revolution has resulted into diffusion of rice and wheat.

• By 1970 about 20 percent of the wheat area and 30 percent of rice

area were planted by HYV seeds. In the same period, yields of rice
and wheat virtually doubled
Prosperity of Farmers

• With the increase in farm production the earnings of the farmer’s

income increased and they became prosperous
Reduction in import of foodgrains

• In the year 1965 India had to import wheat from USA. However Green
Revolution increased food production many folds and there was
drastic reduction in their imports.

• Green Revolution has therefore pulled India out of food insecurity.

Industrial Growth
• Green Revolution brought about large scale farm mechanization which
created demand for different types of machines like tractors.

• Besides industries for chemical fertilizers, pesticides insecticides also

emerged.

• Moreover, several products are used as raw material in various industries.

These industries are known as agro based industries. Textile, sugar
industries are prominent examples.
Employment

• There was appreciable increase in the demand for labour force due to
multiple cropping and use of fertilizers.

• Industrial development fueled by increased agricultural production

also created new employment opportunities.
Food Security

• Instead of widespread famine which was prevalent before Green

Revolution, cereal and calorie availability of per person increased by

nearly 30 percent and wheat and rice became cheaper

Rural Economy

• With more money in the hands of the farmers there was great spurt
in demands for goods and services.

• This stimulated the rural non-farm economy, which in turn grew and
generated significant new income and employment of its own
Problems with Green Revolution
Inter-crop Imbalance
• Ever since its inception, Green Revolution has benefited more to some
crops like wheat and rice than other crops.

• The result is that an excess of production in two main food grains (wheat
and rice) and shortage in most others

• Major commercial crops like cotton, jute, tea and sugarcane are also
almost untouched by the Green Revolution. This is not good for a balanced
growth of Indian agriculture.
Regional Disparity
• Green Revolution has led to growth of disparity in economic development
at inter and intra-regional level

• It has led to prosperity of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh

while other areas could not gain from advent of Green Revolution

• Green revolution affected only those areas which were already better
placed from agricultural point of view. Thus the problem of regional
disparity has further aggravated as a result of Green Revolution.
Increase in Interpersonal inequalities
• It has been observed that big farmers benefited from Green
Revolution the most since they had capital required to but input like
HYV seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and they were also able to
mechanize their operations.
• Whereas, small farmers could not increase their produce due to lack
of capital. Overall production of foodgrains rose bringing down the
prices which adversely affected small farmers who could not increase
their production.
• In short, Green Revolution has made the rich richer and rendered the
poor poorer resulting in widespread social and economic tensions
Unemployment

• Farm mechanization during the era of Green Revolution has caused

widespread unemployment among the agricultural labourers in the

rural areas
Environmental Degradation

• Excessive and inappropriate use of fertilizers and pesticides has

polluted waterways, poisoned agricultural workers and killed
beneficial insects and other microbes. It has also given birth to
problem of land degradation.
• Irrigation practices have led to salt build up and eventual
abandonment of some of the best farming lands.
• Groundwater levels are retreating in areas where water is being
pumped for irrigation which has brought new issues like Heavy Metal
Contamination in Groundwater.
• Monocropping culture developed during green revolution has
destroyed nature’s mechanism for controlling pests through diversity.
Beyond Green Revolution: Evergreen
Revolution is the Future
• As yields on Indian lands are still far below world average, our policy
makers will have to look somewhere else, to bring it at par with world
average.
• Current state of agriculture is not sustainable at all
Agrobiodiversity
• Agro-biodiversity refers to the nature and extent of variability present
in the domesticated plants and their wild relatives
• Biological diversity of relevance to food and agriculture
• Variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms (at the
genetic, species and ecosystem levels)
• Kerala, which covers hardly two per cent of the land area of India, has
recorded nearly 25 per cent of the country’s plant biodiversity.
• ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) is the
nodal agency for Agro-biodiversity conservation in the country, with
one of its regional station located in Thrissur, Kerala.
• Out of the 250,000 species of higher plants described, 3,000 species
are of agricultural importance and 30 species are of importance for
food use.
• India is the Centre of Origin and Diversity for crops like rice, black
gram, green gram, black pepper, turmeric, cardamom, ginger,
jackfruit, mango, banana, sugarcane etc
• They can be grouped in four categories
1. Agricultural plant genetic resources, APGRs
2. Animal genetic resources
3. Aqua genetic resources
4. Associated genetic resources
Importance of agrobiodiversity
• Agricultural biodiversity is resulted out of the interactions among
genetic resources, the environment and the management
systems and practices used by farmers
• Genetic biodiversity improves agricultural productivity
• Biodiversity increases adaptive capacity of agricultural
production to stresses
• Biodiversity sustains essential functions such as pollination,
pest/disease regulation, nutrient recycling
• Today's crop and livestock biodiversity are the result of many
thousands years of human intervention
• Agriculture can also contribute to conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity
• Maintenance of this biodiversity is essential for the sustainable
production of food and other agricultural products and the
benefits these provide food security, nutrition and livelihoods to
humanity
• Farmers’ communities play a key role as custodians and
managers of agricultural biodiversity
Threats to agrobiodiversity
• Commercialisation of agriculture promoted monoculture
• Regulatory issues (CBD, WTO, TRIPs)
• Development and accessibility
• Population pressure
• Inappropriate application of pesticides and chemical fertilisers
• Increased use of hybrid seeds are altering
• Mixed farming systems (the integration of crops, livestock and
forestry) enhance agro-biodiversity
Agroforestry
• Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems and
technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms,
bamboos, etc) are deliberately used on the same land-management
units as agricultural crops and/or animals, in some form of spatial
arrangement or temporal sequence.
• Agroforestry systems are not new

• Agroforestry was in practice since man learned the art of cultivating

crops and domestication of livestock (settled life).

• The only thing new is the term “Agroforestry”

 Forests

Agro-
Silvo-
pastoral

Crops Animal
husbandry

Land production system and classification of agroforestry

Three attributes of AF
• Productivity:
• Increase production (of desired crop) as well as productivity (of the land)
• Achieved through increased output of tree products, yields of associated
crops, reduction of inputs and labour efficiency
• Sustainability:
• By conserving the production potential of resource base
• Mainly through the beneficial effects of woody perennials
• Adoptability:
• Acceptability by farmers
• New agroforestry practices introduced also conforms to the local farming
practices.
Productive and protective functions
• Productive functions • Protective functions
• Food • Shelter belts
• Fodder • Soil conservation
• Fuel • Moisture conservation
• Timber • Temperature modulation
• Other raw materials • Microclimate amelioration- leads
to higher crop yields
• Shade regulation