The Indo-Gangetic plain, which is extremely fertile, is one of the world’s greatest plain regions. There are several climate conditions and soil kinds in India. These physical variations, as well as factors such as irrigation availability, machinery use, modern agricultural inputs such as High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of seeds, insecticides, and pesticides, have all played important roles in the evolution of various farming practises in the Indian agriculture sector.
Subsistence agriculture has been practised in most regions of India for hundreds of years and continues to exist. Despite increased urbanisation and industrialisation, agriculture continues to employ over 70% of the world’s population.Even after more than four decades of the Green Revolution and agricultural technology and equipment revolutions, total automation has yet to be realised.
Despite large-scale growth, only around one-third of the planted land is currently irrigated. As a result, two-thirds of cultivated areas remain dependent on the monsoon. Because India has both tropical and temperate temperatures, crops from both regions may be found there. There are few nations in the world that can compete with India in terms of variety. You would notice this when we discussed the many sorts of crops in depth.
Farmers practically everywhere in the country prioritise the cultivation of food crops. There are three distinct agricultural/cropping seasons in India: Kharif, Rabi, and Zaid. Specific crops are cultivated in India during these three seasons. Rice is a Kharif crop, whereas wheat is a Rabi crop.
According to the Economic Survey of India 2020-21 report, the country’s total food grain output in FY20 was 296.65 million tonnes (up by 11.44 million tonnes compared with 285.21 million tonnes in FY19). The government has set a target of 42.74 million tonnes from the central pool to be acquired in FY21, which is 10% greater than the amount purchased in FY20.
The government has set a record target for farmers in FY22 of increasing food grain output by 2% to 307.31 million tonnes. Production in FY21 was 303.34 million tonnes, compared to a goal of 301 million tonnes. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries were anticipated to generate Rs. 19.48 lakh crore in GVA in FY20.
Agriculture and allied industries contributed 17.8% of India’s GVA at current prices in FY20.Following the pandemic-induced downturn, consumer expenditure in India will resume increase in 2021, increasing by up to 6.6%.
The challenges confronting Indian agriculture may be divided into two categories: long-standing concerns and emergent ones resulting from current agricultural practises, systems, changing climate, and economics.
Rice and wheat production, two main basic food crops, have been stagnant for some years. This is a condition that our agricultural scientists, planners, and legislators are concerned about since it creates a significant gap between the need of an ever-growing population and output. Fertilizer, insecticides, pesticides, HYV seeds, farm labour costs, and so on are examples of farm inputs. Such an increase disadvantages small and medium-sized farms.
The green revolution has helped to reduce hunger in India, but it has also had severe implications. One of these is soil fatigue, which refers to the loss of nutrients in the soil as a result of growing the same crop repeatedly. The loss of fresh groundwater is the second detrimental effect of the green revolution. The majority of irrigation in arid parts of Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh was accomplished by the excessive use of groundwater. The current status of fresh groundwater in these states is concerning.
Climate change is expected to have a massive influence on Indian agriculture. Climate change is expected to raise temperatures, resulting in rising sea levels, more violent cyclones, erratic rainfall, and other effects. These modifications would have a negative impact on rice and wheat output. A rise in winter temperatures, in particular, would have an impact on wheat output in north India. Rice production in coastal parts of India would be hampered by the entry of salty water and a rise in the frequency of storms.
Globalization has had an impact on all emerging countries. The most visible result is a decrease in farmer income and a danger to the viability of agriculture in India. This is because input costs are growing while output prices are declining. This indicates a mix of lower subsidies and farmer protection. With trade liberalisation, small farmers will face competition from heavily subsidised produce in the industrialised world.
We were not self-sufficient in terms of food grain production in India prior to the onset of the green revolution. However, agriculture has not grown in tandem with population growth in recent decades, and in order to assure food security, aspects such as accessibility, cost, and nutritional content of available foods must be addressed.
Farmers’ suicides tend to be prevalent in areas with considerable commercialization of Indian agriculture and substantial peasant debt. Farmers cultivating cash crops appeared to be significantly more vulnerable than those growing food crops. The downturn began with the commercialization of the countryside and a major drop in agricultural investment. The privatisation of numerous resources has exacerbated the situation.
Thanks to technological improvements, farmers may now produce more with fewer workers, aiming for greater yields while using fewer inputs. Agricultural modernisation promotes worker productivity, generates agricultural surplus to fund investment, and increases foreign exchange through exports, all of which assist to lay the groundwork for industrialization. All of these systems, however, have evolved drastically through time due to changes in weather and climatic conditions, technological improvements, and socio-cultural behaviours.