Issues, Challenges and Prospects of Indian Agriculture

Agriculture Development towards Sustainability ISBN: 978-93-94819-16-0 Pub. Date: 30 Nov. 2022 Volume: I Issues, Challenges and Prospects of Indian Agriculture Mrs. Arpita Laddha Asst. Professor, Dept. Of Commerce Smt. Kesharbai Lahoti Mahavidyalaya Corresponding Author- Mrs. Arpita Laddha Email-ahladdha@gmail.com DOIAbstract Agriculture sector has an important place in Indian Economy even though it contributes only around 20% to GDP of the country and 50% to national income. India is still called an agrarian economy as it supports directly or indirectly about 42% of workforce of the country. India has had record agricultural production of 315.7 million tonnes although the productivity per acre of land is still a challenge. Indian farmers are looking to increase their income and in order to achieve the same are diversify their crops and looking for allied agriculture activities. Although the country is leader in production of various crops still the price volatility remains a concern. There are many concerns in agriculture like lack of power, irrigation, fragmented ownership etc., but what is more important is the solution for these problems which lies in the future and looks promising due to new technologies and innovations which are coming up in the field. of nation through export of various I. Introduction agricultural products. India is a rural country having 65% of the This chapter highlights the Major Issues of population living in rural areas in around Agriculture in India in Section II. Section III 6,50,000 villages. Indian economy is often highlights the challenges of Indian known as an agrarian economy. Majority of Agriculture. Section IV describes the Key our population is directly or indirectly Trends expected in Indian Agriculture. dependent upon agriculture for livelihood. II. Issues of Indian Agriculture Agriculture provides direct employment to Despite the importance of agriculture in nearly 41.49% of working population of Indian economy and increase in production, country. Indian agriculture still faces various issues Agriculture contributes about 20% to GDP of which needs to be addressed urgently the country. The overall development of the through various reforms. The problems are country depends on the growth and discussed below: development of rural areas as they contribute Small and fragmented land holdings: 50% to national income. The rural economy has continuously been supporting to the Decreasing size of land holding is one of the economy of India. Rural economy has major concerns of Indian agriculture as more performed even when there has been distress than 90% farmers are smallholders or in other sectors of the economy. Even during marginal. The average size of operational COVID – 19 times, Indian agriculture holding has decreased to 1.08 hectares as per showed remarkable flexibility and 2015-16 Census. sturdiness. The success in terms of Adaptation to climate change production has ensured the food security for disturbance: The climate in the country has the country. become very unpredictable. The areas either India has witnessed a revolution evolving receive too much rainfall and face flood or are from a food deficient and import dependent heavy no rain and face drought. The reason country in 1960s to a global powerhouse of for such change is global warming and the agricultural production today. India is leader in production of milk, pulses, jute and spices farmers need to adapt the changes and select and ranks second in production of rice, the crops accordingly. wheat, cotton, sugarcane, tea, groundnut, Low farm productivity: Although the fruits and vegetables. Even though the share production has increased still the farm of agriculture in GDP is declining it productivity per unit of land is very low in continues to grow in gross term. Rural India India which overall results in extra cost to contributes significantly in the development the farmers. 63 Jyotikiran Publication, Pune (International Publication) Agriculture Development towards Sustainability Shortage of good quality seeds for marginal & small farmers: Good quality seeds are considered crucial for better productivity in different agro-climatic zones. The good quality seeds are very costly and unaffordable for marginal and small farmers. Lack of quality seeds at reasonable rates is one of the greatest impediments to bridge the vast yield gap. Less value-addition at primary level: The farmers at primary level are not able to add value to the produce because of inadequate raw material, traditional production, high cost, layout and factory facilities, inadequate machineries and capital, poor education and knowledge of farmers and poor attitude of entrepreneurs along with no market and research. Adding value to agricultural products is a worthwhile endeavor because it gives higher returns, opportunity to open new markets and extend the marketing season for farmers and helps in creating a new recognition for the farms. Instability in agricultural prices: Farm product prices fluctuate relatively more than the prices of manufactured goods. The prices of agricultural goods depend upon the demand and supply of agricultural produce in local market as well as demand in international market, geopolitics, inflation and availability and attractiveness of substitute goods as well. Lack of Mechanization: Overall mechanization level in the country is around 40-45%. Leading country in manufacturing tractor and many other implements is itself lacking behind to develop mechanization for own small sized farms. There is a huge difference in level of mechanization in different parts of the country due to size of landholdings, government support, knowledge of technology and financial inability of farmers. Lack of irrigation facilities: Only one third of the farmers are having irrigation facilities and the remaining are still dependent on monsoons. Irrigation is an important parameter for agriculture as timely and sufficient supply is the key to ISBN: 978-93-94819-16-0 Pub. Date: 30 Nov. 2022 Volume: I better production. The country even lacks proper supply of power which is required for irrigation, Lack of PHM (Post Harvest Management) and marketing facilities: India loses around 40% of the food produced in the country. Indian farmers suffer loss worth 92,651 crores per year due to poor storage and lack of transport facilities. Farmers suffer post-harvest due to faulty practices, poor sorting & grading practices, improper packing, marketing and other exogenous factors. Inadequate government support: Government support to agriculture has been low on innovation and the support which is provided is ineffective and inefficient. Further the prices are controlled by government whereas there is no control on the cost that is incurred looking at the rising prices of inputs. Soil Erosion: Soil Erosion is increasing due to deforestation, erratic rainfall, imbalanced fertilization, excessive tillage, and use of heavy machinery. Crop residue burning, overuse of pesticides, poor crop rotation and poor irrigation facilities have led to degradation of 130 million ha of land in the country. Also 6.74 million ha of land has problem of soil salinity and water logging which ends in loss of crops. The ground water level is also getting deteriorated. Inefficiency of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs): FPOs lack adequate resources which makes it difficult for them to attract and retain members and carry out their activities. They are inefficiently managed, lack farmer participation and proper communication and governance. Scarcity of capital and subsidy: There is a lack of initial investment as there is almost no support from government in most cases. The subsidy from government for fertilizers and electricity to farmers has increased many folds but there are regions which receive more subsidy (Northern & Central) and they outperform the areas receiving less subsidy (South& NE). Govt. schemes do not 64 Jyotikiran Publication, Pune (International Publication) Agriculture Development towards Sustainability reach small farmers as there is lack of awareness among them. III Challenges of Indian Agriculture Raising agricultural productivity per unit of land: It is going to be the main engine for agricultural growth. Water resources are limited and need to contend with industrial and urban needs too. We need to go all out exploiting all possible ways to improve productivity by increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops and develop value chain to reduce marketing costs. Reducing rural poverty: Rural development is the key to achieve economic growth and is a challenge in front of agriculture. Despite regional disparity development efforts of the government and the World Bank must benefit poor, landless, women, scheduled castes and tribes to bring betterment and growth in agriculture. Ensuring food security: Agriculture needs to increase its production manifolds in order to fulfill the rising demand of food in the country. There has been a slowdown in agricultural growth and is a major concern as the yields in the country are not at par with the yields achieved in the world. IV Key Trends Expected in the Future Agriculture being a key economic driver needs to adapt various challenges that it is facing today. The trends in agriculture that are expected in the coming future are enumerated below: Increase in food production: India has witnessed tremendous increase in agriculture production after introduction of Green Revolution. This is further going to increase in future as there is a huge gap between what we produce presently and what will be required in future to feed the `ever increasing population. Change in Consumption Pattern: Due to globalization and increase in individual income and health consciousness the demand for fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fish meat and high value greens is growing. Even there is an increase in demand for processed food having good quality at affordable prices. Land Consolidation: There will be land consolidation on huge scale either a real or a virtual one to achieve economies of scale for small land owners. India is witnessing a shift ISBN: 978-93-94819-16-0 Pub. Date: 30 Nov. 2022 Volume: I wherein everybody is getting used to work online or get the work done through online mode which will help in future to convert the existing agricultural ecosystem into a digital one. Increase in Competitiveness: With new private players entering the field there will be an increase in competition. It will lead to new and innovative products, better inputs and customized farm machinery at competitive prices giving better return to farmers. Agricultural labour will move to more productive jobs: Already one can witness that rural farm economy is moving off-farm to allied industries related to agriculture and post-production activities are becoming familiar among the rural labours. Labours get better paid and have better work profile. Crop Diversification: It can be used as a tool to promote sustainable agriculture, reducing the dependency of country on others and increase the income of the farmers. Agriculture is the backbone as it not only fulfills the demand of food for the people but also other development needs. The farmers will diversify to produce commercial and horticultural crops as it gives better returns. Reduce dependency for energy: India is looking to reduce its dependency on oil and gas and hence ethanol production will be encouraged which will also help in diversifying the use of sugarcane which is in excess in the country. Prudent use of land: In order to make the use of land more prudently vertical and urban farming will be promoted vigorously in long term and even the efforts will be made to bring the barren deserts and seawater under cultivation to increase area under cultivation. New growing medium: Soil-less, waterbased farming like hydroponic farming which can be done in less space is going to accelerate as it eliminates the problems that are linked to soil based farming. Even the agriculture based on air i.e., aeroponics is going to be the future to achieve sustainable development. Precision farming: Farming which will be based on soil testing and automation using artificial intelligence will be more predominant in future as it will help in 65 Jyotikiran Publication, Pune (International Publication) Agriculture Development towards Sustainability taking the decision about usage of inputs in agriculture. The sensors and drones will be used to get better precision, quality, and environment in cost effective manner. Use of Nano-Technology: The agriculture sector is facing enormous challenges in relation to change in climate, decrease in soil fertility, macro, and micronutrient deficiency, over usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Application of nano-technology in agriculture will reduce the wastage and increase the yield. Digital Agriculture: Use of digital technology will integrate the efforts of farmers and government. The use of digital technology will help farmers to keep themselves updated about the new tools and keep them informed about the new schemes offered and will bring transparency in transferring of money directly to their accounts. Automation in Agriculture: The operations in agriculture will be automated in the future. Farmers will rely on robots to automate the repetitive tasks in the field. Automation will help farmers to focus on improving overall productivity of the farms rather than worrying about slow farm processes. Automation will help in reducing the human errors and provide convenience. Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence will provide real time insights of the farm conditions allowing the farmers to be proactive. AI will help in predicting weather forecasts, crop yield and prices helping farmers take timely decisions. AI will enable corrective response if required. Drones: Increasing farm productivity while saving costs is challenging. Drones are equipped with camera which facilitate aerial imaging. Drones are already in use for spraying pesticides in the region. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA): Variable and extreme harsh weather conditions hamper old farming methods. Further going crops in urban areas pose significant challenges which can be controlled by CEA. Here the plant gets controlled proportion of light, temperature, humidity and nutrients Improved storage & supply chain facilities: The farmers will gain tremendously with improvement in storage ISBN: 978-93-94819-16-0 Pub. Date: 30 Nov. 2022 Volume: I and supply chain as it will help farmers to store the goods and get better prices for their goods hence improving the income of farmers V Conclusion Increasing population, increasing average income and globalisation effects in India will increase the demand for quantity, quality and nutritious food and variety of food. The increasing population will decrease the available cultivable land as it will have alternative usage. Hence there is an urgent need to step up and make policies which will help us overcome the challenges ahead. The future holds a lot of opportunities for Indian farmers, they need to adapt the new practices and innovations to increase the production as well as their income. 66 Jyotikiran Publication, Pune (International Publication)