India is an agrarian economy and the agriculture sector is one of the major contributors to the GDP of the country, contributing about 16.8% to GDP. Nearly two-thirds of India’s rural households and 50% of total workforce depends directly on agriculture for its livelihood. It meets the food requirements of the people and produces several raw materials for industries. India has achieved Food Security due to sustained growth in agriculture production. The agricultural produce forms a major chunk in the list of exports as well. Despite the significance of agriculture, it has been largely ignored by the successive governments and thus faces many challenges. More than 50% of agriculture land is still dependent on monsoon. The average landholding of farmers in India stands at 1.08 hectares, among the lowest in the world. Small landholdings are economically unviable. India has achieved Food security at the cost of Nutritional Security due to obsolete farming techniques. Covid-19 has proven that agriculture is still the backbone of Indian Economy. India needs to take several measures to maximise the possibilities of agriculture and improve the condition of farmers:
Opportunities in Financial Inclusion- Agriculture is the major driver of rural demand in India because majority of rural households are still dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The Financial sector in India can grow immensely by bringing these households within the formal financial system. It can also help in reducing farmer suicides that are largely a product of exploitation by moneylenders. With higher flow of Finances, the agriculture sector can also grow faster. Various schemes like PM Jan Dhan Yojana, Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and PM Fasal Bima Yojana have been launched for Financial Inclusion but there is a need to work on Land Reforms and Farmer’s Income Enhancement through the Financial System.
Organic Farming- Organic Farming has become the new gold of exports due to a rise in focus on health and falling nutrition in conventional farming products. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana is the scheme which motivates groups of fifty or more farmers to switch to organic farming. Due to spatial diversity and existence of old methods of farming, India still has a lot of potential to grow and export organic products to the world markets. In-stead of running after HYV seeds and Fertilizers, India can focus on High Tech Organic farming to become a world leader in Agriculture in the future.
Food Processing Industry- In 2017-18, the food processing industry accounted for 7.9 per cent of manufacturing GVA and 9.5 per cent in agricultural value added. It is also a major employment provider, contributing to 11.4 per cent of organised manufacturing employment.
There is immense potential to create forward linkages of agriculture with Industries by processing raw materials and increasing their value. Through food processing, the wastage of agriculture products can also be reduced, which presently stands at 35% of gross produce.
Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) are contributing towards creation of Food processing companies in the vicinity of agriculture areas but we need to work on a mission mode to become a world leader in Food processing
Building proper infrastructure in rural areas- We need to focus on building the infrastructure of the rural sector such as connecting roads, market yards, and storage facilities. These will help in saving a lot of overhead costs. Infrastructure development in rural areas will also provide non-agriculture livelihood to the unemployed. It will also reduce rural-urban migration by fulfilling the vision of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam- “Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA)”
Crop Insurance- Instead of providing subsidies to the farmers on water and electricity, a better option could be to provide subsidies on the premium and do with the capping in the case of the crop insurance. This will encourage the farmers to adopt innovative technologies, enhance crop productivity, and they will be more willing to take risks. This will encourage farmers to come together to pool up their resources and the premium rates will automatically fall. A robust crop insurance is the best way to deal with risks associated with the agriculture sector.
Educating the farmers about sustainable agriculture- The need of the hour is the incorporation of sustainable practices in the agriculture sector. Being one of the core sectors of Indian economy, the agriculture sector needs to regularise and update itself. The farmers need to be taught about the alternatives in order to make better use of the available resources. The focus must be on increasing the productivity of the land and irrigation. Piped conveyance, better off-farm management of water, use of better water management practices such as drip irrigation and rain water harvesting should be done. The farmers need to focus on utilisation rather than exploitation of ground water resources. They must be encouraged to grow higher value commodities, especially in the areas which receive high rainfall. Crop diversification and soil health are other important factors. The farmers must be encouraged to follow the practice of organic farming and refrain from the use of DDT, pesticides, and insecticides. This will be helpful in maintaining the health of the soil and getting better yields.
Poverty alleviation and community actions: While agricultural growth will, in itself, provide the base for increasing incomes, for the 170 million or so rural persons that are below the poverty line, additional measures are required to make this growth inclusive. For instance, rural livelihood program empowers communities to become self-reliant. This program promotes the formation of self-help groups, increases community savings, and promotes local initiatives to increase incomes and employment. Through this, the poor farmers gain the strength to negotiate better prices and market access for their products, and also gain the political power over local governments to provide them with better technical and social services.
Major upcoming challenges include Climate change and more extreme events like droughts, floods, erratic rains, etc. They are expected to have greatest impact in rain-fed areas. The watershed program, allied with initiatives from agricultural research and extension, may be the most suited agricultural program for promoting new varieties of crops and improved farm practices. But other thrusts, such as the livelihoods program and development of offfarm employment may also be key. To achieve agricultural reform, Indian government also needs to provide support in case of land, bank loans and other machineries to the small farmers along with the big farmers as it would bring much improvement in Indian economy.