AGRICULTURE and INDUSTRIES INDIA

Deepti will speak:

“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end
contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.”
And if Agriculture fails , everything else will fail.

And this is visible after having a glimpse of statistics of growing

Agriculture industry which has contributed 20.2% to the National
GDP( Gross Domestic Product) of our country.
India is a country of over a billion people , a young nation with a
culture that is of old times, A civilisation looking to reestablish its
rightful place in the world.
India’s growth story has changed its perception in the world from
being perceived as the land of snake charmers to now as skilled
professional and global entrepreneurs.
While the growth of the Indian economy is essential for many
across the world, What is gone unnoticed is the effort of Indian
farmers and the agriculture industry which ensures food security
for the nation.
There are 3 sectors driving Indian economy in fact economy of
any country
Agriculture sector, service sector and manufacturing sector.
Do you know globally India is ranked 11th in service sector, 12th
in manufacturing and 2nd in Agriculture.
How many Indians do know this?
Today myself Deepti with my fellow mates Anirudh,Mudith and
Sajna are going to explain the factors , challenges and
opportunities in the agriculture sector and also about our industrial
sector .
Anirudh will speak:

FACTORS AFFECTING THE INDIAN AGRICULTURE SECTOR

ARE:

Natural factors :
a) CLIMATE: This includes climate which mainly includes
temperature, precipitation and humidity
b) SOIL: which is type of soils, fertility level of the soil
c) TOPOGRAPHY i.e physical features of a place.
Most of these factors can be modified to some extent by man's
effort. For eg- Man have built canals to carry water to areas where
there is scarcity of water, fertilizers are added to make the soil
fertile.

Economic Factors :
a)MARKET: Relation to market generally determines the
character of farming,Market is an important factor to determine
the cost of produce.
Nearer the market: reduces the transport cost and also reduces
the wastage of perishable goods

b). LABOUR: Agriculture requires skilled labour that can

appreciate the subtle relations of seasons and soils with crops
and adopt the requisite cultural practices

c) CAPITAL:Modern mechanised farming has become

capital-intensive to a large extent. The farmer has to invest a
 large amount of capital in agriculture because he has to buy
agricultural machinery and chemical fertilizers.

Political Factors:
Political factors also play a vital role in agricultural development.
The political system, i.e., capitalistic, communist or socialistic
system determines the pattern of agriculture. For example in
China, agriculture is fully controlled by the government; similar
was the case of the former USSR. On the other hand, in USA,
Canada and in most of the other countries of the world,
agriculture is a private concern.

Mudith will speak:

CHALLENGES Of INDIAN AGRICULTURE:

Indian agriculture is plagued by several problems; some of them are
natural and some others are man made.

1. Small and fragmented land-holdings:The problem of

small and fragmented holdings is more serious in densely populated
states like Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and eastern part of Uttar.

The main reason for this sad state of affairs is our inheritance laws.
The land belonging to the father is equally distributed among his
sons.In this way the holdings become smaller and more fragmented
with each passing generation.

2. Seeds: Seed is a critical and basic input for attaining higher crop
yields . Unfortunately, good quality seeds are out of reach of the
majority of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers mainly
because of exorbitant prices of better seeds.

3. Manures, Fertilizers and Biocides:

Indian soils have been used for growing crops over thousands of years
without caring much for replenishing. This has led to depletion and
exhaustion of soils resulting in their low productivity. This is a serious
problem which can be solved by using more manures and fertilizers.

4. Irrigation:

Although India is the second largest irrigated country of the world

after China, only one-third of the cropped area is under irrigation.
India where rainfall is uncertain, unreliable and erratic India cannot
achieve progress unless this problem is resolved.

5. Lack of mechanisation:

In spite of the large scale mechanisation of agriculture in some parts of

the country, most of the agricultural operations in larger parts are
carried on by human hand using simple and conventional tools and
implements like wooden plough, sickle, etc.There is urgent need to
mechanise the agricultural operations so that wastage of labour force
is avoided and farming is made convenient and efficient.
6. Soil erosion:

Large tracts of fertile land suffer from soil erosion by wind and water.
This area must be properly treated and restored to its original fertility.

7. Agricultural Marketing:

Agricultural marketing still continues to be in a bad shape in rural

India. In the absence of sound marketing facilities, the farmers have to
depend upon local traders and middlemen for the disposal of their
farm produce which is sold at throw-away price.

8. Inadequate storage facilities:

Storage facilities in the rural areas are either totally absent or grossly
inadequate. Under such conditions the farmers are compelled to sell
their produce immediately after the harvest at the prevailing market
prices which are bound to be low. This leads to less income to the
farmers.

9. Inadequate transport:

One of the main handicaps with Indian agriculture is the lack of cheap
and efficient means of transportation. Even at present there are lakhs
of villages which are not well connected with main roads or with
market centres
10. Scarcity of capital:

Agriculture is an important industry and like all other industries it

also requires capital. The role of capital input is becoming more and
more important with the advancement of farm technology. Since the
agriculturists’ capital is locked up in his lands and stocks, he is obliged
to borrow money.

Sajna will speak:

OPPORTUNITIES in AGRICULTURE SECTOR

The Green Revolution in India started in the late 1960s. ...which was the
opportunity created for the farmers , which was adopted and availed
successfully especially by the farmers of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and
Haryana.The introduction of high-yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds and the
improved quality of fertilizers and irrigation techniques led to the increase
in production to make the country self-sufficient in food grains, thus
improving agriculture in India and improving rural incomes.

Present Indian Government has also introduced many schemes to support

and to enhance the situation of the farmers thus creating opportunities for
future development. LIke:

1) Fasal Bima Yojna : This scheme gives insurance for the harvest if
you loose it because of floods or fire.
2) Rashtriya Krishi Bazar Yojna: It is an online mandi where 586
farmers are listed so that they can sell their yield and get the
appropriate price for the same.
3) Soil health card: which will be provided to every farmer, which will
have the record of health of the soil analysed and inspected by a
specific Government department.
4) Organic farming:Government is encouraging organic farming
among farmers by encouraging them to replace old farming
methods.As per records 28 hectare of land in India is used for organic
farming.

All these are the efforts of the Government to secure interest of

farmers and to create maximum opportunities for the farmers.

Recently The Indian Parliament passed three agriculture acts

which lead to long farmer protests.The government withstood
months of protest, with both sides refusing to compromise,
before it unexpectedly bowed to the farmers’ demands this
week.This protest was a great example of unity and strength.

Mudith willspeak:

Agriculture and industry move hand in hand

1. Agro-industries get all their raw materials from agriculture.

 2. Agriculture receives many materials for farming from industries

like fertilizers, pesticides, machines etc.

3. Competition between industries has increased not only production

but also the productivity of agriculture.

To conclude we can say that the Agriculture industry can boom and
help our country to regain the title of ‘Sone Ki chidiya’ if farmers
become adaptable, literate,educated and adopt new technology.

Deepti will speak:

Here we take a look at the five innovative agricultural technologies
and practices that are changing agriculture across the world.
● Artificial intelligence, automation and the Internet of Things.
● Blockchain technology: Blockchain is most simply defined as a
decentralized, distributed ledger technology that records the provenance of a
digital asset.
● Urban agriculture and vertical farming( controlled environment
agriculture)
● Genetic editing(.method of selective breeding)
If we start the above mentioned innovative technologies and practices
noone can stop India To become the next superpower.