Theme PYQ Analysis/Probable Qs

Crops and Cropping  Major Factors for

Patterns success of Rice-
Wheat system.
How this system
became bane ?
(2020)
 Integrated
Farming System
Role in Sustaining
Agricultural
Production (2019)
 Sikkim =1st organic
state; ecological,
economic benefits
of organic state.
(2018)
 Role of National
Horticulture
Mission in
boosting
horticulture;
(2018)
 What is
allelopathy?
Discuss its role in
major cropping
systems of
irrigated
agriculture. (2016)
Water, Irrigation,  Measures to
Irrigation System improve water
storage, irrigation
system for
judicious use
(2020)
  Impact of National
Watershed
Project. (2019)
 water-use
efficiency.
 role of micro-
irrigation in
increasing the
water-use
efficiency. (2016)
 Need for Crop
insurance, imp of
PMFBY. (2015)
Post Harvesting Issues–  Main constraunts
Storage, Transport, in transport and
Marketing of Agri marketing of
produce agriculture
produce? (2020)
 Impediments in
marketing and
supply chain
bottleneck? Can E-
commerce help in
overcoming ?
(2015)
 APMC Criticism?
(2014)
Subsidy and Issues  How do subsidies
impact cropping
pattern, crop
diversity, and
economy of
farmers?
Significance of
crop insurance,
MSP, food
processing for
 small-marginal
farmer. (2017)
 Various types of
subsidies offered?
Distortions created
by them?
MSP  What is MSP? How
will it rescue
farmer from low
income trap?
PDS , Issues  Reformative steps
taken by Govt to
make food grain
distribution
system more
effective? (2019)
 Food Security Bill,
WTO? (2013)
E-Technology;  How can
Technology biotechnology
improve the living
standards of
farmers. (2019)
 Various types of
revolutions in
India after
agriculture; how
they helped in
poverty alleviation
and food security.
(2016)
Economic of Animal  Role of National  Fisheries
Rearing; Technology Horticulture  Major Technology
Missions Mission in Missions – Major
boosting points.
horticulture;
(2018).
  Livestock rearing
potential;
measures to
promote this
sector (2015)
 India needs to
promote Pink
Revolution. Critical
Analysis
Food Processing Industry  Challenges and
opportunities of
Food Processing
Industry ? How
increase ↑ by
Food Processing.
(2020)
 Policy by Govt to
meet challenges of
Food Processing
sector (2019)
 Role of
Supermarkets in
SCM? How do they
eliminate
intermediaries?
(2018)
 Reasons of poor
acceptance of
small processing
unit? Importance
of Food Processing
unit in uplifting
socio-economic
status of poor
farmers (2017)
 Should contract
farming and land
 leasing be
promoted due to
decreasing land
holding size?
(2015)
Land Reforms  Role of Land
Reforms in
Agriculture
development.
Factors
responsible for
success of land
reforms in India
(2016)
 Relation b/w land
reform,
agricultural
productivity,
elimination of
poverty. Difficulty
in implementation
of land reforms in
India? (2013)
Misc.  contributions of Sir
M.Visvesvaraya
and Dr. M. S.
Swaminathan in
the fields of water
engineering and
agricultural
science
respectively [can
also relate to role
of Indians in S&T]
(2018)
 Ques on Agri
Finance? (2014)
Definitions :
 Food Security, as per FAO, exists when all people, at all times, have
physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that
meet their dietary needs and to ensure an active and healthy life
 Agricultural marketing system is defined as physical and institutional set
up to perform all activities involved in the flow of products and services
from the point of initial agricultural production until they are in the hands
of ultimate consumers.

Statistics:

Pre-Independence:
 48% of GDP from Agri in 1950—51;
 Grain Production – 51MT (1951) to 285MT (2017-18)
 Yield - ↑d 4 times since 1950 (present – 2070kg/hectare)

 Crops
o NSA- 43% (141mhc)
 Cereals (Rice, Wheat) = ~40%NSA
 Coarse Cereals (Jowar, Bajra,Maize, Ragi, Barley) -16.5%
 Pulses – 13%.
 Oilseeds (Groundnut, Soyabean, Rapeseed, Mustard ,
Sesame)– 20%
 Horticulture – 16%.
o Staple Crops – Gross Cropped Area (GCA) – 77%; Contribution in
Total output (41%) (NITI@75)
o High value crops –GCA-19%; Contribution in Total output(~41%)
o World’s largest producer of pulses and spices. largest area under
wheat, rice, cotton.
o India- Largest exporter of rice in the world; 2nd largest producer of
wheat and rice, after China.

 Growth:
o Avg Annual Growth in Real terms : 2.88% (2014-15 to 2018-19)
o 2012-13 : 1.5%
o 2014-15 : (-0.2%)
o 2016-17 : 4.9%
 o 2018-2019 : 2.9%.
o 2019-2020 : 4%. (Commendable)
o Fisheries sector - continued rapid growth from 4.9 % in 2012-13 to
11.9 % in 2017-18
o Horticulture – 30% of India’s agri. GDP from 8.5% of GCA.
o GCF (gross Capital formation) showing fluctuating trend.

 Share in GVA
o ↓ from 18.2% in 2014-15 to 16.5% in 2019-20

 Employment and Livelihood–

o 45.7% in 2014-15 (5th Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey).
o 50% population will be urban by 2050 (WB). % of workers in total
work force would drop to 25.7% by 2050.
o NSSO 2011 – 20% of agri households with agri. As primary
occupation = BPL

 Crop yield losses = 15-25 % due to pests, weeds, diseases, rodents etc.
India’s per hectare pesticide consumption far less than developed
nations.
 Credit –
o nearly 40% credit still from informal lenders.
o Skewed regional distribution : Low in NE,Eastern,Hilly states;
Highest in southern states.
o Small, marginal (<=2hc) – lesser access to institutional credit. As, a
result, indebtness = major among S,M Farmers => Farmer Suicides.
 R&D - <1% of agri GDP is spent on research.

Land:
 Average farm size(1.15 hectares) ; Half of what was 40 yrs ago ;
predominance of small and marginal farmers (<2hc)
 NSSO 70th Round – min. 1hc land needed to cover consumption
expenditure. (In India – 65% = <1hc)
 Landholding:
o Marginal(<1hc)- 68.5% (Agri Census 2015)
o Small (1-2hc) – 17.7% (Agri Census 2015)
 o Large (>4hc) – 4.3% (Agri Census 2015)
 Mechanization –
o India – largest Tractor industry in world.
o Farm Mechanization – low(40-45%) compared to global standards (
USA-95%, Brazil-75%, China-57%)
o potential to ↑ productivity by 30% and ↓ cost of cultivation by
25%.
 Women In Agriculture:
o Out of total women: 55% agri laborers, 24% cultivators (Census
2011)
o However, gender disparity in ownership of landholding in
agriculture – only 12.7% landholding held by women (even
amongst those – majority in marginal and small holding categories)

Irrigation:
 2.4% land; 18% population; 4% water resources;
 >60% agriculture Rainfed (dependent on Rainfall)
 Area under micro irrigation – grown 2.5 times – in last 4 years. (NITI@75)
 Need : ↑ irrigation coverage to 53% of GCA by 2022-23 (NITI@75).
 Almost 89% of GW in India is extracted for irrigation. By 2050, India will
be global ‘hot-spot’ for water insecurity.
 Water guzzlers (Paddy, Sugarcane), consume 60% of irrigation water.

MSP :
 Only 6% farmers get benefit of MSP. (Shanta Kumar Committee)

Lack of alternative opportunity

 The situation assessment of India reported – 40% of farmers would like
to quit agriculture if alternative opportunities were available.

ALLIED:
  70th round of NSSO – Livestock rearing = principal source of livelihood for
3.7% of agri households.
 4% of GDP and 25% of Agricultural GDP.
 Livestock sector – grown at CAGR of 7.9% in last 5 yrs (ES 2019)

Dairy:
 India –
o One of the largest cattle population in the world. (1st in Buffalo
population, 2nd in cattle population)
o largest producer of milk (188 MMT production in 2018-19)(20% of
World Production)
 All India per-capita availability – 394 grams/day.
 Provides livelihood to 15 crore farmers.

 Small Ruminants – India=

o 16% of world’s goat population, (2nd in world)
o 6.4% sheep (FAO) (3rd in world) (Wool Production – 44 million kg in
2017-18)

Fisheries:
 2nd largest fish producer globally (13.7 MMT in 2018)
 Employment – 16million fishers, fish-farmers at primary level, almost
twice of it along the value chain(ES 2019)
 6.6% of agricultural GDP;
 India = one of the leading seafood exporting nations.
 65% - Inland Fisheries.

Poultry
 ~88 billiion (2016-17) (66 per person)

Food Processing Industry:

 2016 – Contribution – 8% to India’s GDP through manufacturing.
 Last 6 yrs(till 2017-18) – annual avg. growth – 5.06% ;
 Employment – As per, ASI 2016-17: Registered – 18.5lakhs ; Unregistered
– 51lakh workers.
Agricultural Exports:
 India’s share in global agri exports – 2.2%
 Ranks at 10th in world.
 Export – 13% of agri GDP
 agricultural exports grew at 9% compared to China (8%), Brazil (5.4%) and
US (5.1%) (2007-2016)
 Key Exports – cereals, fruits, vegetables, processed food etc. Marine
products + meat + rice = 52% of total agri exports.

NFSA :
 Covering 80crore people
 Food subsidy : risen substantially : 60K crore in 2009-10 TO 1.7lakh crore
in 2018-19;

Keywords
 Agripreneurs
 Annadata to urjadata (In context of PM-KUSUM Scheme, used in Budget
2020)
 Burgeoning food subsidy bill
 Climate Smart Agriculture
 DFI by 2022;
 Farmgate to Fork & Plough to Plate.
 Feminization of Agriculture.
 Hidden Hunger
 Indian Agriculture in ICU – Irregular, Cyclical, Uncertain and unevenly
distributed Monsoon
 Lab to Land
 Labour Augmenting Technological process, Capital Augmenting
Technological process (for Farm Mechanization)
 Land productivity to Water Productivity.
 Net water exporter (uses 2x-4x water to produce unit of crop, compared
to China, Brazil)
 Per drop more crop
 Plateauing yields.
  Technology Fatigue.
 Viable, profitable , sustainable agriculture (VPS)
 Water guzzlers (Paddy, Sugarcane)
 ‘Banks on hooves’ (Livestock considered , because of risk coverage they
provide)

Conclusion Type/Good Phrases

 sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas” will not be possible unless
agriculture performs in a sustained manner at around 4 per cent per
annum, if not more.
 Doubling Farmer Income – shift of focus from production centric
approach(tonnage) to incomes(farmer centric)
 By the mid-1960s, hit by back-to-back droughts, India had to fall back on
PL480 imports of wheat from the US and the country was labeled as a
“ship to mouth” economy.
 The government has surely shown a willingness to walk the right path and
deserves compliments.
 Need: shift from the philosophy of ‘green revolution led’ productivity to
‘green methods’ led sustainability in agriculture
 The main objectives of food management are procurement of foodgrains
from farmers at remunerative prices, distribution of foodgrains to
consumers at affordable prices and maintenance of food buffers for food
security and price stability.
 ‘X’ makes a good move towards/promoting ‘Y’
 Agriculture plays a pivotal role in providing livelihood, ensuring food
security, reducing poverty and sustaining growth.
Theme – Crops and Cropping Pattern
Cropping pattern refers to proportion of area under different crops at different
points of time. It also indicates the time and spatial arrangement or sequence of
crops.

depends on various factors related to:

Geography – Soil and climatic parameters, Resource, disease and Pest, Ecological
Suitability, Moisture Availability
Social - Condition of households, Literacy, • Financial Stability
Economic - Infrastructure facilities, Pricing Structure, Size of the Land Holding,
Technology

Categories of Crops
• Based on End Usage: Food crops, cash crops, Plantation crops, Horticulture
crops
• Based on Seasons: Kharif season, Rabi season, Zaid
Kharif- June-September ; Rice, Cotton, Bajra, Maize, Jowar, Tur
Rabi – October to March ; Wheat, Gram, Rapeseeds and Mustard, Barley
Zaid – April to June ; Vegetables, Fruits, Fodder
Rice Region  Rice-Jute-Tea in Assam Valley, north-west
Bengal and lower Gangetic plains.
 Rice-Pulses-Millets in central Bihar, eastern
Madhya Pradesh and eastern Uttar Pradesh
 Rice-Millets in entire Andhra Pradesh,
southern Orissa and some parts of Tamil
Nadu.
 Rice-Coffee-Spices in southern extremity of
Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Wheat Region  Wheat-Maize-Sugarcane in West Uttar
Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu.
 Wheat-Jowar-Bajra in Indus Plain covering
Punjab and Haryana.
 Wheat-Jowar-Bajra in Vindhyan scarp land
and Malwa Bundelkhand plateau.
Jowar-Bajra  Jowar-Cotton in Maharashtra.
 Jowar-Cotton-Oilseeds-Millets in Karnataka
and Maharashtra.
 Jowar-Wheat in entire Rajasthan, Haryana
and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.
 Bajra-Jowar-Pulses in Rajasthan desert and
semi-desert areas.
Cotton Region  Cotton-Jowar-Bajra grows in close
association with one another in the
Maharashtra and Western Madhya Pradesh.
 Cotton-Oilseeds combination developed in
Gujarat.
 Cotton-Pulses-Rice region developed in
Narmada banks and Eastern Gujarat.
Millet Maize Region  dominates in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and
Madhya Pradesh.
 Ragi in South of Karnataka.
Maize based cropping Rice-maize has emerged a potential maize-based
systems cropping system in peninsular and eastern India.
Fruit and Spices Region ‘Duns’ and valleys in the Himalayas, foothills of
Nilgiri, Annamalai, Palni and Cardamom hills in
Tamil Nadu and Kerala

Pattern –
 skewed towards Rice and Wheat based
 Dominance of food crops, in that cereals.
 Horticulture significant growth.
  Pulses, Millets struggling.
 Importance of Kharif Crops ↓ing
 Affect of Climate Vagaries : Eco Survey - Unirrigated areas will be affected
more than irrigated areas.
Pulses cultivation in India
Background:
 India produces a quarter of all pulses in the world and consumes 27% —
more than any other.
 India is also the largest importer of pulses.
 Madhya Pradesh is a major pulse-producing state, caters 32% of total
production.
 A large number of pulses are grown across multiple agro-climatic zones:
o Kharif: Arhar (pigeonpea ); urad (black gram); moong (green gram);
barbati (cow pea), lathyrus.
o Rabi: gram; pea; ramjash masoor (lentil).
o Zaid (summer): urad; moong; cow pea.
 Huge demand: The annual consumption of pulses in India currently is
about 26 million tonnes and will reach 39 million tonnes by 2050.
Importance of pulses:
1. Pulse as a Source of Nutrients: Cheapest source of dietary protein.
 Low fat/high complex carbohydrate content.
 Reduction of plasma cholesterol
 Colonic bacterial fermentation
 Phytochemical content.
2. Pulses and soil health:
 Active biological N fixation.
 Conserving and improving physical properties of soil by virtue of
their deep root system.
 Add considerable amount of organic matter through leaf and flower
fall.
3. Pulses and Water Management: When grown as a cover crop, pulses help
in minimizing water loss through soil runoff, recharging soil profile, and
consequently reduce flood hazards.
 4. Pulses for Multiple Cropping: Eg. Early pigeonpea-wheat and wheat-
mungbean in north India.
5. Pulses in Intercropping: Amenable to intercropping with cereals, millets,
oilseeds and even pulses.
6. Export potential: Pulses such as kabuli gram, bold seeded lentil, rajmash,
green peas, etc. have export market, particularly in Arabian and European
countries.
7. Pulses as Fodder and Concentrate.
India’s pulses challenge:
1. Stagnation of production over the past five decades: Production of pulses
grew only by 45% from 1951 to 2008, while wheat production grew by
320% and rice by 230%.
 Though production of pulses has risen in the past decade — by 65%
between 2009-10 and 2020-21, over-all growth is not enough to
meet domestic demand.
2. Productivity problem: The average yield of all pulses is about 660 kg /
hectare compared to the world average of 909 kg / hectare.
3. Shift towards food grains: Gangetic plains quit pulses for other crops
around 1990 because of:
 MSP and incentives in favour of food grains.
 Improvement in irrigation facilities.
 High yield of wheat at 3,000-4,000 kg per ha as against the 800 kg
per ha yield of pulses.
 Acreage of chana in northern and eastern states decreased from 4.2
million ha to 0.8 million ha between 1960 and mid-2000.
4. Shifts in agriculture: In the past six years, sowing for kharif season has
remained below normal in six major pulses-producing states of Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar
Pradesh.
5. Agro-climatic constraints: More than 87% of pulses are grown under
rainfed condition.
6. Pulses being replaced by soyabean: Area under soyabean in India was
60,000 ha in 1980-81, which increased to 11.8 million ha in 2019-20.
7. Research gap: Either crops for agro-climatic zones of India not produced
or fail to reach end cultivators.
 8. Policy gap: Procurement infrastructure and capacity in pulses limited.
 Capped procurement: Eg. At 25% of production for pulses whereas
there is no limit for wheat/rice.
9. Restrictive policies: Eg. The Essential Commodities Act, 1955, fixed a limit
of 200 tonnes for storage of pulses on wholesalers, which is too less.
 Frequently changing export/import rules creates market
uncertainties.
Way forward:
1. Pulses’ inclusion under PDS: Could help fight malnutrition and encourage
farmers to grow more pulses.
2. Streamline procurement processes: Resolve issues like NAFED gives very
little time to farmers to supply pulses, complicated registration process
etc.
3. National Pulses Development Project should be reviewed and an action
plan prepared to increase the production of pulses.
4. Improve the seed quality and ensure that they reach the farmers in proper
quantity.
 The National Seed Corporation Ltd needs to expand to core areas.
 Seed replacement rate (SRR) shall be raised adequately (Currently
35%, chould be 42% atleast).
5. Implement “farm to fork” strategy to dilute the link between farmers and
consumers and supply food straight from the farm to the plate.
6. Encourage private investment into pulses value chain: Corporate houses
shall be encouraged to increase investment in infrastructure development.

Horticulture in India

Horticulture is the science, art, as well as business of cultivating vegetables, fruits,

flowers, ornamental plants, and herbs.
Classification of horticulture:
1. Olericulture: Science of vegetable growing
that is concerned with production, storage,
processing, along with the marketing of
vegetables.
2. Pomology: Science of food growing that
deals with planting, harvesting, storing,
processing, as well as the marketing of fruit
& nut crops.
3. Ornamental Horticulture: This Segment of Horticulture Comprise two sub-
parts-
 Landscape Horticulture: Production, marketing, along with
maintenance of landscape plants that are beneficial in garnishing
the outdoor/external environment.
 Floriculture: Revolves around production, use, along with marketing
of floral crops.
4. Arboriculture: Cultivation, management, as well as the study of shrubs
useful for ornamental purposes, individual trees, vines, along with
persistent woody plants.
Horticulture in India
 Horticulture accounts for 30% of India’s agricultural GDP from 8.5% of
cropped area.
 As per the 1st Advance Estimates for 2020-21 the total horticulture
production in the country is 326.58 lakh MT from an area of 27.17 lakh ha.
 India’s major exports include onions, mango pulp, fresh mangoes, dried
walnuts, fresh grapes.
 India’s biggest export markets are South Asian & Middle Eastern countries.

Importance of horticulture in India:

1. Source of food and nutrients: Rich source of carbohydrates, vitamins,
minerals and antioxidants.
2. Source of employments, contribution to GDP: Horticulture accounts for
30% of India's agricultural GDP.
 3. Source of Foreign exchange: In FY21, fresh fruits was the leading
horticulture product exported from India based on value of over 56 billion
Indian rupees.
4. Contribution to environment health and mental piece: Pollution control,
check soil erosion etc.
5. Source of fuel, fodder and shelter
6. Source of raw materials for industries
7. Source of herbal medicines

Government initiatives to support horticulture:

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH):

 A Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the holistic growth of the horticulture
sector.
 MIDH provides technical advice and administrative support to State
Governments/ State Horticulture Missions (SHMs) for the Saffron Mission
and other horticulture related activities Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
(RKVY)/NMSA.

Project CHAMAN: Coordinated programme on Horticulture Assessment &

Management using geoiNformatics in collaboration with ISRO.

National Horticulture Board (NHB): To improve integrated development of

Horticulture industry and to help in coordinating, sustaining the production and
processing of fruits and vegetables.

Challenges before horticulture sector in India:

1. No Minimum Support Price for horticulture products.
2. High input costs compared to food grains cultivation.
3. High price fluctuations.
4. Lack of sound transport network and scarcity of good cold chain storage.
 India's international transportation costs are 20-30% higher than
other countries.
 Indian grapes are 40% cheaper than Chile’s but by the time they
reach the Netherlands, they cost the same.
5. Horticultural export limitations: Limited availability of market intelligence.
 Way forward:
1. Science and technology-led advancement: Eg. Remote sensing technology
like orchard rejuvenation, crop identification, aqua horticulture soil health
mapping.
2. Improvement in quality seeds & plants:
3. Imparting the meaningful education and awareness:
4. Adopt post-harvest management exercises to enhance the value of fruits
in the long run.
5. Value addition in Horticulture crops:
6. Establishing a better long-distance transportation network:
7. Preserved cultivation, hydroponic & aeroponic:

Theme – Water, Irrigation, Irrigation System

(Water as a Resource discussed in GS1 )

1. Surface
a. Flood - Tanks, Canals, wells & tubewells (a) Check Basins (b) Furrow Irrigation
(c) Border
b. Micro - Application of water at low volume at frequent intervals under low
pressure to the plant root zone. Ex - Drip irrigation & Sprinkler. Only 8 ml ha land
in India is under micro-irrigation while potential is 70 ml ha. (a) Drip - Online and
Inline (more cost eff); (b) Sprinkle - Mini and Micro
2. Subsurface - injection of pipes etc on roots. Issue - Expensive, freq blockages,
need to be handled with care. Drip irrigation.

(Data of Diff irrigation – to be updated)

Importance of Irrigation

1. Increase the cropping intensity.

2. Diversification to high value crop.
3. Inc productivity through availability of water and high Water Use efficiency.
4. Resilience. (ES – Unirrigated areas will suffer more due to CC)
5. Food security.
6. All above translates to 2x income.

Issues in Irrigation

1. Subsidisation of water:
2. India net exporter of water: India produce water guzzling crops like rice,
sugarcane. 1 kg of husked rice need 2100 lt of water (In India, 2700 lit. use). India
exports basmati & with it 10 trillion litres of water.
3. Water use efficiency [ratio of volume of water used productively]: Only 38% in
India.
4. Over-dependence on monsoon: esp when monsoon is highly erratic. (~55-60%
area rainfed)
5. Skewed MSP/Procurement regime: It changes the cropping pattern of farmers.
Ex - PJ & HR not rice eating state still leading state in rice production due to high
MSP and open procurement process.
6. Inter-state tensions.
7. Low application of technology despite being associated with Israel.
8. Overexploitation of GW, Declining availability of groundwater – due to Subsidy
offered ; India is the largest extractor of groundwater in the world; Around 90%
GW use is in irrigation.
9. High cost of micro-irrigation

Benefits of Micro Irrigation:

 Water Use Efficiency (WUE)

 Low Energy Costs
 Higher fertilizer-use efficiency (FUE) (through fertigation)
 Reduce Soil Loss
  Improved Crop Quality, Higher Yields
 Reduced Labour Costs
 Marginal Solis & Water
 Efficient & Flexible

Challenges with Micro Irrigation

 High cost of purchase.
 Trampling by elephant, boar, nilgai etc. damages the equipment, but
repairman not available locally and repair costs not covered in crop
insurance -> So less adoption.

Solutions

1. Increasing water productivity: International Rice Research Institute came up

with water saving tech like alternate wetting & drying and rice intensification.
2. Promotion of micro-irrigation (sprinkler, raingun and drip irrigation) - Water
soluble fertilisers can be delivered directly to root system via fertigation reducing
fertiliser usage, associated cost & soil contamination problems. Also, less water
evaporation, less electricity / diesel consumption, and higher yields than
traditional flood irrigation.
3. Agro-Climatic selection of crops: According to study by ISB Hyderabad, if
farmer shifts from growing rice & wheat to other alternatives like cereal, it could
reduce the water demand by 33%.
4. Quantitative ceiling on water use per ha.
5. Conservation tillage: ex Mulching i.e. covering the field so that water
evaporation not take place; reduce transpiration by weeds.
6. Niti & ES 16 suggestions on Irrigation: (a) ↑ funds for PMKSY; (b) River-Linking;
(c) Shifting water intensive crops like sugarcane/cereal/grain need to less water-
stressed regions and encourage pulses cultivation in the drought prone areas; (d)
Encourage micro-irrigation; (e) Rain water harvesting; (f) Watershed Management
i.e. building percolation tanks, recharge wells, etc. with community participation.
7. Decrease water loss through evaporation, run off & deep drainage.
8. Economic Survey 2018-19: Govt should shift its focus from ‘land productivity’
to ‘water productivity’.
Best Practices :

Must use case studies

1. Mission Kakatiya – Telangana: Restoring minor irrigation sources of water
like ponds and tanks.
 Decentralised approach: Public participation in restoration and
maintenance of water resources.
2. Narmada (Sanchore), Rajasthan: Use of micro irrigation technology like
sprinkler and drip irrigation was made mandatory.
 Establishment of integrated irrigation system that comprises of
canal systems, micro irrigation facilities and a network that even
handles the problems of salinity, soil moisture, drainage etc.
3. Root Zone Watering by SWAR (System of Water for Agriculture
Rejuvenation) implemented at Hyderabad.
 SWAR shifts irrigation from surface to measure moisture at plant
root zone.
4. Bhungroo – Ground Water Injection Well: Injects and stores excess rainfall
water underground.

Pani Panchayat – Orissa Water Resource Consolidation Project: To improve the

planning and development process for the state’s water resource; thus
increasing the overall agricultural productivity through investments for
improvement of the existing scheme.

Israel Model: It recycle around 80% of waste water using desalinisation plants &
extensively use drip irrigation tech to master art of sustainable agriculture.
Bangladesh Model: Introduced ‘Direct Dry Seeded Boro Rice’ technology that
increased water efficiency by 50%.
Govt Steps

1. PMKSY (2015): 4 components

a. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Prog - to accelerate the development of pending
irrigation proj;
b. Har Khet ko Pani - creation of new water reservoir, diversion of water from
water abundant to water scarce area;
c. Per Drop More Crop under M/o Agri;
d. Watershed development & mgnt. - Bottom up Approach i.e. Decentralisation
approach

2. Micro-Irrigation Fund: By NABARD under PMKSY

a. Aim - (i) To provide for fin assistance to states on concessional rate of interest;
(ii) Lending rate - 3% lower than normal lending rate of NABARD; (iii) Pan-India
coverage.
b. Challenges - (a) High initial cost of irrigation; (b) Inefficiency in implementation
of sch; (c) Skill barrier in handling & maintenance; (d) Inadequate electricity
supply.
3. National Hydrology Project: Mapping of groundwater aquifers across the
country.
4. E-Tech in aid of farmers - RFID enabled logistics for better tracking, Controlling
the envt in cold storage based on demand.
5. Composite water Management Index by Niti Aayog.

Watershed management
Definition:
Watershed is a topographically delineated area drained by a stream system i.e.
the total land area above some point on a stream or river that drains down slope
to the lowest point.
Watershed management is the process of guiding and organizing use of land and
other resources in the watershed to provide desired goods and services without
adversely affecting soil, water and other natural resources.
Need of Watershed Management
1. Watershed degradation threatening livelihoods of millions of people:
2. Development of healthy agricultural and natural resource base:
3. Population growth exerts pressure on forests, community lands and
marginal agricultural lands:
 4. Socio-economic factors:
5. Improvement of environment by build-up of vegetative cover, reduction of
runoff and soil loss, improvement in livestock milk production policy.

Focus of watershed management:

1. Village common lands as well as private lands.
2. Institutionalised community participation.
3. Sustainable rural livelihood support system.
4. Decentralised planning and decision making.
5. Ridge to valley treatment approach.
6. Integrated and holistic development of watershed unit.

POWER Concept of watershed management:

 P:
1. Production of food-fodder fuel fruit fibres fish milk in sustainable
basis.
2. Pollution control.
3. Prevention of floods.
 O:
1. Over exploitation of resources to be minimized.
2. Operational practicability of all on-farm operations.
 W:
1. Water storage at convenient locations.
2. Wild animal and indigenous plant life conservation.
 E:
1. Erosion control.
2. Eco-system safety.
3. Economic stability.
4. Employment generation.
 R:
1. Rainwater harvesting.
2. Recharge of groundwater.
3. Reduction of drought hazard.
4. Reduction of siltation in multi-purpose reservoirs.
5. Recreation.
Benefits of watershed management:
1. Controls floods, erosion and sedimentation.
2. Enhances productivity per unit area, per unit time and per unit of water.
3. Increases cropping intensity.
4. Leads to proper utilization of waste lands through alternate land use
systems.
5. Ensures ecological balance.
6. Maximizes income through integrated farming system.
7. Stabilizes income even under unfavourable weather conditions.

Watershed development in India: At present Ministry of Rural Development and

Department of Land Resources, Government of India funding watershed
development programmes under
1. National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA)
2. Watershed Development in Shifting Cultivation Areas (WDSCA)
3. Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP)
4. Desert Development Programme (DDP)
5. Integrated Wasteland Development Project (IWDP)
6. Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS)

Issues associated with watershed management in India:

1. Improper watershed management: Limited investments and silos
approach.
2. Challenge in equitable sharing of benefits among stakeholders: Eg.
Women, marginal farmers and landless laborers gain very little.
3. Many a times, common lands do not get treated adequately and re-
vegetation does not take place as expected.
4. New crops problems: Due to improper understanding of the interaction
between biophysical and socio-economic processes.
5. Conflict among various government ministries.
6. Hard to conduct meaningful impact assessment studies.
Case studies:
1. Watershed Development in Ralegaon Siddhi, Maharashtra: Leadership of
Anna Hazare turned once poverty stricken Ralegaon Siddhi into a self-
sufficient village.
 Two percolation tanks, thirty nullah bunds, eighty-five wells, and
eight borewells, farmers now grow two or three crops every year.
2. Johad – Watershed in Alwar District of Rajasthan: Revived a traditional
technology to restore the ecological balance of the region.
3. Integrated Micro Watershed Development Programme of N.M. Sadguru
Water and Development Foundation in Gujarat Village:
 All tribal village, intensive focus on eco-friendly agri-practices.
4. All- Woman Watershed Committee in MP Village:
 Led by Sita Bai, initiative under Rajiv Gandhi Watershed
Management Mission.
 Women’s Self Help Groups protect 5.5 lakh trees planted on
community and Government land.

Theme – E-Technology in farmer aid

RFID enabled logistics for better tracking, Controlling the envt in cold storage based
on demand.

GM/HYV, DD Kisan, Kisan Suvidha Portal

SHC, AI Sensors to ascertain soil, when to farm, etc.

Happy Seeders, Drones used for pesticide spray, robots for monitoring, Kisan Vigyan
Kendra, CSC (Info kiosks). Mobile Controlled Irrigation, Transmitting meteorological
data over phones.
Land Record Modernization Programme

DBT, BAPU

Use of satellites for assessment

e-NAM, Rakam

GPS Tracking of Trucks in PDS Distribution.

1. Evolution of Agriculture in terms of Tech

a. Farming 1.0 - Traditional Methods.
b. Farming 2.0 - GR incorporate use of fertilisers & pesticides.
c. Farming 3.0 - Using tech in agriculture (precision agriculture).

2. A fully developed Farming 3.0 will look like

a. Better & cheaper satellite mapping enhanced by more precise crop identification
and growth algorithms, allow for improved monitoring of crop status.
o Field sensors collect data on nutrient quality, moisture weather, and other factors
that effect yield.
o Super accurate yield maps determine precise seed & input prescription for each
plot.
o Variable rate seeders & applicators provide each plot with optimal amount of
input.
o Autonomous equipment & drones navigate field with limited or no oversight.
o Real time livestock data allows farmers to identify sick and in-heat animals.
o Data stored in central repository & in cloud where it can be accessed for analysis.
o Farmers access data from their home control centres.
o Real time data on-machine performance help predict & prevent maintenance
issues inc equipment uptime.

3. AI & Agriculture: Since agriculture is the massive source of data.

a. Crop and soil monitoring - leveraging sensors and various IoT based tech to
monitor crops & soil health. Ex - CropIN, AI Enabled Bots replacement of Pesticide.
b. Predictive agricultural analytics - Various AI and machine learning tools are been
used to predict the optimal time to sow seeds, get alert on risk from pest attacks &
more. Ex - Microsoft India made AI based sowing app.

c. Supply chain efficiency using real time data analytics on data screens coming from
multiple sources to built an eff & smart supply chain. Ex - Gobasco making an
intelligent agriculture supply chain.
d. Climate Change: Analysis of weather, temp, wind, water, soil, Develop Forecasting
Models.
e. Labour Shortfall: Panacea for Workforce shortage.
f. Food Grading, Classification, Weed detection, plant recognition.

4. Using Blockchain - Jiva Bhoomi using Block chain to create a transparent online
market place to buy & sell crops under one platform.

5. Second Green Revolution

a. Dry land Farming - collaborate with Israel, precision irrigation [only as much water
as needed], drip irrigation.
b. Millet Sisters. (The Millet Sisters are a network of small-scale women farmers who
grow bio-diverse millets in their farms. Its an NGO)
c. Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Jai Vigyan.
d. Genetic Engineering of HY crops or Drought resistant variety crops.
e. Make Green Revolution → Evergreen Revolution.

6. Farmer’s Knowledge System: start agriculture w/o know how about latest tech.
a. Knowledge today is factor or production.
b. National Agricultural Database (Soil, Land, Water, Seed, Marketing etc.) - amount
of land and type of land, data of soil, data on water availability.
c. Agricultural Knowledge Workers in line with ASHA [for health], creche [for child]
could be conceptualised.
d. Gyan Choupals could be setup to provide technical know how.

7. Sea Water Farming: Coastal Areas Solution; Salinity Resistant Crops.

 Given the huge potential of agriculture in Ind it is imperative that the tech is used to
to the maximum so that both farmers & consumers can make the most of it.

Economics of Animal Rearing :

Animal husbandry refers to raising, care and breeding of livestock like buffaloes,
cows, pigs, horses, cattle, sheep, camels, goats, etc. which are useful to humans.It
also includes poultry farming and fishing.

Significance :

1. Income:
 subsidiary income , especially the resource poor who have few animals, less
land (S, M farmers)
 Provide relatively regular income to the farmers through sale of milk.
 income during emergencies to meet exigencies like marriages,treatment ,
education etc.
 serve as moving banks -> thus providing economic security.
2. Employment: unskilled, relatively less literate people depend upon agriculture
for their livelihoods. But crop agriculture = seasonal, hence dependence upon
livestock for utilizing their labour during lean agricultural season.
3. Products - products such as milk, meat and eggs are an important source of
animal protein to the members of the livestock owners. (Nutritional Security)
4. animals offer social security to the owners in terms of their status
5. Draught work
6. Wastes used in farming (gobardhan yojana etc) (Integrated Farming system)
7. Resilient to Climate Change, weather vagaries ; Imp for sustainable agriculture.

Recent Prospects -> Urbanisation, changing lifestyle habits, ↑d export market, CC

resilience.
Challenges faced by Animal Husbandry Sector

 Productivity is very low : annual milk yield of Indian cattle only about 50 per
cent of the global average. Non-availability of superior quality breeding
bulls. Poor quality of semen produced by many of the laboratories.
 Frequent diseases - Foot and Mouth Diseases Influenza, etc. affect them +
Insufficient veterinary services and diseases control:
 Lack of Access to credit: receives only about 12 per cent of the total public
 expenditure on agriculture and allied sectors, which is disproportionately
lesser than itscontribution to agricultural GDP.
 Declining pastures coupled , limitations of fodder.
 safety and quality parameters at the collection centers is almost non-
existent.
 Poor livestock extension services.
 Lack of access to organized markets: Most of the farmers lack access to
formal market for
their produce. Produce is usually sold to local markets.
 Env concerns – Methane emissions, epidemics (Nipah Mad cow),
 Livestock rearing = input intensive
 Non preference for indigenous species, despite huge diversity. Comparative
preferences for highly productive exotic breeds.
 Theme - Food Processing Industry

Statistics:
 Indian Food and Grocery Market = world’s 6th largest.
 5th largest industry i.t.o production, consumption, export, growth.

Definition:
 Supply Chain – N/W b/w suppliers of Raw Material (Farmers), company
(food Processor), and distribution N/W to mkt. the finished products.
Supply Chain represents the steps it takes to get the product/service to
customer.

Supply Chain:
Significance
 Demand for agri inputs, raw material to companies -> ↑↑ GDP
 Employment – direct, indirect – Agri, logistics, food processing ; secondary
employment ; reduce disguised unemployment.
 low intermediation – high prices for producers, low for consumers; This
also helps to curb inflation
 Enhances market for HVC (high value commodities) by demand creation ->
higher incomes domestically and through export ; Also, this provides
impetus for crop diversification
 Lesser wastage; Eases burden for FCI in MSP Procurement.
 Infrastructural development – Transport, Storage, logistics.
 Exports are boosted
 Balanced (Inclusive ) development – curbing R-U migration => Rural and
Urban development

Challenges in Linkages
 Input Side – (From farm)
 o High cost of agri products –coz of low agri productivity(All problems
related to inputs used in Agri – Land, Irrigation, Extension,
Mechanization, Seeds, Fertilizer etc.)
o High seasonality of raw material production
 Post Harvest –
o Intermediaries - in APMCs and Fragmented Markets
o Poor infra like cold storage, sorting, transport, electricity.
o Credit access difficulty.
o High cost of logistics – around 13% of GDP in India etc.
 Industry
o Highly fragmented , dominated by unorganized sector.
o Substandard levels of processing industries.
 Others
o Inadequacy of market intelligence – regarding nature of demand and
supply.
o Multiplicity of legislation, anomalies in domestic food laws with Intl
standards, lack of coordination and admn. Delays.
o Underdeveloped food testing network

Importance of FPI
 Points written for Supply Chain (above) can be recycled
 Other points
o Boosts value Chain, BW-FW linkages (Farm to Fork Approach) – by
creating synergy b/w consumer, industry, agri. – thus, potential
source to boost rural development
o ↑ farm gate prices;
o Addressing critical issues of Food and Nutritional Security.
o Boost Exports
Scope/Potential
1. Abundant Raw Material –
2. Geographical Advantage – variety of soils, livestock, huge coastline,
irrigated area
3. New Demand –
a. ↑ing population + Young population ↑ing + rising middle class +
high disposable income
b. More nuclear family + jobs => less time for cooking
c. R-U migration => Urbanisation => Emergence of Tier1,2 cities;
d. shopping mall and supermarket culture
e. Media, advertisements – people are inclined to try new things.
f. Emerging NCDs, health conscious lifestyle -> demand for healthier
food.
g. Emergence of Organic food market
4. Govt proactive support
a. 100%FDI allowed in the sector through automatic route.
5. Other Factors
a. Resilience – performed well even during 2008 Economic crisis.
b. Huge potential for development –
i. Only 6-7% vegetables processed (US - >60%, China - >20%)
ii. only around 15% HVCs in India’s export basket (US-25%, China-
49%)

Challenges:
 Low level of food processing, bcoz of poor economies of scale.
o Why poor economies of scale :
 For long, many FPIs were reserved for SSI
 High input costs,coz of multiple taxes, intermediaries. Profit =
Low , => cant expand;
 Formal Credit accessibility issues.
 Intentionally, to reduce tax-compliance, many prefer smaller
plants over larger ones
o It results in following problems
  small and disorganized manufacturing
 Pricing – high, compared to MNCs, and Indians are price
sensitive
 Brand building
 Low technology
 Marketing
 Quality not meeting export standards.
 Supply Chain Issues (discussed above)
 Lack of adequate testing facilities, poor compliance with standards.
 Lack of skilled manpower – food engineers, food microbiologists, Quality
control scientists, Production managers etc.
 Formal Education Inadequate – lack of Grad/PG/Entrepreneurship courses
for food science and technology + outdated syllabus + faculties having
limited Industry experience.
 Lack of R&D in packaging, processing– R&D majorly dominated by public
sector, which itself has inadequate infra, updations with time. Doesn’t
compare to Global best standards.
 Transport Problems – in Road,Rail,Ports etc.
 Export Problems (will be discussed)

Mega Food Parks Scheme

 a “Cluster” approach , based on Hub and Spoke model.
 creation of state of art support infrastructure in a well-defined agri /
horticultural zone
 Typically consist of supply chain infrastructure including collection centers,
primary processing centers, central processing centers, cold chain and
around 30-35 fully developed plots for entrepreneurs to set up food
processing units.
 Common facilities include cold storage, food testing and analysis lab,
affluent treatment plant, common processing facilities, packaging centre,
power supply, water supply, seminar/ conference / training facilities
Objectives:
 small and medium entrepreneurs find it difficult to invest in capital-
intensive activities. It aims at providing a mechanism to link agricultural
production to the market by bringing together farmers, processors and
retailers so as to ensure
o maximizing value addition,
o minimizing wastage,
o increasing farmers’ income and
o creating employment opportunities particularly in rural sector

 This cluster approach makes food processing more economically viable.

 potential to revive the agriculture in the surrounding areas by increasing
returns.

Challenges

 It seemed that most developers were interested in the Rs 50 crore grant

and in getting the change in land use from agricultural to industrial and
wait for land prices to appreciate. They never seemed to have the intention
to put up an MFP
 Promoters have faced difficulties in selling the new concept to banks and,
as a result, have failed to secure loans to build the parks.
 Two, acquiring the 50 acres of land, which is mandatory under MFPS, has
been another challenge
 Three, convincing small enterprises to set up shop at these facilities has not
been easy
 And four, the overall economic slowdown, globally, and in India, did not
help either.
LAND REFORMS:
Is a planned and institutional reorganization of relation bw man and land.
Types
 Zamindari Abolition
 Land Ceiling
 Land Tenure
 Land consolidation
 Present – Land Leasing
 Equity and Ownership – FRA, Dalit Land holding, Minimum Land holding for
Nomadic Tribes
 Ecological concerns – EIA
 Digitisation
Need :
 ↑ production and productivity – bcoz of incentives.
 Social justice + egalitarian society.
 Economic and regional development of rural areas
 Improve standard of living
 Farming on modern Scientific lines (DPSP)
Performance of different states in Land Reforms

Since land = falls under State list, so state legislatures had to enact the
zamindari abolition. Meaning no uniformity. Different states had different
provisions, and different degrees of success.

Zamindari system:
By 1972, all the States had passed laws to abolish intermediaries. But there was
no clear mention about just and equitable compensation.
 J&K – No compensation paid.
 UP –
o Compensation in inverse proportion to zamindar’s income.
 o Bhumidhar (tenant farmer) could become owner of the land after
paying 10 times the annual rent to his Zamindar
 Bihar – Epicfail – Zamindari blocked the implementation by frequently
approaching courts.
 Most states had vague definition of ‘personal cultivation’

Tenancy Reforms :
 providing security of tenure to all tenants met with only limited success.
o The continued existence of large number of insecure tenants
o Oral Agreements
o Delays in Law making.
made the successful implementation almost impossible.
 Only creamy layer (rich farmers with knowledge and resources)
benefitted. Sharecroppers, women,SC/ST didn’t benefit.
 But there are success stories such as those of ,J&K,Kerala and West
Bengal(Operation Barga – which fixed rent at 25% and gave security of
tenure.)

Land Ceilings:

 1949- Agrarian Reforms Committee, chaired by J.C. Kumarappa,

Recommended a ceiling on landholding which was to be three times the
size of an economic holding
 Nagpur session of Congress, 1959 - Passed resolution that All states
should complete land ceiling by 1959

But,
The long delay, and the nature of the legislation, ensured that the ceilings
would have a limited impact.

Failure:
 Andhra Pradesh had allowed 6 to 72 acres (depending on the nature of
land) per ‘extra’ member of the family. Like this, most states kept ceilings
very high
  Exempted Land Catergories – most states used very broad and vague
definitions. Eg – TN exempted land held by cooperatives , which was
misused.
 Land Ceiling – big failure in UP – large ceiling limit, exemptions,
zamindars connived with officials, litigations. Etc
 Overall – only 2% land redistributed.
 >6 million hc wastelands were distributed.
 Resulted in huge fragmentation of land as time passed.

Success :
o J&K -by mid 1950s, about 230,000 acres of surplus land had been
handed over to tenants and landless labourers
o > 25% of the total surplus land that was distributed throughout
India, belonged to WB.
o Some success achieved by bringing Land Ceiling Laws under 9th
Schedule. But, overall results far from satisfactory.
o Prevented further concentration of land.