1

MINI PROJECT-II REPORT

ON

“New Trends In Agriculture Industry”

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

DEGREE OF MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

SUBMITTED TO

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

SUBMITTED BY

NIKITA VERMA

ROLL NO. 2100910700018

JSS ACADEMY OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, NOIDA

Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow

Batch (2021-2023)

JSS MAHAVIDYAPEETHA
 2

JSS ACADEMY OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, NOIDA

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that “NIKITA VERMA” has successfully completed the Mini Project-II titled
“NEW TRENDS IN AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY ” as the partial fulfillment of the requirement
for the award of degree of Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) by Dr A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam Technical University, Lucknow during batch (2021-2023).

Mr. Ankur Garg Dr. Anju Tripathi

Head Assistant Professor

Department of Management Studies Department of Management Studies

JSSATE, Noida JSSATE, Noida

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my gratitude to all who supported me throughout this Mini Project-II preparation. I am
grateful to them for their aspiring guidance, valuable suggestions during the project work.

I would like to express my special thanks to HOD, Project guide who provided me with the
facilities being required and conductive conditions for my project work.

Thank you

NIKITA VERMA
 4

TABLE OF CONTENT

Content Page no
1. ABSTRACT 5
2. INTRODUCTION 6
*PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT 12
*KEY 2019 AGRICULTURE TRENDS IN INDIA 13
*7 EMERGING AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGIES 22
3. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 23
4. LITERATURE REVIEW 24
*MAJOR DRAWBACKS OF FROM SECTOR IN INDIA 26
*PROBLEM AREAS IN AGRICULTURE MARKETING 27
*TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT 29
*8GROUNDBREAKING AGTECH INOVATION 30
*PRIVATE SECTOR INTERFEARANCE 32
*IMPROVED TRADE POLICY 33
5. METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY 34
6. ANALYSIS 35
*THE CURRENT STATUS OF AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY 37
*ISSUES CONFRONTING INDIAN AGRICULTURE 45
7. CONCLUSION 56
8. REFERENCES 57
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ABSTRACT
Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy as the economic development of this country is

very much relied upon the agricultural activities. Agriculture provides not only food for the

nation’s population but also provides opportunities for employment generation, saving,

contribution to industrial goods market and earning foreign exchange. Marketing of agricultural

products means a series of activities involved in the movement of agricultural produces from the

point of production to the point of consumption. Agriculture production system in India is

characterised by small scale production and seasonality of production and demand and many

more. This paper is an attempt to identify various problems faced by the Indian agricultural

sector with solutions done by the government till today and still to do. Keywords: Agriculture,

Agricultural marketing, Economic Development. Since more than half of workforce is still

engaged in agriculture for their livelihoods and employment, agriculture continues to be a

predominant sector of Indian economy, even though its share in national Gross Domestic Product

has declined in recent years. Rapid growth of the non-agriculture sectors, particularly services,

in post-reforms period has failed to accelerate agricultural growth or poverty reduction.

During the last two decades Indian agriculture has been facing major challenges like deceleration

in growth rate, degradation of natural resources, inter-sectoral, inter-regional equity, declining

input efficiency, etc. this paper attempts to analyze the trends of agricultural share in GDP and

examines the public expenditures incurred since VI Plan period The study is based on secondary

data.
 6

INTRODUCTION
India is an agrarian economy where
agriculture and its allied activities act
as a main source of livelihood
for more than 80 per cent of the
rural population. The primary sector
provides employment for
approximately 52 per cent of the
total working force and contributes
16.6 per cent to total GDP of the
country. Besides, agriculture sector is
one of the important sectors which
assist in ensuring food security,
employment generation and ultimately
economic development.
 7

Research and Development in

agriculture has a wide scope in
addressing key issues in the society
such as,
achieving sustainability in production,
ensuring nutritional security of the
rural population, adoption and
mitigation of climate change and
also energy conservation.
Agricultural research has
dramatically
broadened its scale and scope,
becoming multidisciplinary and more
inclusive and integrative. The Total
Factor Productivity (TFP) growth,
which was the main driving force for
the overall growth of agricultural
 8

output during 1980s in India, has

started slowing down in recent years.
Various authors have estimated
growth in TFP of agriculture in India
[1,2,7].
India has one of the largest and
institutionally most complex
agricultural research systems in the
world.
Historically, the Indian agricultural
research system is the zenith of a
process which started in the 19th
century and which resulted in the
establishment of the Imperial (now
Indian) Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) on the
recommendation of a Royal
 9

Commission on Agriculture in 1929.

India also saw
the beginning of scientific farming
with the establishment of
Department of Agriculture in each
Indian
province in 1880 under the British
rule. Next step was to establish
Imperial Agricultural Research
Institute to foster agricultural research
and education and decentralization of
agricultural developmental
activities to the Provincial
Governments in response to
Montague–Chelmsford Reform
(1919). This led to
INTRODUCTION
Current Trend of Agricultural Productivity in India and its Future
Prospects
 10

The agriculture sector of India is passing through a dynamic phase in the recent era of

development. It provides 65% of employment opportunities for the working population of

India. Since post-independence period, the Government of India has been initiating its

policy framework for the structural, technological and institutional changes for

agriculture. During 1st five year plan (1951-56), the special address was for the

agriculture sector to deal with the food crisis. Since then there is found continuous

decline in the composition of GDP from the agriculture and allied activities. With the

concern of agricultural crisis and lower productivity, the 11th five year plan (2007-08 to

2011-12) made a target to reverse the deceleration in agriculture growth and productivity.

On 12th five year plan the main focus is for the rapid and inclusive growth of the

agriculture. The world economy has been witnessing the slow growth rate since 2008-09

which has resulted in sluggish growth in all the sectors of India. Although the farm

productivity is low as compared to other developed countries, some improvements have

been found due to certain developmental activities. These include, technological

advancement, adoption of (High yielding Varieties) HYVs of seeds, usage of improved

quality of fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, new cropping pattern, new irrigation

 11

facilities, farm research and management practices. India’s already large population is

expected to become the world’s largest in the next 20 years, while its economy will soon

overtake Japan’s to become the world’s third largest. The resulting increase in the

demand for food will need to be met through higher agricultural productivity or by

increasing food imports. This article discusses some of the key areas of progress and

challenges for India’s agricultural sector, including: productivity, water management,

government policies and programs, and food distribution and storage. Increase in the

production of various agricultural products is not sufficient for the economic

development process in this country. It also requires a systematic and scientific marketing

system for the purpose of marketing agricultural products in domestic market as well as

in international market. Marketing of agricultural products means a series of activities

involved in the movement of agricultural produces from the point of production to the

point of consumption. According to Thomsen, the study of agricultural marketing

comprises all the operations, and the agencies conducting them, involved in the

movement of farm produced foods, raw materials and their derivatives. Prof. Faruque

observed: “agricultural marketing comprises all operations involved in the movement of

farm produce from the producer to the ultimate consumer. Since independence in India,

agricultural marketing is characterized by pervasive government intervention. This

intervention took place for various purposes in various forms. With the passage of time

the need for agricultural marketing also changed. In the initial period, marketing for

agriculture was required to increase productivity, provide a market for agriproducts,

arrangement for agricultural credit, etc. But in the present scenario, agricultural

marketing is needed to enhance the efficiency of the producers to market their agriculture
 12

produce so that they can get good market margin. It also helps in eliminating or rather

minimising the role of middlemen. Agriculture production system in India is

characterised by small scale production and seasonality of production and demand.

Beside this, it poses various problems which will be discussed in the paper. There has

been a significant transformation in the agricultural research and development scenario in

India since the dawn of Green Revolution. Agricultural research has dramatically

broadened its scale and scope, becoming multidisciplinary and more inclusive and

integrative. One of the main reasons for low productivity in India is low investment on

Agricultural research. The economic survey also noted that Agricultural R&D is the main

source of innovation, which is needed to sustain agricultural productivity growth in the

long-term. The Survey says that the actual expenditure of Department of Agricultural

Research and Education/Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has increased

from Rs 5,393 crore in 2010-11 to Rs.6800 crore during 2017-18. The compound annual

growth rate of expenditure has been 4.2% over the years and in recent years' expenditure

has been on higher side. ICAR is allocated Rs 4,599 crore for the year 2018-19. This is

0.6% greater than the revised estimate in 2017-18. In 2017-18, the allocation under ICAR

increased from the actual expenditure of Rs 319 crore in 2016-17. This is due to

regrouping of salaries, pensions, and office expenditure from all schemes under ICAR.

India's GERD has tripled in the last decade to Rs 85,326 crores in 2014-15 from Rs

24,117 crore of 2004-05. It is estimated at Rs 1,04,864 crore in 2016-17. Although India's

investment in science, which is measured in terms of Gross Expenditure on R&D

(GERD), has tripled in the last decade, the ratio was stagnant at 0.6 to 0.7 per cent of the

GDP. Most of the developed countries spent more than 2% of their Gross Domestic
 13

Product (GDP) on R&D. India also should increase its spending on R&D to fulfil its

objective of doubling farm incomes by 2022, the govt must hike R&D spend and

facilitate private investments. Rapid increase in population followed by fragmentation of

land has created a situation which urges the improving in productivity which is possible

by focusing on agricultural research and development. India is an agrarian economy

where agriculture and its allied activities act as a main source of livelihood for more

than 80 per cent of the rural population. The primary sector provides employment

for approximately 52 per cent of the total working force and contributes 16.6 per cent

to total GDP of the country. Besides, agriculture sector is one of the important sectors

which assist in ensuring food security, employment generation and ultimately economic

development. Research and Development in agriculture has a wide scope in addressing

key issues in the society such as, achieving sustainability in production, ensuring

nutritional security of the rural population, adoption and mitigation of climate change

and also energy conservation. Agricultural research has dramatically broadened its

scale and scope, becoming multidisciplinary and more inclusive and integrative. The

Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth, which was the main driving force for the overall

growth of agricultural output during 1980s in India, has started slowing down in recent

years. Various authors have estimated growth in TFP of agriculture in India [1,2,7].

India has one of the largest and institutionally most complex agricultural research

systems in the world. Historically, the Indian agricultural research system is the zenith of

a process which started in the 19th century and which resulted in the establishment of

the Imperial (now Indian) Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on the

recommendation of a Royal Commission on Agriculture in 1929. India also saw

 14

the beginning of scientific farming with the establishment of Department of

Agriculture in each Indian province in 1880 under the British rule. Next step was

to establish Imperial Agricultural Research Institute to foster agricultural research and

education and decentralization of agricultural developmental activities to the Provincial

Governments in response to Montague–Chelmsford Reform (1919). This led to RJCES

Vol 7 [4] August 2019 7Page © 2019 AELS, INDIA co-evolution of research and

education [9]. Since then there was a stupendous evolution of agricultural research in

India. The ICAR is an autonomous apex national organization which plans, conducts

and promotes research, education, training and transfer of technology for advancement

of agriculture and allied sciences. Over the years, it has developed a large research and

training infrastructure to work on the production and other emerging problems confronted

in agriculture to meet the growing demands for food, fodder, fibre and fuel. It

coordinates agricultural research and development programmes and develops linkages

amongst national and international organizations to enhance the quality of life of the

India population, particularly of farming community. First, there is no clear concept of

budgetary support to agricultural R&D by the government administration though it

is accepted that one per cent of agricultural GDP may be allocated for agricultural

research. An examination of data reveals that research intensity was hovering between

0.48 and 0.73 during 1999-00 to 2006-07 5. In the case of allocation of research

resources across commodities, the relative value of the commodity in total value of

agricultural production was used as a major criterion. Nearly 40 per cent of the resources

found the way for research on food grains and horticultural crops.
 15

As a percentage of Agricultural GDP, India spends 0.5% of its Ag GD on agricultural

research in 2011, which was lesser than the share invested by China (0.62%). It is

also considerably less than the 2.6% spent by Brazil. However, in terms of researchers,

India employs more than double than what Brazil does, with 12,750 people employed in

this sector (excluding the private research industry), compared to 5,800 in Brazil.

However, given the very different populations and structure of the farming industry, this

represents a ratio of only 4.6 per 100,000 farmers in India, compared to 57 per 100,000

in Brazil. This paper highlights the investment and expenditure on Agriculture research

and education in country by various departments. PPP in agricultural R&D is

increasingly emerging as an effective means of conducting research in frontline areas

of science and technology, commercializing new technologies, and deploying new

products for the benefit of small-scale farmers, food-insecure consumers and other

marginalized groups.

PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT:

Agriculture sector is the mainstay of the Indian economy, contributing about 15 per

cent of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more importantly, about half of

India’s population is wholly or significantly dependent on agriculture and allied activities

 16

for their livelihood (GOI, 2011). The contribution of agricultural sector to GDP has

continued to decline over the years, while that of other sectors, particularly services,

and has increased. In 1950-71 agriculture contributed about 55 percent of GDP,

which declined to 31.4 percent and 14.6 percent in 1990- 91 and 2009-10 (at 2004-05

prices), respectively (CSO, 2011). Nevertheless, agriculture remains a major source of

employment, absorbing about 52 percent of the total national work-force in 2004-05,

down from about 70 percent in 1971. The share of agricultural exports in total export

value declined from about 18.5 percent in 1990-91 to about 10.6 percent in 2009-10,

while share of agricultural imports to total national imports increased from 2.8

percent in 1990-91 and reached a high of 8.2 percent in 1998-99 and declined to about

4.4 percent in 2009-10 (GoI, 2011a).

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Indian Agriculture,Indian Farmer, Agriculture Information in india,agriculture

equipment, agriculture tools, organic farming in India,agriculture jobs,agriculture sector

in India, agriculture industry in india,agriculture information,dairy farming in india,

Globalization, green revolution, liberalization, self sufficiency, sustainability.

Green revolution has been the significant example of overcoming adversity of free India.

The country that was often tormented by starvations and ceaseless nourishment lack

before green upheaval, we are today in a position where we are fighting with the issue of

excess.

From a nourishment grain creation around 55 million tons at the hour of autonomy, we

currently increase underway of more than 250 million tons of nourishment grain (2011).

Agribusiness has been a wellspring of work for multiple thirds of our populace.

In contrast to created country, farming still remains the foundation of our nation. To

liberate India from its dependence on the created countries for its nourishment need,

horticulture was advanced in a major way. Horticulture in India isn’t just a business

venture; it is increasingly a lifestyle. Indian farming is experiencing quick change since

 18

the presentation of green transformation innovation. The ongoing arrangement of

advancement and globalization has opened up new roads for farming modernization. This

has not just worried on improving agrarian sources of info, infrastructural offices in

country zones however

changing sources of info decreasing appropriations, relaxing roof laws and producing

rural surplus for home and worldwide markets. In perspective on the increasing

prosperity in the rural areas demands are being raised for agricultural taxation and

according industry status to agriculture.

1. Raising the Production of Food grains:

India has been encountering the expansion in the generation of production of grains

especially after the presentation of new agrarian methodology (i.e., Green Revolution) in

farming practices. Yearly development pace of 2.08 percent was recorded during 1970s.

Yearly development pace of 3.5 percent in nourishment grains in 1980s is the sign of the

green transformation that empowered India to get independent in nourishment grains and

even a minimal exporter.

According to the most recent estimate it is discovered that by 2010, the interest for

nourishment grains is probably going to ascend at the pace of 2.6 percent. On the off

chance that the nation can keep up 4 percent development rate in farming generation then

in the wake of satisfying its local need, the nation can send out the surplus measure of

nourishment grains to the remote nations in which it has great position.

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2. Diversification of Agriculture:

Horticulture isn’t just fulfilling the need for demand of grains yet in addition different

needs of advancement. As of late, farming division has been expanded to deliver

commercial crops and green harvests viz., organic products, vegetables, flavors, cashew,

areca nut, coconut and floricultural items like blooms, orchids and so forth dairy and

other creature farming items. The interest for these items has additionally been

expanding. Advancement of the economy has made plentiful extension for the

improvement of agrarian division both regarding expanded generation and exchange.

3. Increasing Trend in Horticultural Output:

The decent variety of physiographic, atmosphere and soil qualities empowers India to

grow a huge assortment of agricultural yields which incorporates natural products,

vegetables, flavors, cashew-nut, coconut, cocoa, areca-nut, root and tuber crops,

therapeutic and sweet-smelling plants and so forth. India is the biggest maker of organic

products, and second biggest maker of vegetables.

With the expansion in the generation of organic products, vegetables and other green

items, the estimation of fares of these items is likewise expanding. All out estimation of

fares of natural products, vegetables and heartbeats has expanded from Rs. 216 crore in

1990-91 to Rs. 5,650 crore in 2008-09. Therefore green fares of the nation contribute

about 25 percent of the all out rural fares.

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4. Increase in Floricultural Output:

By and by around 31,000 hectares of land spread over Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra

Pradesh and West Bengal are under bloom creation. Since the initiation of progression,

business cultivating of floricultural exercises has been expanding step by step. The

interest for Indian cut flower is expanding constantly in the international market.

5. Free Trade:

Liberalisation has removed all limitations on the development of rural produce inside the

nation. This has encouraged extension of exchange farming items, particularly of food

grains.

6. Agricultural Exports:

Another significant rising pattern of agribusiness under Liberalisation is the expanding

volume of rural fares and its expanding possibilities in not so distant future under the

WTO system. India is well set in regard of rural fares as the horticultural part is exposed

to low import content, minimal effort of work, good climatic conditions, and low unit

cost of sources of info.

Horticultural fares are assuming a significant job in extending the exercises of agrarian

division alongside creating expanding number of business openings and furthermore in

differentiating rural tasks. The Export Import Policy (Exim) 1992-97 has given abundant

chances to expanding the volume of agrarian fares.

7.Food Processing: Economic liberalisation has made abundant extension for the

advancement and development of food preparing industry in India. Products of the soil

being transitory in nature are confronting an immense loss worth Rs. 3,000 crore
 21

consistently. So in order to prevent from loss, the National Horticulture Board is making

vital strides for giving foundation and to the bundling, stockpiling and transportation of

plant items.

The generation of prepared leafy foods are giving colossal number of work and

improving horticultural profitability by raising the possibilities of farming fares. The

Government is additionally offering vital motivating forces by absolving the business

from extract obligation.

So as to welcome outside capital into this industry the Government has allowed 51

percent remote value association and furthermore offered brief endorsement of outside

innovation move to the nourishment handling industry of the nation.

Generation of handled leafy foods developed by around 13 percent in 1997 yet the

equivalent has declined by about 5.2 percent in 1997-98. Be that as it may, the fares of

handled foods grown from the ground are assessed to increment to Rs. 889 crore in 1998-

99 when contrasted with Rs. 745 crore in 1997-98.

Generation of various assortment of milk items is assessed to have expanded to 306

thousand tons in 1998 from 290 thousand tons in 1997. Fares of creature items (counting

milk items) is required to increment to over Rs. 1.100 crore in 1998-99 from Rs. 910

crore in 1997-98. Marine fish gather encountered a 2.8 percent development underway in

1997-98 and fare of marine items is relied upon to increment to over Rs. 5,500 crore in

1998-99 from Rs. 4,643 crore in 1997-98.

Nourishment preparing industry has gotten an impressive enthusiasm for advancement as

of late. Out of absolute venture proposition worth Rs. 72.154 crore endorsed in this

industry, the measure of outside speculation is Rs. 8,940 crore.

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8. Rising Productivity of Agricultural Resources:

One of the significant points of advancement is to accomplish higher efficiency of assets

used for farming. Improvement in the profitability of assets is being improved allotment

of assets between various regions and furthermore with the utilization of most recent

innovation.

In the present system of advancement, there is a developing pattern to accentuate on send

out arranged approaches, applying new improved advances in nourishment preparing and

advertising and giving weight on planting crops according to geological appropriateness.

9. Developing Agriculture in Backward Areas:

In the post-Green Revolution period, use of new farming technique, research and

innovation was particularly limited in the creation of food grains, for example just wheat

and rice. Be that as it may, under the advancement wave, with the developing interest for

agrarian fares, numerous new territories of farming tasks have gotten good and

rewarding.

In the agronomically in reverse zones, having no water system framework, dry land

cultivating has been started. Different exercises like cultivation, gardening, creature

farming, fishery and so forth have been empowered. Use of present day improved

strategies in these territories has brought about the advancement of numerous

retrogressive zones which were recently exposed to wide spread destitution.

 23

10. Developing New Biological Techniques:

During the time of green upheaval, expanding use of compound manures and pesticides

were urged widely so as to satisfy the developing need for food required to sustain the

rising populace. Rising populace, regularly expanding interest for food and boundless

misuse, of normal assets have made a grave danger to the earth just as to the agrarian

division.

So as to spare and secure the earth just as the farming division from any further harm,

expanding utilization of natural innovation for agrarian activity has been underscored and

more accentuation is being given to grow new organic innovation.

11.. Growing Trend of Unemployment in Agricultural Sector and Its Solution:

Green revolution and increasing mechanization of agriculture have come about fall in

work openings, bringing about a major issue in the rural areas. Many specila employment

programs have been acquainted with fill in as a security net however expanding

possibility of the rural division as rose up out of the advancement wave ought to be

exploited appropriately. The developing pattern in agricultural exports, expanding

interest for green and animal items in the fare advertise has made plentiful chances and

degree for work of tremendous number of population. This united segment being work

concentrated can give an enduring answer for the rustic joblessness issue of the nation.

12. Growing Volume of Subsidies:

In India, the volume of endowments conceded to agribusiness, in regard of compost,

water system and power charges and so on has been expanding. Total endowments gave

by the Central Government are evaluated at Rs. 22,025 crore in 1998-99 as contrasted

and Rs. 19,664 crore in 1997-98.

 24

Out of this aggregate sum around 75 percent is assigned in the zone of compost and

nourishment grains. Under the present period of advancement, in spite of the fact that

there is a transition to diminish the volume of appropriations in the financial limit

however political impulses have averted the administration to embrace that move.

13. Growing Trend of Investment in Agriculture:

Horticultural division is encountering a developing pattern in the volume of its venture

during the post-progression period. Be that as it may, the volume of open segment

interest in the agrarian segment is declining. Table 3.5 shows the pattern of open and

private segment interest in horticulture.

The primary explanation for the descending pattern in open division speculation was the

withdrawal of venture assets for interest regarding current use caused through

appropriations. Such a decelerating pattern involves concern. Be that as it may, the

private area speculation has developed generously during the 1990s. All out volume of

private interest in horticulture which was Rs. 2.840 crore in 1980-81 progressively

expanded to Rs. 3,440 crore in 1990-91 and afterward impressively expanded to Rs.

5,867 crore in 1996-97.

14. Institutionalization of Agricultural Credit:

Under the present rush of advancement there is developing pattern of systematization of

rural credit. In the underlying phase of post-freedom period Indian ranchers were

depending a lot on chaotic wellsprings of farming credit, i.e., on town cash

moneylenders, proprietors, merchants and so on. In any case, such non-institutional credit

is especially harming ranchers’ enthusiasm as they charge excessively higher pace of

intrigue.
 25

In this way it is seen that progression has made a few great effects on the horticultural

segment of the nation. The rising patterns in farming which are particularly conspicuous

in the post-progression period incorporate the rising profitability, developing venture,

broadening of the area, use of present day strategies, improvement of agriculture and

horticulture, developing volume of fares and advancement of nourishment preparing

industry.

India with its rising populace is in a favorable situation to build up its rural and partnered

segments which curve for the most part work escalated. Progression has given plentiful

extension to the modernization and advancement of the agrarian division and furthermore

to receive the most extreme reward from the expanding extent of farming fares emerging

out of the way of globalization embraced by the economy.

 26

7 Emerging Agriculture Technologies

 Soil and Water Sensors. Table of Contents. ...

 Weather Tracking. ...
 Satellite Imaging. ...
 Pervasive Automation. ...
 Minichromosomal Technology. ...
 RFID Technology. ...
 Vertical Farming.
 27

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The Following Objectives are Decided in this Study

1. To analise recent farming technique

2. To examine the new technologies under agriculture industry

3. To determine the problems in agriculture industry

 28

Literature Review In recent years, there has been considerable research

related to the agricultural marketing. These papers, however, mostly deal with problems,

challenges and development of and the government initiatives toward agricultural

marketing. The paper on

Raising Agricultural Productivity and Making Farming Remunerative for farmers (2015)

done by National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, Government of India

concentrates on a select but important set of policy issues confronting Indian agriculture

to come up with recommendations that would help bring about a second Green

Revolution in India and sustain robust growth in agriculture. Five such issues have been

chosen: measures necessary to raise productivity, policies ensuring remunerative prices

for farmers, reforms necessary in the area of land leasing and titles, a mechanism to bring

quick relief to farmers hit by natural disasters, and initiatives necessary to spread Green

Revolution to eastern states. Rajendran and karthikesan (2014) in their study found that in

order to avoid isolation of small scale farmers from the benefits of agricultural produce

they need to be integrated and informed with the market knowledge like fluctuations,

demand and supply concepts which are the core of economy. K Nirmal Ravi Kumar

(2014) in his book he has given detailed information about agricultural marketing in

India. He discussed about the major problems involved in the practices of agricultural

policies and strategies. Along with this, the role of government for agricultural

development is also provided. Shakeel-Ul-Rehman, M. Selvaraj and M. Syed Ibrahim

(2012) in their article ‘Indian Agricultural Marketing- A Review’ bring out past and

present scenario of agricultural marketing prevailing in India, its challenges and future

recommendations. They pointed out several problems and challenges involved in

 29

marketing of agricultural produce. New methods of marketing like Contract farming are

visible, providing farmers with better returns. The Tata’s, The Birla’s, The Mahindra’s

and other corporate houses are entering and expanding agricultural business. With 68,000

plus branches, commercial banks and regional banks have phenomenal strength in

financing agri-business ventures. These trends show that there is a scope for Agri-

business for profitable operations not only to individuals but to institutions as well.

Sourovi De (2010)provides a detailed analysis of the various issues pertinent to the

functioning of agrarian credit markets. These include the glaring chasm between demand

and supply of agrarian credit, the emergence of sectors within the Indian economy which

compete with agriculture for institutional credit and the aversion of institutional lenders

towards agrarian borrowers. Mishra, J.P, (2010) in his study, found that farmers are not

getting benefits as per the provision made by regulated market act in favour of farmers

just because these is found disputes between Govt and traders. The cooperative network

in the state is inadequate and unable to procure agricultural produce from the growers for

safeguard the interest of the farmers. The most important factor that exists in developing

countries is widespread imperfection in market mechanism. It is due to lack of market

information and presence of uncertainty in market demand. Kashyap and Raut (2006) in

their paper discussed the various challenges typical of the rural environment such as

physical distribution, channel management promotion and communication. To overcome

these challenges, marketers need to be equipped with technology based system like e-

marketing. The “anytimeanywhere” advantage of e-marketing leads to efficient price

discovery, offers economy of transaction for trading and more transparent and

competitive setting. VikramSorathia,

 30

Major Drawbacks of Farm Sector In India

‒ The growth rates of productivity in agriculture sector are far below than the global

standards. ‒ The productivity levels of rice and wheat have declined .

‒ Due to declining fertilizer-use efficiency there is found gradual decline in the soil

fertility. Also, the food subsidy has increased substantially in the past few years.

‒ According to the survey, GDP declined to 15.2% during the Eleventh Plan and then

further decreased to 13.9% in 2013-14.

‒ There also has been decrease in the number of cultivators from 127.3 million (Census

2001) to 118.7 million (Census 2011).

‒ Indian agriculture is still dependent on rainfall. About 60 per cent of the total food

grains and oilseeds produced being grown in the kharif season, and with just about 35 per

cent of the total area being irrigated.

‒ Currently, India is in an anomalous situation of being essentially self-sufficient with

large stocks of food grains on the one hand and recording high food inflation. Artificial

scarcity has become the major cause for the high inflation rate.
 31

Problem Areas In Agricultural Marketing

‒ Small and scattered holding: Farmers having small and scattered holdings are found in

Indian agricultural system. Thus, the cost of producing and transporting agricultural

produce increases and the marketing margin decreases.

‒ Lack of warehousing and storage facilities (cold storage or otherwise): Farmers have to

sell out their produce as soon as it is ready because there is a lack of adequate number of

warehousing and storage facilities in India. It results in getting poor prices by the farmers.

Most of the existing storage facilities are having very poor quality (are in very poor

condition) which also affects the quality of the agricultural produce.

‒ Lack of transportation facilities: Agricultural sector is affected mostly by lack of

transport facilities which includes all weather roads, appropriate transport vehicles for

transporting perishable goods and lack of linkage roads to mandis. Due to this, a chunk of

money is expanded over transportation costs.

‒ Lack of Uniformity in Grading and Standardisation: Lack of proper grading facilities

and standardised measures for categorisation of agricultural produce at the farmers’ level

results in weak bargaining power and sale of produce at the lower price.

‒ Poor Handling, Packing, Packaging, and Processing Facilities: Lack of proper

instruments for handling and processing and lack of scientific techniques for packaging

of agricultural produce result in heavy wastage and loss to the farmers. Poor handling and

packaging expose the product to substantial physical damage and quality deterioration.

‒ Lack of market information: Generally, in rural areas there is unavailability of proper

infrastructure. Many villages are still out of the reach of Information and Communication
 32

Technology. Due to this, farmers are unaware of the present and future prices of their

produces prevailing in big markets. Thus, they have to accept any price for their produce

offered by middlemen.

‒ Presence of large number of middlemen: Due to lack of proper transportation,

warehousing and infrastructural facilities farmers are forced to sell their produce at the

point of origin. This widens the scope of middlemen as farmers are not directly connected

to consumers. These middlemen charge abrupt high prices of these agricultural produce

from the customers and also resort to malpractices like hoarding and black-marketing.

‒ Lack of Farmers’ Organisation: In India, the farmers are in scattered form and they use

to sell their produces individually. This results in distribution of small amount of

agricultural produces with high cost of transportation. Along with this, farmers have not

any authorised body to guide and protect their businesses. On the other hand, traders are

in organised form which enables them more powerful to bargain over prices. Under such

situations, farmers will be generally exploited and do not get remunerative prices for their

produce.

‒ Inadequate Research on Marketing:All the efforts of the government are directed

towards maximising the agricultural production but less emphasis has been given on the

conduction of new researches for developing new marketing, storage, warehousing and

preservation techniques. There is also need for research on consumer demands and

preferences, handling and packaging.

 33

Technological Advancements

As per the department of Science and technology, government of India, grant is given to

twenty one science based voluntary groups working at the village level. This will

encourage research and development activities in areas of technology generation and

transfer for sustainable livelihoods in rural areas. It has also encouraged thematic

networking and coordination amongst various science and technology based field groups.

National Food Security Mission (NFSM) has been launched in 2007 to increase 20

million tonnes of foodgrains (10 m.t. for rice, 8 m.t. for wheat and 2 m.t. for pulses)

during the 11th plan period. It has already shown some results by increasing yields in

different regions. The ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) scheme

was launched in 2005 to support state governments’ efforts to revitalize the extension.

This scheme gives an opportunity to improve extension system. The returns to investment

on research and extension will be much higher on agricultural growth as compared to

other investments.
 34

8 Groundbreaking AgTech Innovations for 2020 and Beyond

1. Smart farming automation

Farm automation, commonly linked with “smart farming”, is a technology that makes

farms more efficient by automating the production cycle of crops and livestock.

Technologies like robotics, drones, and computer vision software have completely

transformed modern agriculture.

2. Soil DNA testing

Through DNA-mapping technology, farmers can test microbiomes and organic matter to

analyze health metrics and take better care of their soil.

3. Precision agriculture

Technologies developed by new precision agriculture companies help farmers to

maximize yields by controlling moisture levels, pest stress, soil conditions, and micro-

climates. Precision agriculture also enables farmers to increase efficiency and manage

costs.

4. Smart sensors

This is is one of the most successful AgTech innovations across the globe. There are a

variety of new and innovative applications for sensors in farming. Sensors are cost-

effective and beneficial for agriculture. Remote sensors, satellites, and UAVs can gather

information 24 hours over an entire field. They monitor plant health, soil condition,

temperature, humidity, etc.

 35

5. AI-enabled self-driving tractors

Automated farming equipment like a self-driven tractor or seeder provides solutions for

time constraints and labor shortages.

6. Laser Scarecrows

This innovation projects green laser lighting which is invisible by humans in the sun.

However, birds are sensitive to green color. The automated lasers are fired across fields

up to 600 feet and effectively startle birds to prevent them from destroying crops.

7. Harvest Quality Vision – HQV

HQV uses computerized scanners to capture and determine the quality and quantity of

crops.

8. Vertical farming

this type of farming uses indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment

agriculture (CEA) technology, to control environmental factors.

 36

Private Sector Interference

In recent years the priority has been given for public private partnership (PPP) for the

infrastructure development and other growth related services. About I lakh common

services centres have been established with the sustainable, commercial and socio-

economic goals to cater IT based and non-IT based services for about 600,000 villages.

Different SHGs, Community based organisations, Private micro finance institutions like

SKS, have been formed to give financial assistance to rural community for

developmental projects. With the Provision of urban amenities in rural areas (PURA),

there is found the opportunities of rural livelihood, infrastructure projects with the private

sector interference. It in turn has given sufficient scope for sectoral disparities
 37

Improved Trade Policy

India is considered as the second largest food producer in the world. Although, it has got

all the potentials in the agriculture productivity but its export is just 0-9% of the world

food trade. However with the prime minister’s council on trade and industry report,

following action plans have been suggested for enhancing trade, and supply of

agricultural goods.

‒ Undiluted focus on growing areas for exports like tea, spices, rice, mangoes, grapes,

floriculture etc.

‒ Allow regulated exports of specific surplus commodities on annual basis and honour

international contractual terms.

‒ Cold storage facilities should be enhanced and be made available at all ports and

airports

‒ Increase in freight subsidy

‒ One central agency: Agro and Food Development and Export Promotion Council to be

set up.

‒ Announce specific package for horticulture and floriculture units.

‒ Provide term loans for Grading, Packing and Cold chain units as well as processing

units at the rate of 9% per annum.

‒ 3 year moratorium on repayment of term loan and interest

‒ NABARD to provide 100% refinance to banks and financial institutions for funding

exports of horticulture products.

 38

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY:

Two parameters are decided in this study to know the trends in agriculture and examine

the new technologies.

*The study is based on secondary data.

*Exploratory research
 39

Analysis of Trends in India’s Agricultural Growth

Agriculture is an important sector of Indian Economy as more than half of its population

relies on Agriculture as principle source of income. Research and Extension systems play

major role in generation and dissemination of Agricultural technologies aiming at

enhancing the income of farmers. The extension system adopts series of extension

methods such as Training, demonstration, exposure visit to transfer the technologies

from lab to land. Majority of these extension efforts mainly focus on location and crop

specific technologies, and mostly on solution to problem basis. However, there is a need

for equipping the farmers with Basic knowledge of Agriculture in order to create a

better knowledge platform at farmer level for taking appropriate farm management

decisions and to absorb modern technologies. As a source of livelihood, agriculture

(including forestry and fishing) remains the largest sector of Indian Economy. While its

output share fell from 28.3% in 1993-94 to 14.4% in 2011-12, employment share

declined from 64.8% to 48.9% over the same period. Therefore, almost half of the

workforce in India still remains dependent on agriculture. Given the low share of this

workforce in the GDP, on average, it earns much lower income poorer than its

counterpart in industry and services. Therefore, progress in agriculture has a bearing on

the fate of the largest proportion of the low income population in India. The paper

identifies five important aspects of agriculture that need immediate attention to bring

economic advantages to millions of farm families. First, output per hectare, which is a

common measure of agricultural productivity, remains low for many crops when
 40

compared to many other countries. There are also large regional variations within the

country. Reasons include low and faulty input uses, poor access to modern technology

and no real technological breakthrough in recent times. Second, on average, farmers do

not realize remunerative prices due to limited reach of the minimum support prices

(MSP) and an agricultural marketing system that delivers only a small fraction of the

final price to the actual farmer. Third, the farm size of the majority of the household has

declined to unviable levels inducing farmers to leave land and look for better job

opportunities elsewhere. Because land-leasing laws make it risky to lease land,

increasingly, productive land is being left uncultivated. Changes in the land leasing laws

may bring consolidation of land holding at operational level and attract better

investment along with access to credit and relief to tenants. Fourth, relief measures in

the event of natural disasters are inadequate and suffer from procedural inefficiencies

and delays. The risk adaptation measures are poorly executed and have not worked

effectively. This situation needs to be rectified with at least minimum quick relief to

farmers for crop loss in case of natural calamities. Finally the potential of the eastern

region needs to be harnessed with suitable interventions. This region is unique for its

suitability to the production of certain commodities. However, taking advantage of this

potential would require institutional support and investment in technological

innovations. The paper offers ideas on how these problems can be addressed so as to

accelerate agricultural growth and bring remunerative prices to farmers.

 41

THE CURRENT STATUS OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE Since 1970-71,

trend growth in Indian agriculture has been approximately 3%, above that in population

but well below that in the entire economy consisting of agriculture, industry and services.

By implication, while percapita agricultural output has seen a steady rise, the share of

agriculture in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has fallen. The rise in per-capita

agricultural production has gone a long way toward easing pressure on meeting food and

nutrition security of the country. Unfortunately, however, growth in agricultural output is

characterized by fluctuations; each high growth period is followed by a phase of low

growth. This cyclical pattern has reflected itself in annual growth rates of approximately

3% in the 10th Plan, 4% in the 11th Plan and just 1.7% during the first three years of the

12th Plan. Specific sub sectors, most notably crop segment, are subject to occasional

severe negative shocks leading to serious distress. Crop production in the country is

dominated by cultivation of paddy in Kharif and wheat in Rabi seasons. These two crops

cover about 38 per cent of gross cropped area in the country. Cereals including coarse

cereals occupy more than half of the total land under cultivation.
 42
Table 1: Distribution of TE 2001-02 TE 2013-14

groups cropped area

across major crops year

Table
Rice 24.0 22.4
1:
Wheat 14.2 15.6

Coarse Cereals 15.9 13.1

Total Cereals 54.0 50.9

Total Pulses 11.3 12.5

Total food grain 65.3 63.6

Sugarcane 2.3 2.6

Condiment and spices 1.3 1.6

Total fruits 2.1 3.6

Total vegetables 3.3 4.7

Total oilseeds 12.4 13.9

Total fibres 5.2 6.6

Tobacco 0.2 0.2

Other crops 7.8 4.2

GCA 100 100

Distribution of gross cropped area across major crops

 43

Table 1 provides the distribution of gross cropped area over important crops and crop

groups and changes in crop pattern at the turn of the new Century and currently. The

table shows that there has been some shift in area away from cereals during last 12

years. Between triennium ending (TE) 2001- 2 and TE 2013-14, area under cereal

declined from 54% to 51 per cent while that under pulses rose slightly from 11.3 to

12.5%. Area share of fruits and vegetables witnessed significant increase but it still

remains below 10%. Table 2 provides the area, production, yield and per cent area

irrigated in food grains in different states of India. Uttar Pradesh accounts for the largest

share by area as well as production by a wide margin. It accounts for almost one-fifth of

the country’s food grain production. While Punjab and Haryana have been traditionally

seen as the major contributors to food grain production, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra

Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal have emerged as significant producers in recent

years.

Table 2: Area, production and yield in food grain in 2013-14 and the proportion of

area under food grains irrigated in 2011-12

State Area (m. Per cost of Production Per cent of Yield (kg % Area
hectars) india (million irrigated
 44

tonne) india per hectare) (2011-12)

Uttar 20.23 16.05 50.05 18.9 2474 76.1

preadesh

Punjab 6.56 5.2 28.9 10.92 4409 98.7

Madhya 14.94 11.85 24.24 9.15 1622 50.5

Pradesh

Andhra 7.61 6.04 20.1 7.59 2641 62.5

pradesh

Rajasthan 13.42 10.64 18.3 6.91 1364 27.7

West 6.24 4.95 17.05 6.44 2732 49.3

bengal

Haryana 4.4 3.49 16.97 6.41 3854 88.9

Mahrashtra 11.62 9.22 13.92 5.26 1198 16.4

Bihar 6.67 5.29 13.15 4.97 1971 67.4

Karnatka 7.51 5.95 12.17 4.6 1622 28.2

Tamil nadu 3.55 2.81 8.49 3.21 2396 63.5

Odisha 5.15 4.09 8.33 3.15 1617 29.0

Gujrat 4.29 3.4 8.21 3.1 1917 46.0

Chhatisgarh 4.95 3.93 7.58 2.86 1532 29.7

Assam 2.53 2.01 4.94 1.87 1952 4.6

Jharkhand 2.24 1.77 4.19 1.58 1874 7.0

Utrakhand 0..89 0.71 1.78 0.67 2001 44.0

Others 3.26 2.59 6.38 2.41 - -

All india 126.04 100 264.77 100 2101 49.8

 45

Yields and the proportion of area irrigated vary widely across states. Predictably, there is

a strong correlation between these two variables. Punjab ranks the first and Haryana the

second in terms of both variables. Among larger producers, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan

and Maharashtra show relatively low yields. Rajasthan and Maharashtra also exhibit low

proportions of area under irrigation. In Bihar, the proportion of area irrigated is above the

national average but not the yield. This is very likely due to high frequency of floods that

occasionally destroy standing crops. The international comparison of yields and share in

world’s output in rice, wheat and horticultural crops are presented in Tables 3, 4 and 5,

respectively. The countries are ranked according to declining share in the output in each

table. In terms of the total output, India ranks second in rice, wheat and potato with China

ranking the first. In banana India ranks first followed by China. India exhibits low yields

in rice when compared to other countries but not in wheat. Rice yield in India is just 55%

of rice yield in China. Average yield of rice in India is much lower than other major rice

producing countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Table 3: Country comparison of yields and shares in the world output in rice in
2012

Country Yield (kg Production Country Yield (kg Production

per hectare) (% of world) per hectare) (% of
wrorld)
 46

World 4548 100 Pakistan 4068 1.27

China 6775 27.9 Cambodia 3089 1.26

India 3721 21.38 USA 8349 1.23

Bangladesh 4421 6.84 Egypt 9530 0.8

Viet nam 5631 5.91 Nepal 3312 0.69

Thailand 3051 5.08 Nigeria 1800 0.65

Myanmar 3445 3.8 Madagascar 2938 0.62

Philippines 3845 2.44 Sri Lanka 3885 0.52

Brazil 4786 1.56 Iran 5000 0.33

Japan 6739 1.44 Russian 490 0.14

Federation

Indonasia 5136 9.35 Korea, 6988 0.8

Republic

It may seem surprising but India edges out the United States in yield per hectare in wheat.

China is the major producer of wheat that has far higher productivity than India. France,

Germany and the United Kingdom exhibit super-high productivity in wheat but their

contributions to the world output are significantly smaller than those of India and China.

Table 4: Country comparison of yields and shares in the world output in wheat in 2012

Country Yields Production Country Yield Production

(kg/ha) (% of world) (% of word)
 47

(kg/ha)

World 3090 100 Iran 1971 2.06

China 4987 18.02 UK 6657 1.97

India 3177 14.13 Kazakhstan 683 1.47

USA 3115 9.19 Egypt 6582 1.31

France 7599 6 Poland 4144 1.28

Russian fed. 1773 5.62 Argentina 2715 1.22

Australia 2215 4.45 Italy 4132 1.16

Canada 2865 4.05 Romania 2659 0.79

Pakistan 2709 3.5 Spain 2644 0.69

Germany 7328 3.34 Syrian rep. 2252 0.54

Ukraine 2800 2.35 Bangladesh 2779 0.15

Table 5: Country comparison of yields and shares in the world output in horticultural crops in
2012
POTATO BANANA

Country Yield Production Country Yield(kg/ha) Production

(kg/ha) (%of world (% of world)

World 18900 100 World 21200 100.00

China 16100 23.88 India 37000 27.82

India 21100 11.37 China 26400 9.87

Russia 13400 8.08 Philippines 20300 8.63

Ukraine 16100 6.36 Ecuador 33300 6.56

USA 45800 5.74 Brazil 14300 6.46

Germany 44800 2.92 Indonasia 58900 5.79

Poland 24400 2.49 Angola 25800 2.80

 48

Bangladesh 19100 2.25 Guatemala 40900 2.53

Belarus 20800 1.89 UR of 5700 2.36

Tanzania

Netherlands 45200 1.85 Mexico 30300 2.06

India is fairly placed in terms of contribution to global production of potato and banana but

there also the level of productivity is less as compared to many countries. In potato the

productivity of India is less than half of the productivity of USA, Germany and Netherlands

while yield of banana in Indonesia is 1.5 times higher than that of India.

III. ISSUES CONFRONTING INDIAN AGRICULTURE Indian

Agriculture is confronted with several issues. After careful deliberations, the Task Force on
 49

Agricultural Development chose to concentrate on five major issues: agricultural productivity,

remunerative prices for farmers, land policy, agrarian distress and eastern states that have

lagged behind the rest of the country in farming. These issues are summarised immediately

below with a more detailed dissection and associated policy recommendations provided in

subsequent sections. First, a series of essential steps are required to raise agricultural

productivity. At a broad level, this issue has two aspects: low average productivity at the

national level and high variation in it regionally. As explained earlier, the average productivity in

rice is low relative to most of the major rice producing counties. India does better in wheat but

the scope for improvement exists in this crop as well. The same goes for other crops including

oilseeds, fruits and vegetables as well as activities such as animal husbandry, fisheries and

poultry. The second broad productivity concern relates to regional variation. It is also evident

that while Punjab and Haryana exhibit high productivity nationally, states such as Madhya

Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Karnataka suffer from quite low

yields per hectare. The scope for improved productivity in these latter regions is substantial. To

increase productivity, progress is required along three dimensions: (i) Quality and judicious use

of inputs such as water, seeds, fertilizer and pesticides; (ii) judicious and safe exploitation of

modern technology including genetically modified (GM) seeds; and (iii) shift into high value

commodities such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fisheries, animal husbandry and poultry. In the

longer run, productivity enhancement requires research toward discovery of robust seed varieties

and other inputs, appropriate crops and input usage for a given soil type and effective extension

practices. Second, farmers need to be ensured to receive remunerative prices. This issue has two

aspects, one relating to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the other relating to the farmer’s
 50

share in the price paid by the final consumer. Taking the MSP first, it effectively applies to a

specified set of commodities, predominantly rice, wheat and cotton, and is available only in a

subset of producer states. In the states in which no procurement is done by the public agencies at

the MSP, farmers lack the guarantee offered by the MSP (Chand 2003, Planning Commission

2007). Moreover, subsidized sales of cereals under the public distribution system (PDS) divert

part of the demand thereby artificially lowering the price at which they must sell their produce.

Likewise, for commodities such as fruits and vegetables, which are not subject to any

procurement by official agencies, sometimes the market price can be excessively low due to

perish ability and localized nature of markets for them. The inadequate cold storage facility

makes matters worse by discouraging farmers from opting for these crops in the first place.

Agricultural marketing has not seen any significant reforms and modernization for decades. The

supply chain remains fragmented, scale of operations is low and there is excessive presence of

intermediaries. The poor state of competitiveness is more pronounced during above normal or

below normal production. A small increase in production above normal level often results in

price crash for farmers and a below normal production is followed by skyrocketing prices in the

post-harvest period with hardly any benefit for the farmers. The second aspect of the price

received by the famer concerns the small fraction of the price paid by the final consumer that the

farmer receives in the marketplace. The continued presence of regulations flowing from the

Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) Acts in most commodities in most states

has meant that the farmer is compelled to sell her produce in the government-controlled

marketing yards. These controls restrict transactions to the handful of local players and easy

manipulations Third, for understandable historical reasons, land leasing laws in India have taken

forms that discourage formal leasing contracts between the owner and the tenant. Field studies
 51

have shown that most of tenancy in the country is concealed and, thus, unofficial. This fact has

the implication that tenants are often not identified as actual cultivators in the records. The lack

of identification of tenants as actual farmers has very serious implications for the conduct of

public policy. Benefits intended for the tenant farmer such as disaster relief or direct benefit

transfers risk being disbursed to the owner of the land who appears as the cultivator in the

official records. In the absence of official records, tenants also lack access to formal credit and

other benefits available to cultivators. In many states, leasing laws can effectively result in the

loss of land to the tenant leading owners to eschew leasing land altogether IV.

ACCESS TO AGRICULTURAL CREDIT AND INSURANCE Access to

agricultural credit is linked to the holding of land titles. As a result, small and marginal farmers,

who account for more than half of the total land holdings, and may not hold formal land titles,

are unable to access institutionalized credit.25 Farmers may require credit for short term uses

such as purchasing inputs, weeding, harvesting, sorting and transporting, or long term uses such

as investing in agricultural machinery and equipment, or irrigation. Table 4 shows the

distribution of agricultural loans according to sources, as of 2013. .

E-Bhoomi project in Karnataka: The E-Bhoomi project was started by the

Government of Karnataka in the early 2000s. The project aims to computerize existing land

records and create a transparent system for changing land records and dividing or merging plots

of land. Under the system, farmers can collect land record information for their plot at the Tehsil

level, called Pahani. These records would contain information such as the survey number of the

land, land owner’s details, the classification of the soil, and details regarding irrigation and crops

grown, among others. The Pahani would enable the farmer to (i) know whether the plot he wants
 52

to purchase is genuine, (ii) raise farm credit from banks, (iii) use the land records for official or

legal purposes. EBhoomi also allows farmers to approach the government to address grievances.

Bargadar system in West Bengal: The West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 provides
certain rights to Bargadars or land tenants. Bargadars are persons lawfully cultivating any land

belonging to another person (who is not a family member). Under the Act, produce from the

farm is divided between the tenant and owner in a 50:50 proportion if the cattle, manure and

seeds are provided by the landowner, and 75:25 in all other cases. Illegal eviction of tenants is a

cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment or fine, under the Act. However, it does not

provide any ownership rights to the tenant.

Short term and long term credit: Short term credit is generally taken for pre-harvest
and post-harvest activities such as weeding, harvesting, sorting and transporting. Long term

credit is generally taken in order to invest in agricultural machinery and equipment, irrigation

and other developmental activities, etc. Over the past few decades, the trend of short term and

long term agricultural credit in the country has reversed. In 1990-91, a majority of crop loans

taken was long term credit, whereas short term credit accounted for only about a quarter of all

agricultural loans.26 As of 2011-12, 61% of crop credit was short term, whereas long term credit

had a share of 39%.

Inadequate access to crop insurance: As of 2011, about 10% of Indian farmers were
covered under a crop insurance scheme.28 Some persistent issues with the crop insurance system

include

(i) unawareness about insurance schemes,

(ii) inadequate coverage of insurance schemes,

 53

(iii) assessment of the extent of damages in case of crop losses, and

(iv) timely settlement of claims. Standing Committee on Finance has recommended

that assessment of crop damage should be completed and compensation should be

deposited directly into farmers’ accounts in a timely manner.In addition, to reduce the

seeking of unproductive credit, the government should create awareness about what

crops should be grown based on the quality of soil and incidence of rainfall, etc. in

different regions.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojan: The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima

Yojana was launched by the central government in January 2016. The scheme aims to

provide insurance coverage to farmers for crop failure, stabilize farmers’ income, and

encourage farmers to adopt modern agricultural practices, among others. The scheme

has been allocated Rs 9,000 crore in the Union Budget 2017-18, compared to Rs

5,501 crore in 2016- 17.The scheme covers all farmers, including tenant farmers and

sharecroppers, who are growing notified crops in notified areas. It covers crops such

as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, and spices.

Availability of water: Currently, about 51% of the agricultural area cultivating

food grains is covered by irrigation.36 The rest of the area is dependent on rainfall

(rain-fed agriculture). Sources of irrigation include ground water (wells, tube-wells)

and surface water (canals, tanks). The various sources of irrigation used in

agriculture.

 There is a need to improve the efficiency ofwater use, especially in agriculture. Irrigation

currently consumes about 84% of the total available water in the country.
 54

 Nearly 65% of the irrigated land holdings use ground water sources such as tube wells and

wells for irrigation. The past few decades has led to an overuse of ground water sources in states,

especially those growing water intensive crops such as rice. For instance, in Haryana and

Rajasthan, 40%-75% of the ground water units are over-exploited, and the situation is worse in

Punjab, where 75%-90% of ground water units have been overexploited. The Commission for

Agricultural Costs and Prices has recommended that quantitative ceilings should be fixed on the

per hectare use of water. In addition, farmers using lesser water than the ceiling fixed should

receive money equivalent to remaining units of water at the current domestic costs. This would

incentivize them to ration their use of water. Micro-irrigation techniques: The Economic Survey

2015-16 observed that India largely uses the technique of flood irrigation, where water is

allowed flow in the field and seep into the soil. This results in the wastage of water since excess

water seeps into the soil or flows off the surface without being utilized. It has been recommended

that farmers should move from flood irrigation to the drip or sprinkler irrigation systems (micro

irrigation). This would help in conserving water as well as save on the cost of irrigation. Using

micro-irrigation systems (such as drip or sprinkler irrigation) has also been linked to an increase

in the yield of crops.

V.SOIL AND FERTILIZERS

Quality of soil: Soil is one of the most important factors in the productivity of agriculture.

Indian soil consists of primary nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, secondary

nutrients such as sulphur, calcium and magnesium, and micro-nutrients such as zinc, iron, and

manganese. While the levels of food production have increased over the past few decades, it has

also led to issues such as an imbalance of nutrients in the soil, decline in the water table as well

as the quality of water, and overall depletion of soil health. The Ministry of Agriculture has
 55

noted that the quality of Indian soil is deteriorating. About 5.3 billion tonnes of soil gets eroded

annually, at a rate of about 16.4 tone hectare.

Imbalance in use of fertilizers: The manufacture, sale, and distribution of fertilizers in the

country is regulated by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, under the Essential

Commodities Act, 1955. There are three major types of nutrients used as fertilizers: Nitrogen

(N), Phosphate (P), and Potash (K). Of these, the pricing of urea (containing N fertilizer) is

controlled by the government, while P and K fertilizers were decontrolled in 1992, on the

recommendation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee. It has been observed that urea is used more

than other fertilizers. While the recommended ratio of use of the NPK fertilizers is 4:2:1, this

ratio in India is currently at 6.7:2.4:1.6 Overuse of urea is especially observed in the states of

Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.6 Figure 7 shows the trend in the consumption of fertilizers

over the past decade.

Fertilizer subsidy: To promote the use of fertilizers by farmers, the central government provides

a fertilizer subsidy to the producers of fertilizers. In 2017-18, Rs 70,000 crore has been allocated

for fertilizer subsidy, which is the second biggest expenditure on subsidy after food

subsidy.32Allocations for fertilizer subsidy have been increasing at an annual rate of 11.4%

between 2000 and 2016. Of the subsidy allocated for 2017-18, Rs 49,768 crore has been

allocated for subsidy on urea. The trend in the fertilizer subsidy 2000-01onwards. Currently the

amount of subsidy to be given is determined based on the cost of production of the fertilizer

company.49 Companies with a higher cost of production receive greater subsidies. This reduces

the companies’ incentive to reduce their cost of production. Although the consumption of urea

has been increasing over the past decade, no new domestic production capacity has been added

in the past 15 years. Use of pesticides: The consumption of chemical pesticides in the country
 56

has increased over the past few years, from 55,540 tonne in 2010-11 to 57,353 tonne in 2014-

15.54 Over this time period, the imports of pesticides also increased from 53,996 tonne to 77,376

tonne. Issues with regard to the use of pesticides include use of lowquality pesticides, and a lack

of awareness about pesticide use. The Economic Survey 2015-16 noted that the use of pesticides

without proper guidelines has led to an increase in pesticide residue being found in food products

in India. Nutrient based subsidy policy: The central government launched the nutrient based

subsidy policy (NBS) in 2010 for P and K fertilizers. The policy was formulated with the

objective of promoting a balanced use of N, P and K fertilizers. The policy allowed the

manufacturers of P and K fertilizers to fix their maximum retail prices (MRPs) at reasonable

levels. The subsidy provided would be based on per kilogram of the nutrient. The policy also

provided for an additional subsidy to be paid to indigenous manufacturers of fertilizers. The

Comptroller and Auditor General of India, in its report on the performance of the NBS policy

stated that in the five years since its implementation, the policy had not succeeded in bringing

about a balanced use of fertilizers. The fertilizer usage ratio of urea increased from 4.3 in 2009-

10 to 8.2 in 2012-13. . Agricultural machinery: Mechanization is another aspect with a

significant impact on agricultural productivity. The use of agricultural machinery in agriculture

enables agricultural labour to be used in other activities. It makes activities such as tilling,

spreading of seeds and fertilizers and harvesting more efficient, so that the cost of inputs is

offset. It can also make the use of labour in agriculture more cost-effective. The status of

mechanization in agriculture varies for different activities, although the overall level of

mechanization is still less than 50%, as compared to 90% in developed countries.62 The highest

level of mechanization (60%-70%) is observed in harvesting and threshing activities and

irrigation (37%). The lowest level of mechanization is found in seeding and planting.
 57

Genetically modified seed varieties: Genetically modified (GM) seeds are those where certain

genes are modified to develop traits such as a resistance to pests and herbicide, and increased

productivity. Bt cotton is currently the only approved GM technology seed in India. It was

adopted in India in 2002 and as of 2014, 92% of the area covered by cotton uses Bt cotton.57

After releasing Bt cotton in the country, the crop’s yield increased from 190 kg/ha in 2000-01 to

461 kg/ha in 2014-15.58 Over the years, various GM crops such as Bt brinjal have been

developed, but they have not received the regulatory approval to be released in Indian markets.

Under the existing regulatory process, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, approves proposals for the

commercial use of GM seeds.59 In September 2016, the GEAC invited public comments on a

report authorising the environmental release of GE mustard.60,61 The Ministry of Environment

is yet to provide the final approval for GE mustard to be released commercially. Post-harvest

activities Storage facilities: After agricultural produce is harvested, it requires a robust storage

infrastructure in order to minimize any losses due to adverse weather conditions or in the process

of transportation. The quantity of food which is wasted during the harvest and post-harvest

processes in the country has increased over the past five years.18 The highest losses are observed

in the case of fruits and vegetables (4.6%-15.9% of production in 2015), pulses (6.4%-8.4%) and

oilseeds (5.3%-9.9%). Food wastage occurs at all levels of farming- the farmer, transporter,

wholesaler and retailer. Some of the reasons for this wastage are crop damage, improper

harvesting techniques, poor packaging and transportation, and poor storage. Some of the issues

with the state of storage facilities in the country are inadequate capacity and poor conditions of

storage.64 In cases where the storage capacity is found to be sufficient, the conditions of the

godown are unfit, either because of the damp condition of the storage or because of its remote
 58

location. Agricultural Pricing: Procurement of agricultural commodities is the purchase of food

grains by the central or state governments. The Food Corporation of India is responsible for the

purchase, storage, movement, distribution and sale of agricultural produce. Minimum Support

Prices are the prices at which the government purchases food grains from farmers. The largest

procurement at MSPs is for rice and wheat. About a third of the wheat and rice produced in the

country is procured by the central government. In 2015-16, 33% of the wheat and 30% of the

rice produced in the country was procured by the central government. Note that India is a big

exporter of wheat; in 2014-15, of the 90.8 million tonnes of wheat produced in the country, 28

million tonnes was procured for the central pool, and 29 million tonnes was exported. Minimum

Support Prices (MSPs): MSPs are the prices at which the central government purchases food

grains from farmers. MSPs are fixed by the central government in order to ensure remunerative

prices to farmers. Factors taken into consideration in determining MSPs include costs of

cultivation and production, productivity

of crops, and market prices.73 High MSPs of crops provide incentives to farmers to adopt

modern technologies and farming practices, to increase the overall productivity of their crops.

The government announces MSPs for 22 crops (and a fair and remunerative price for sugarcane),

but the Public Distribution System, for which grains are procured, primarily distributes wheat

and rice to its beneficiaries. Since procurement is mainly carried out for wheat and rice, farmers

have focused on the cultivation of these crops over other crops such as pulses and oilseeds.37

Table 17 in the Annexure shows the MSPs for crops from 2005-06 to 2015-16. Agricultural

markets: The production, supply and distribution of certain commodities comes under the

purview of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. These commodities include food grains,

oilseeds, cotton and woollen textiles, jute, and coal, among others. Under the Act, the central
 59

government may control the price at which any essential commodity is traded. It may also

regulate licenses for its storage, transport, distribution, disposal or consumption. Agricultural

markets in the country are regulated by state Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee

(APMC) laws. Under these state Acts, farmers are required to sell their produce at state-owned

mandis. Over the years, several issues have been highlighted in this system. For instance, APMC

mandis currently levy a market fee on farmers who wish to sell their produce in the mandis. This

makes it expensive for farmers to sell at APMC mandis. In addition, farmers have to arrange for

their produce to be transported from their farms to the nearest mandi, which brings in costs such

as transport and fuel. In transporting the produce from the farm to the store, several

intermediaries are involved. These intermediaries are all paid a certain proportion of the price, as

commissions. Thus the market price which the farmer receives for his produce is significantly

lower than the price at which his produce is sold to the retailer.

Conclusion
 60

India’s agricultural sector is still very important to the Indian economy, although its share

of the economy has decreased over the past 50 years. India has made significant advances

in agricultural production in recent decades, including the introduction of high-yield seed

varieties, increased use of fertilisers and improved water management systems. Reforms

to land distribution, water management and food distribution systems will further

enhance productivity and help India meet its growing demand for food. In India farmers

are facing lots of problems weather it would be created by nature or by man made. It will

take much time to solve their problems. Every year in budget, government sanctions huge

funds and formulates various policies and programs for the purpose of developing

agriculture sector in India. In the recent year, Government has established a Price

Stabilisation Fundfor Cereals and Vegetables of Rs.500 crore in order to reduce price

volatility in perishable agricultural commodities (onions, potatoes & tomatoes etc.). With

the setting up of this Price Stabilisation Fund, farmers will be able to get fair price for

their produce while consumer would be able to purchase the same at affordable prices.

Along with this, an agri-tech infrastructure fund has been proposed to create a common

emarketing platform for agri-commodities in the Agriculture Produce Marketing

Committees (APMCs) in the State, as a first step towards creation of a national market.

On the other hand, Government is in the process of developing an Insurance product

which could ensure farmers against both yield loss and price fluctuations.

REFERENCES
 61

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