Problems of agriculture in India

Agriculture, with its allied sectors-

the largest and Primary source of livelihood provider basically in rural areas about 58 per cent of
India’s population
It contributes to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross Value Added (GVA) by agriculture,
forestry and fishing was estimated at Rs.19.48 lakh crore (US$ 276.37 billion) in FY20(PE)
Growth in GVA in agriculture and allied sectors stood at 4 per cent in FY20
Sustainable agriculture and holistic rural development can be achieved through-
food security
rural employment
environmentally sustainable technologies such as soil conservation
sustainable natural resource management
biodiversity protection
Improvement in agriculture can be devoted to-
reforms, green revolution, white revolution, yellow revolution and blue revolution
Government Initiatives
Some of the recent major Government initiatives in the sector are as follows:
In May 2020, Government announced the launch of animal husbandry infrastructure
development fund of Rs 15,000 crore (US$ 2.13 billion)
In September 2019, launched National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP),
expected to eradicate foot and mouth disease (FMD) and brucellosis in livestock. In May
2020, Rs 13,343 crore (US$ 1.89 billion) was allocated to the scheme
In May 2019, NABARD announced an investment of Rs 700 crore (US$ 100 million)
venture capital fund for equity investment in agriculture and rural-focused start-ups
Under Union Budget 2019-20, Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi Yojana was introduced
where a minimum fixed pension of Rs 3000 (US$ 42.92) was to be provided to the eligible
small and marginal farmers, subject to certain exclusion clauses, on attaining the age of
60 years
The GoI came out with Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme to provide
financial assistance for transport and marketing of agriculture products in order to boost
agriculture exports
 Contd…
The Agriculture Export Policy, 2018 was approved by the GoI in December 2018. The
new policy aimed to increase India’s agricultural export to US$ 60 billion by 2022 and
US$ 100 billion in the next few years with a stable trade policy regime.
The GoI is going to provide Rs 2,000 crore (US$ 306.29 million) for computerization of
Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) to ensure cooperatives are benefitted
through digital technology
The GoI launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) with an
investment of Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.7 billion) aimed at development of irrigation
sources for providing a permanent solution from drought.
Government plans to triple the capacity of food processing sector in India from the
current 10 per cent of agriculture produce and has also committed Rs 6,000 crore (US$
936.38 billion) as investments for mega food parks in the country, as a part of the
Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters
(SAMPADA).
The GoI has allowed 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products and in food
product E-commerce under the automatic route
 Problems of agriculture in India
1. Ownership and tenancy 11. Agricultural labour- due to
MGNREGA
2. Small and fragmented land-holdings
12. Climate change
3. Conversion of land use
13. Agricultural Marketing
4. Land productivity
14. Inadequate storage facilities
5. Land degradation
15. Inadequate transport
6. Soil erosion
16. Farmers Suicide
7. Seeds, Manures, Fertilizers and
Biocides 17. Infrastructure
8. Irrigation 18. Pricing of agricultural produce
9. Lack of mechanization 19. Energy
10. Scarcity of capital/rural credit 20. Transportation
 Problems related to agricultural land

1. Ownership and tenancy

2. Small and fragmented land-holdings
3. Conversion of land use
4. Land productivity
5. Land degradation
6. Soil erosion
The land reform legislation was passed by all the State Governments
during the Fifties touching upon these measures
1.) Abolition of intermediaries
2.) Tenancy reforms to regulate fair rent and
provide security 
to tenure
3.) Ceilings on holdings and distribution of surplus land 
among the landlords
4.) Consolidation of holdings and prevention
of their further 
fragmentation
  Government has taken three measure
s:
1) declaring tenants as owners and requiring them to  pay
compensation  to owners  in suitable instalments

2) acquisition of the right of ownership by the State

on payment of compensation and Transfer of ownership to

tenants

3) the states‘ acquisition of the landlords' rights bring the

tenants into direct relationship with the  States
The  tenancy  reforms  are  still  plagued  by deficiencies some of  which are:

1)The tenancy reforms have excluded the share croppers who form
 the bulk of the tenant cultivators
2)Ejection of tenants still takes place on several ground 
3) the right or resumption given in the legislation has led to land
grabbing by the unscrupulous
4)Fair rents are not uniform and not implemented
in various States 
because of the acute land hunger existing in the country to
be paid
by the tenants
 According to FAO
The problem of land degradation
PRESSURES ON THE REGION'S AGRICULTURAL LAND ARE LEADING TO-
EXTENSIVE LAND DEGRADATION.
THE CAUSES ARE-
POVERTY,
LAND SHORTAGE AND
INCREASING POPULATIONS
In 1992 developing countries in Asia and the Pacific accounted for just less than 54 percent of the world
population - nearly 3000 million people. Yet these countries had only 17 percent of the world's land resources
profitable use of new agricultural technology,
such as fertilizers, high-yielding crop varieties, mechanization and irrigation
During the period 1961-85, 93 percent of the region's increase in cereal production was due to increased
production inputs
As a result food production has more than kept pace with population increase
While agricultural productivity has risen dramatically, the cost in land degradation has been high
Large areas of the region's cropland, grassland, woodland and forest are now seriously degraded
Water and wind erosion are the major problems but salinity, sodicity and alkalinity are also widespread
water tables have been over-exploited
soil fertility has been reduced
where mangrove forest has been cleared for aquaculture or urban expansion
coastal erosion has been a common result
Finally, urban expansion has become a major form of land degradation, removing large areas of the best
agricultural land from production
The effect of these forms of land degradation on cereal production has so far been masked by the increasing levels of
agricultural inputs that are used

However, production of other crops, such as pulses, roots and tubers, has now begun to decline

It is no coincidence that these crops are grown on land with low production potential, where rates of land degradation are
highest

'... it is urgent to arrest land degradations and launch conservation and rehabilitation programmes in the most
critically affected and vulnerable areas.‘

Agenda 21
Chapter 14, paragraph 44
The Earth Summit
Rio de Janeiro, June 1992
The cost of land degradation
The most authoritative estimates of the extent of land degradation are contained in a report
on South Asia prepared by UNDP, UNEP and FAO (Land Degradation in South Asia: its
severity, causes and effects upon the people, Rome, FAO, 1994).
Water erosion is the most common form of degradation in the area, affecting 25 percent of
agricultural land
Wind erosion affects 40 percent of the agricultural land in the dry zone
There is also a widespread decline in soil fertility and extensive waterlogging and
salinization in irrigated areas.
This report analyses the effects of various forms of land degradation on the economies of
countries in South Asia
It concludes that land degradation is costing countries of the region at least US$10 billion a
year, simply in terms of lost agricultural production
This is equivalent to 7 percent of South Asia's agricultural gross domestic product