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Rejuvenating Indian Agriculture: Lessons from Around the

World

Kiran Kumari (PGPABM-2008-10)Email Id:[email protected]

National Institute of Agricultural Extension and Management(MANAGE), Hyderabad


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ABSTRACT

India is a country of abundant resources as fertile land, favorable agro-ecological zones for the

cultivation of variety of crops and huge educated and enthusiastic human wealth along with

emerging technologies. It has set examples across the world for its various initiatives across the

world and is also learning from the outside world for the optimum utilization of all the resources

available. Be it the vast success of Bt cotton in India or emergence of micro-irrigation system in

states like Gujarat, India has never remained behind in adaptation of new technologies for

benefitting its farming sector. Tough some of the developments in other countries as China can

be replicated back in our condition, but some need to be analyzed further for their feasibility and

adaptation in the country. Required amount of development in R&D is another major requisite

for adoption of these modifications. If all these are implemented with due concern and insight,

time is not very far, when the backbone of Indian economy, that is, the Indian agriculture will

take the economy to new heights of growth and development.


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With about 70 percent of rural household and 8 percent of urban household depending on

agriculture for employment and livelihood, agriculture remains a prominent sector of the

Indian economy. Over a period of time Indian agriculture has seen a continuous upward

developments in the form of many revolutions as Green revolution in 1960s and 1970s, the

white revolution in milk and the yellow revolution in oilseeds in 1980s.As a result, the

country has not only reached a stage of self-sufficiency but has also become the largest

producers(as in milk,100mt) and exporter of some of the commodities(as basmati

rice(PUSA1121),Sugar,tea,spices, oilcakes(meals),coffee,marine products, etc.)

But, then, as all of us are aware that though these revolutions resulted in unprecedentedgrowth, these also left us to ponder upon some new unanswered questions. Take the case of

Green revolution, though no doubt it culminated into increase in the production of wheat and

rice manifold, but simultaneously it also posed the problems as long-term soil degradation.

Years of using high-yield seeds that require heavy irrigation and chemical fertilizers have

taken their toll on much of India's farmland and so far, 6 percent of agricultural land has been

rendered useless.

In fact, though yields increased steadily for 15 years after the Green Revolution, but have

now slowed or reversed which means food security could again become a problem as the

population continues to grow rapidly. White revolution has resulted in India being the largest

producer of milk, but still the per capita availability (252 g/day) is much below the world

average. Similarly, oilseed production has become stagnant over the years (233 lakh tones in

2003-04 to 246.5 lakh tones in 2008-09.

As a result, Indian agriculture today faces challenges on many fronts and inspite of last 15

year of reform period, agricultural sector has remain one of the excluded sectors which has

shown low growth (Growth rate decreased from average growth rate of 4.9% during 2005-06to 2007-08 to 1.6% in 2008-09) and development. Looking at the growth rate of yields for

total food grains, it has decreased from 0.95% during 1995-96 to 2000-01 to 0.52% during

2001-02 to 2005-06.

(Source: Economic outlook for 2006-07, A report prepared by the Economic Advisory

Council to the Prime Minister).

Regional disparity in output is the other major issue to brood over. Certain regions as Punjab,

Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu have benefitted more due

to green revolution and other technological development than States like Bihar, Orissa,


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Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Though with due course of time some of the states as

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have gained prominence in

production of major crops as oilseeds. On the supply side, the yield of most crops has not

improved significantly and in some cases fluctuated downwards. The scope for increase in

the net sown area is limited and farm size has been shrinking. In the case of certain crops like

sugarcane, extreme variability in the acreage and production over the years has been a matter

of concern. On the other hand, in the case of pulses, production has just not kept pace with

the requirement leading to a rise in prices.

In case of input utilization, at the national level the consumption of fertilizers in terms of

nutrients increased by more than 330 times from 65,600 tonnes in 1951-52 to 2, 15, 61,000

tonnes in 2006-07. Although food grain production is a function of fertilizer consumption, inthe recent years most states are experiencing rise in fertilizer consumption with slower pace

of crop productivity.Multi-nutrient deficiency has been found in case of boron, zinc, sulphur

etc. besides nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK). The Steering Committee of the Planning

Commission has observed that because nitrogenous fertilizers are subsidised more than

potassic and phosphatic fertilizers, the subsidy tends to benefit the crops and regions which

require higher use of nitrogenous fertilizers as compared to crops and regions which require

higher application of P and K. There is also an adverse effect of excessive use of urea on

soil fertility. Although consumption of fertilizers per hectare was higher in India compared to

the US and China, the yields in rice and wheat production were higher in the case of the

latter.

The most important of all is the issue of sustainability of agriculture with due emphasis on

environmental concerns. Soil erosion, water logging, reduction in groundwater table and the

decline in the surface irrigation are the problems faced by agriculture. The consequences of

climate change on Indian agriculture also need to be factored in the strategy for thedevelopment of this sector.

India has been endowed with continuous economic as well technological reforms since

independence and this process of positive development still continues. Cost-effective new

technologies and machinery have resulted in increased productivity of many crops. With the

coming up of GM crops mainly Bt cotton, the production of cotton has increased from 88

lakh bale to 569.11 lakh bales in 2008-09(Source:www.indiastat.com) an increase of around

500%.Now,this technology is being extended to vegetable crop as brinjal. Similarly hybrid

rice production has become the new buzzword with agro-industries. Economic reforms and


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government policies have also supported the farmers of the country. Not only this, more

emphasis on future trading in commodities and improvement in climate forecasting methods

show the signs of the bright future for agriculture.

There is also the emergence of production of more commercial diversified products as

ethanol from sugarcane and biodiesel from jatropa cultivation. Many new production

practices as SRI cultivation in rice which can increase production and decrease cost (as in

this seed requirement is only 2 kg/acre compared to 20 kg/acre in the convention method of

production and the yield is 7.3 t/ha compared to 2 t/ha by the conventional methods) has been

started to be used in India. Not only this, new initiatives like corporate farming, contract

farming and high value commodities production by organic farming have also given a boost

to agriculture sector in India.

Another major development is the emergence of Food parks. The ministry of food processing

industries has come out with the ambitious programme called Vision Document 2015 that

seeks to raise Indias food processing of perishable items from 6% at present to 20% in the

next eight years Each food park will have a cold storage facility, apart from facilities for

sorting, grading, food processing, packaging and quality control, and research and

development laboratories, among other things.

To promote agricultural export from the country the government has also come out with theconcept of Agricultural Economic Zone (AEZ) in 2001 starting with 20 AEZ in the starting

year itself. But, yet, there is various policy issues related with it which need to be considered.

In addition to all these initiatives, there are also many government policy measures in various

forms as agricultural credit, development projects and projects under food security mission

which is helping the sector to grow.

There are certain measures taken by government in the 2008-09 Budget which aim to boost

the agriculture sector as the target flow for agriculture credit for the year 2009-10 is set at

Rs. 3,25,000 crore. This was Rs. 2,87,000 crore in 2008-09. Under interest subvention

scheme for short-term crop loans to farmers for loans upto Rs.3 lakh per farmer, the interest

rate has been fixed at 7 per cent per annum. However, additional subvention of 1 per cent on

the part of the Government would bring down the net interest rate for these farmers to 6 per

cent per annum. Under the Agricultural Debt Waiver and the Debt Relief Scheme, the last

date to repay back 75% of the outstanding loans by farmers owning more than two hectares

of land has been extended from 30 June to 31 December, 2009 due to late arrival of the

monsoon. For checking the debt crisis in Maharashtra, there are plans to prepare a special

task force, where farmers have borrowed from private moneylenders. The allocation for


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Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana has also been increased by 30% over Budget Estimates of

2008-09.

But several of these are failing due to problem of financial inclusion, that is, non-availability

of credit to the poor and marginal farmers. There is also lack of proper market accessibility

and thus even in case of bumper produce, the farmers are not able to get the proper price due

to absence of proper market.

Another major area of concern is the agricultural trade. To boost the agricultural trade,

government has come out with different trade policies as Exim policies to streamline trade

procedures, liberalise import regime and to put a thrust on export orientation. Then, there was

Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 which aimed to double Indias share in global merchandise

trade by 2009In Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09, there is special package for agriculture and duty free

imports of capital goods which will lower production cost and hence improve profitability.

Exports of medicinal plants & herbal products has also been facilitated .Removal of export

cess has been proposed to abolish cess to export of all agriculture and plantation commodities

levied under various commodities. Export promotion capital good scheme (EPCG) has been

extended to agri-products to promote export. Export Promotion Schemes as Target Plus

scheme will further boost exports from the successful exporters. Vishesh Krishi Upaj

Yojana to boost horticulture exports. There is also increased emphasis on the use of high-

productivity seeds and thus the distribution of certified/ quality seeds for cereals, pulses and

oilseeds has increased by nearly three folds from 35.35 lakh quintals, 3.29 lakh quintals and

9.66 lakh quintals during 1991-92 to 109.87 lakh quintals, 9.63 lakh quintals and 27.00 lakh

quintals during 2006-07, respectively. Quality accounts for 25-30 per cent of yield increase.

MSP(Minimum Support Price) is another way by which the government is trying to safe the

interest of farmers to ultimately result in higher production of desired crops. In case of wheatand rice, more that 70 % increase in MSP of wheat and 64 % increase in case of common

grade paddy since 2003-04 till 2008-09 has resulted in steep increase in production of these

grains. A recent example of government price support is the new policy of Fair and

remunerative price (FRP) in sugarcane so that the farmers can get 50 % more over and

above the cost of cultivation.

Though, many of these government policies and reforms have resulted in unprecedented

growth for the agriculture sector, but still a vast area of development lies ahead. There are


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many economies in the world which by having optimum utilization of their resources and

with the help of adequate technological and and policy support are reaping the benefits of

agricultural development for the overall economic development of their country.

If we see landholding patterns of Indian farmers, about 80% are marginal and small with a

land holding size of less than 2 hectares. At present these farmers mainly grow food grain

which is not remunerative. They do not go to mandi for the selling of their produce. They

sell it to the middlemen and hence fetch lesser price. This again de-motivates them to go for

new ventures. Through a survey it was found that 40% of the farmers will leave their

occupation if they are provided with another opportunity. So it is quite evident that at present

these farmers are not happy with their occupation. If the same situation continues then furthermigration will take place which will increase the pressure on cities and towns and it would be

very difficult for the government to do justice to these people. Now a big question arises Is

this the future of 56 million farmers?

The contribution of agriculture in the total GDP has continuously declined from more than

55% in 1950 to just 17.5 in 2008. Off-course, it is not due to decline in agriculture but more

because of tremendous growth of industries.

During the regime of Ms. Indira Gandhi emphasis were given on industrialization.

Government was in a notion of trickle down approach. But major emphasis was on non

agriculture industries. At that time Tata, Birla and ITC had a good clout over government and

agriculture industries where restricted to cottage and village industries.

Now due to advancement in technology America, Brazil and many other countries are

diverting their agriculture produce in the making of ethanol thus causing an imbalance

between food availability and security. There is huge difference between these two terms-

food availability is calculated as below-

Food availability= Total food produce- Wastage -export +importBut food security takes into consideration of price, distribution system of the agriculture

produce so that food reaches to a poor person. As the competition is intensifying between

bio-diesel and hunger, price of the food products are dramatically increasing.

But the small farmers are moving into contract farming with corporate. This trend is

increasing in India and both farmers and corporate are benefited. PepsiCo India is in contract

farming with potato growers in Jharkhand, Bihar, west Bengal, and Punjab. PepsiCo has been

successfully emulating the model in food grains (Basmati rice), spices (chilies) and oilseeds

(groundnut) as well, apart from other vegetable crops like potato. Most of the contract


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farming is successful with small farmers. Both are benefiting from this. And now farmers are

going for experimentation on their fields. Many companies are now focusing on agri-sectors.

With the growth of modern retails the profit of farmers are increasing and this is going to

help in the long run for the betterment of these farmers and agriculture sector as a whole.

With an increase in the income the demand for basic amenities will increase, their demand

for MNC products are already increasing. So companies will find new market for the selling

their products. Also farmers would be able to educate their children. The decrease in income

gap will lead to equitable distribution of resources. For example farmers in Gajapati districts

who are basically tribal but due to the cultivation of Cashew and market linkage they are able

to raise their economic standard as compared to farmers in Bolangir per say. But still there is

a scope of improvement by providing better price. But we can see a multiplier effect of everyone rupee increase in income. This multiplier effect on a theoretical basis can be 10 times i.e.

if a farmer has earned Rs1, then that money will get recycled 10 time so total amount of that

one rupee extra earned would be Rs 10. Just imagine what changes can be brought through

that one rupee. (Source: A Report on WTO Agreement, Uruguay round, 1986)

In India also, there are various other fronts on which not only development but also new

ways innovative thinking is required. One such factor is the biotechnological development

regarding crop production as use of GM (Genetically modified) crops and vegetables. In this

area which are lagging much behind with the production of only one Bt cotton and still

arguing the production of GM food as Brinjal than other countries as China, where the

government is in the process of developing the largest plant biotechnology capacity outside

of North America. The level of growth in China in this field is so high that in 1997, with the

establishment of National Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) Biosafety Committee,

immediately the committee approved 46 cases for field trials, environmental release, and

even commercialization, which covered 12 GM crops. Among them three cases of cotton,

tomato, and petunia were approved for commercialisation in certain locations. In China, now,

more than 2,100 researchers are now working on plant biotechnology alone. If biotechnology

from the animal sector is included, the number of agricultural biotechnology researchers may

reach 3,000, and may be one of the largest biotechnology research efforts in the world. As

per economic point of view, it should be notes that, along with such great emphasis on

research, the government is also forcing on the commercialisation of these genetically

improved crops. By 2002, 18 transgenic cotton varieties generated by Chinese institutions

and five varieties from Monsanto with resistance to bollworm have been approved for


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commercialisation in China. Several GM varieties of tomato, sweet pepper, chilli pepper, and

petunia have also been approved for commercialisation since 1997.

(References-Biotechnology Research Institute. (2000). Research achievements of

biotechnology (working paper). Beijing: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences)

The advancement of China's agriculture sector is also based on good agricultural policy after

a proven process of formulation and implementation steering. It is a specific model that

combines small farms with rapidly increasing productivity and production for commercial

and especially exports. On the other hand, the implementation of a subsidy for agricultural

inputs and equipments obtained significant success in terms of increased production. The

reinforcement of security of land tenure has motivated the producers to adhere to and

ownership of agricultural development policy in the perspective offered by access to land for

long-term (30 years).

One key facilitator of greater specialization has been market liberalization, a process which

began in earnest after 1985. Today Chinas agricultural market is dominated by private

traders who operate without any government interference.

Besides the dire need to develop in the production of crops using improved biotechnological

methods, another area of exploration is the Organic Food. Looking at the world scenario, we

see that the countries like United States of America, Canada, are having rapidly growingOrganic Food markets reporting around 20% annual growth. In addition to that, European

Union rate of growth on Organic Food market is averaging 7.8% per year. Other than that

Japan, New Zealand, Australia are having relatively small markets for organic Foods but still

blooming. Despite the fact that India has the largest area which has not been exposed to

chemical pesticide any time in the history and is one of the most suitable country for organic

farming, the area under organic farming is only around 3 million hectare (according to

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)) compared to total area of around

28 million hectare in the world. But, unlike US, switching the farmers from the conventional

mode of cultivation to organic farming is an arduous task. This is because of many socio-

economic factors as the lack of awareness of the farmers about the technical and economic

benefits of organic farming, the inability of the farmers to pay high fee required to gain

official certificate and lack of market access for organic produce.

Now talking about other major issues in which India needs to ponder upon is the export

promotion. Presently, export credit insurance forms just 2% of the total agri-export from the

country, in China, the central government support for export credit insurance is 20% and in

US it varies from 50% to 80%.


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Removing the roadblocks in technology transfer in agriculture is the other major issue for

Indian agriculture. Advanced science and technology in China has enhanced agricultural

production in such areas as cultivation of plant cells and tissues, anther culture, haploid

breeding and the research on its application, bilinear hybrid rice, hybrid beans and corn, and

multi-crop planting. Agricultural scientific research has been encouraged by state programs

geared to rural economic development, such as the Spark Program, the Promotion Plan of

Important Achievements, the Bumper Harvest Plan, and the Prairie Fire Program.

Technological improvement also entails initiatives like Micro Irrigation system (MIS) which

can increase the productivity manifold. Use of MIS in Israel, US and Australia has increased

the production of crops from 30% to 200%. Application of this system in India in sugarcane

can result in water utilization efficiency to 90-95% as compared to 50-60% in flooding

method. The case drip irrigation system in Israel is a paradigm example of optimum

utilization of technology. In Israel, drip irrigation can supply from one litre to 20 litres per

hour with a peak water utilization rate of 95%, which is suitable for intensive cultivation.

To meet the high water consumption in green houses, the systems designed for use in

greenhouses use low-flow emitters that deliver 200cc per hour. The unique feature of this is

the uniform spread of moisture throughout the media, which also reduces the amount of

drain-off water. Irrigation drippers have been developed for use with effluents. Thesedrippers allow controlled water distribution and are clog-resistant. Filter traps installed inside

the irrigation lines consist of a serrated plastic unit that sets up a whirling flow in the water

passing through it, sweeping away any dirt and particles. This prevents blockages in the

narrow water outlets of the drippers. Not only this,all the methods of irrigation are computer

operated which allows real-time operation, the performance of a series of operations,

monitoring continued operation for many hours a day, precision, reliability and savings in

manpower. When the system registers a deviation in the regular quantities of water or

fertilizer, it shuts down automatically. Computerization also allows the operator to pre-

program irrigation intervals. Systems including sensors also help to determine desired

irrigation intervals.

In India, with around 60% of rainfed agriculture, water conservation is a major area of

concern. As according to various research studies, it has been found that by using micro-

irrigation, water can be saved up to about 4080% and the yield increase can be up to 100%

for different crops. The incremental benefit-drip cost ratio (BI/CD) worked out for various

crops ranges from 1.35 to 13.35 excluding water saving and 2.78 to 32.32 including water


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saving. MIS (Micro-irrigation system has been adopted in 40,000 ha of land in India. In fact,

micro-irrigation is being used mainly in Gujarat and Maharashtra now and there is urgent

need to educate the farmers about the technical and economic benefits of this system.

Food processing is another area of improvement where the technical improvement is needed

as it forms only 9% of the total manufacturing sector and this also only 25% is organised.

(Source: FAIDA, Ministry of Food Processing Industries)

Similarly, emphasis needs to be put on post harvest management of food grains as well as

fruits and vegetables. India can learn from the many projects being operated by FAO in

different countries like Prevention of Food Losses Programme (PFL) in Africa which

includes nearly one hundred projects towards testing improved technologies in various post-

harvest operations and introducing these improved technologies at farm and community

levels were developed in Africa and the PFL Programme in Latin-American countries in

order to improve post-harvest systems, particularly in rural areas.

Conclusion:

Thus, a right amount of conglomeration of all these factors is required to make India shine on

the horizon of agricultural development. All these can lead the country to reap the benefits of

vast amount of resources available to make unprecedented profits and will also help in

increasing the purchasing power as well living standard of all the people of the country

especially the Indian farmers by converting the nature of farming from subsistence to

commercial. The foreign exchange earned by the export of many of the raw commodities as

well processed foods will help in boosting the overall economic growth of the country

making India a country of enriched and flourishing farmers.


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References:

Biotechnology Research Institute. (2000).Research achievements of biotechnology

(working paper). Beijing: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Union Budget, 2009-10

Economic outlook for 2006-07, A report prepared by the Economic Advisory Council

to the Prime Minister

A Report on WTO Agreement, Uruguay round,1986

FAIDA, Ministry of Food Processing Industries Food and Agriculture Organization

Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India

Publication on www.iwmi.cgiar.org

http://www.apeda.com/aezcdrom/about-evolution.html

http://www.foodindia.org/agri.asp

www.indiastat.com for all crop production related data
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/http://www.apeda.com/aezcdrom/about-evolution.htmlhttp://www.indiastat.com/http://www.apeda.com/aezcdrom/about-evolution.htmlhttp://www.indiastat.com/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/

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