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AGRICULTURE SECTOR IN INDIA

AGRICULTURE SECTOR IN INDIA

Agriculture is an important sector of Indian economy as it contributes about 17% to the total GDP and provides employment to over 60% of the population. Indian agriculture has registered impressive growth over last few decades. The foodgrain production has increased from 51 million tonnes (MT) in 1950-51 to 250 MT during 2011-12 highest ever since independence. The production of oilseeds (nine-major oilseed) has also increased from 5 MT to 28 MT during the same period. The rapid growth has helped Indian agriculture mark its presence at global level. India stands among top three in terms of production of various agricultural commodities like paddy, wheat, pulses, groundnut, rapeseeds, fruits, vegetables, sugarcane, tea, jute, cotton, tobacco leaves, etc (GOI, 2008-09). However, on marketing front, Indian agriculture is still facing the problems such as low degree of market integration and connectivity, accessibility of reliable and timely information required by farmers on various issues in agriculture. Also, the agricultural marketing sector is characterized by fragmented supply chain. Huge postharvest losses, multiple market intermediaries; higher transaction cost, lack of awareness and several other socio-economic factors are some of the acute problems being faced by the Indian agriculture. Agricultural commodities produced have to undergo a series of operations such as harvesting, threshing, winnowing, bagging, transportation, storage, processing and exchange before they reach the market, and as evident from several studies across the country, there are considerable losses in crop output at all these stages. A recent estimate by the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies, Government of India, puts the total preventable post-harvest losses of food grains at 10 per cent of the total production or about 20 million Mt, which is equivalent to the total food grains produced in Australia annually. In a country where 20 per cent of the population is undernourished, post-harvest losses of 20 million Mt annually is a substantial avoidable waste. According to a World Bank study (1999), post-harvest losses of food grains in India are 7-10 per cent of the total production from farm to market level and 4-5 per cent at market and distribution levels. For the system as a whole, such losses have been worked out to be 11-15 million Mt of food grains annually, which included 3-4 million Mt of wheat and 5-7 million MT of rice.

The Advantages of Technology in Agriculture:

• Modern machines can control the efforts of farmers.
• They reduce the time.
• Used supply water to the crops.
• While Machines are useful in sowing the seeds.
• they are used in the transportation.
• Irrigational technology.
• Application of synthetic fertilizers.
• Chemical pest control.
• They increase the price and demand of the products.
• Better marketing and exposure to the price.
• Facilities in online trading and E-Commerce.
• Further, Improve the fertility of the soil.
• Decrease the use of water, Fertilizers which keeps the prices down.
• Low run of chemicals and also waste materials into seas and water.
• Reduce impact on the ecosystem.
• Suitable for the campus environment.

The Disadvantages of Technology in Agriculture:

• The excessive use of chemicals by the help of machines reduces the fertility of the land.
• Lack of practical knowledge the farmers cant handle the machines properly.
• While the cost of maintenance is very high.
• Overuse of machines may lead to environmental damage.
• It is efficient but has many side effects and drawbacks.
• Furthermore, Driverless agriculture machine is a liability to access the technology.
• Improve the scouting programmes.
• The robotic machine could not change their culture, we have to set their programme manually.
• Most of the farmers are illiterates so they are unable to use the modern machines.

Impacts of agriculture on environment

Degradation of Land: The degradation of land in one form or the other is matter of serious concern endangering sustainability of agriculture. Landslides caused by rains and flowing water in hilly areas and deforestation, overgrazing and faulty cultural practices in the forest and other plain areas expose the soil to water and wind erosions.

Deforestation: Increase in population resulting in more demand for fuel wood and timber. Indiscriminate siting of development projects. Forest fires. The forest area in the recent past has not changed much because its diversion for non-forestry purposes has been more or less compensated by afforestation.

Biodiversity: India is a country with wide variety of agro-climatic conditions which harbour a wide variety of animals and plants. According to an estimate, India ranks 10th in the World and 4th in Asia in terms of plant diversity. As agriculture is becoming more and more commercialized, a number of plant and animal species are becoming extinct.

Pest Problem: With the shift in crop pattern, increase in area under irrigation and higher cropping intensity, the pest problem has become very severe. The seriousness of pests has further increased by way of indiscriminate and increased use of pesticides. The predatory birds and insect population has dwindled at a sharp rate causing lack of natural control of pests.

Disposal of Industrial & Agricultural Wastes: The use of by-products such as paddy straw and rice husk has not been made properly. The burning of such by-products creates increase in carbon dioxide and carbon-monoxide in the atmosphere resulting in respiratory problems for animals and human beings. There is need for recycling the agricultural wastes by having enterprises like dairy, poultry, fishery etc., processing of by-products and ploughing in the field as organic matter.

The agricultural sector is of vital importance for the region. It is undergoing a process of transition to a market economy, with substantial changes in the social, legal, structural, productive and supply set-ups, as is the case with all other sectors of the economy.