Agriculture to be passe here? Gone will be the days / era of usage of run-of-mill old agriculture practices of India that today have lost the so-called conventional utility in the real sense of the term due to arrival of new jet-setting, quick emancipating far more higher produce giving outcome… While Indian agriculture faces significant challenges and requires improvements, it's inaccurate to say it's "finished" as it continues to be a vital sector for India's economy and food security, and has shown resilience and growth in recent years.
Here's a breakdown of the challenges and why the claim of being "finished" is an oversimplification: Challenges Facing Indian Agriculture --Low Productivity: Despite being a major agricultural producer, Indian agriculture struggles with low productivity due to factors like outdated farming techniques, lack of proper irrigation, and inadequate use of fertilizers and pesticides. Small and Fragmented Land Holdings:A large percentage of farmers in India have small and fragmented landholdings, making it difficult to adopt modern technologies and practices. Dependence on Monsoons: A significant portion of India's cultivated land relies on monsoon rains, making agriculture vulnerable to unpredictable weather patterns and climate change. Lack of Infrastructure: Inadequate storage and transportation infrastructure lead to significant post-harvest losses, reducing farmers' incomes and increasing food prices. Access to Credit and Markets:Farmers often lack access to affordable credit and fair market prices for their produce, hindering their ability to invest in their farms and improve their livelihoods. Soil Degradation:Improper land use practices, excessive use of chemical fertilizers, and inadequate soil conservation measures contribute to soil degradation and reduced fertility. Water Scarcity:Water scarcity is a growing problem in many parts of India, putting further pressure on agricultural production. Climate Change:
Climate change is expected to exacerbate existing challenges, including water scarcity, extreme weather events, and changes in crop patterns. Why it's not "finished": India is a major agricultural producer: India ranks among the top producers of several key agricultural commodities, including rice, wheat, and milk. Agriculture is a vital sector: Agriculture employs a large portion of India's population and contributes significantly to the country's economy and food security. Government Initiatives: The Indian government has implemented various policies and programs to support the agricultural sector, including crop insurance schemes, infrastructure development, and technology transfer. Technological advancements: There are ongoing efforts to improve agricultural productivity through the adoption of new technologies, such as precision farming, genetically modified crops, and improved irrigation systems. Resilience and Growth: Despite the challenges, the Indian agriculture sector has shown resilience and has recorded growth in recent years.
In Conclusion: While Indian agriculture faces significant challenges, it is not "finished". It is a vital sector that requires continuous investment, policy reforms, and technological advancements to ensure its sustainability and contribute to India's food security and economic growth.
Also, Indian agriculture grapples with various issues, including poor conditions for agricultural laborers, inadequate access to essential inputs like manures and fertilizers, uneven irrigation facilities, lack of mechanization, yield instability due to climate change, imbalanced cropping patterns, unequal land distribution plus utmost challenges from different countries providing better produce of different categories.
The majority of people even today don’t think of agriculture as a business. The people engaged in agriculture do it with the sole purpose of meeting the needs of the family and nothing more.The people need to understand that farming can be easily done with whatever land you have profitably.The farmers should also maintain the Accounts regarding the transactions as at times people incur heavy losses in farming and they are not aware about it .
The farmers today are not aware about technological advances , government schemes , NABARD and other banks schemes that can help them in income Diversification. The farmers today are more into traditional farming and they don’t want to explore new things.
The farmers follow traditional ways and focus more on traditional crops.The use of Implements and other machinery should be done properly so that the losses can be minimised and thus increasing the profits.
There are various low cost methods available for farmers to add value to their Raw Material so that the price can increase.The farmers should be encouraged to follow it so that they can get proper market price of it.
There are various low cost methods available for farmers to add value to their Raw Material so that the price can increase. The farmers should be encouraged to follow it so that they can get proper market price of it.
Corruption is India’s biggest problem every sphere. The government releases a lot of Schemes every year for the farmers but still the implementation is always an issue. Be it NABARD , KVK’s the corruption is rampant everywhere.
The agriculture sector of India needs entrepreneurs very much. The people need to change their perspective of the sector and start exploring it more so that the problems can be solved easily.
The issue of disguised unemployment is there in India as generally the whole family is working even when the requirement is not there. This can be solved by promoting Diversification in agriculture and promoting othersources of income like Dairy Farming, Poultry farm etc.
Unless these are not duly rectified, refurbished, rekindled, reframed right away, the fact is, the agriculture in India will continue to be bleak despite all sky-promising statistics, data, figures, comparisions. Till then, agriculture in India will continue to be passe.