I don't know exactly what Mr. Modi is doing or will do regarding Agriculture. But I will tell you what he has already done in Gujarat and that is the most probable model to be replicated for India.

This man can turn a totally water-less river Sabarmati into one of the rivers of Gujarat which have excess water now . What Govt. simply did is, Sabarmati river was joined by canals with the all time flooded river Narmada and problem was solved. Story doesn't stop here, Canals were extended to Kutch the driest and farthest district in Gujarat.

Now Sabarmati is not just for irrigation or drinking water. But also a tourist place. The Famous River-Front.....

These are some of the highlights of Agriculture sector development in Modi Govt. which many few people know.

1) Between 2000-01 and 2007-08 agricultural value added grew at a phenomenal 9.6% per year (despite a major drought in 2002). This is more than double India's agricultural growth rate, and much faster than Punjab's farm growth in the green revolution heyday. Indeed, 9.6% agricultural growth is among the fastest rates recorded anywhere in the world. That drives home the magnitude of Gujarat's performance.

2) Gujarat is drought prone, with 70% of its area classified as semi-arid and arid.The IFPRI study says that 10,700 check dams were built up to 2000, and helped drought-proof 32,000 hectares. That sounds a lot. But subsequently, under Modi, Gujarat has built ten times as many check dams! These have played a big role in the agricultural growth of Saurashtra and Kutch (aided, it must be said, by bountiful monsoons in the last five years). Better water availability has also increased milk and livestock production.

3) Modi Govt. has promoted drip irrigation, badly needed to conserve water in semi-arid districts. Like other states, Gujarat offers subsidies and loans, but it also fast-tracks and simplifies procedures. Farmers contribute 5% initially. Then a state-owned company provides 50% as subsidy, and arranges a bank loan for the balance of 45%. One lakh acres have been covered by drip irrigation so far. Like the Sardar Sarovar Project, drip irrigation's total irrigation potential is far higher.

4) Research shows that rural roads are the most important investment for agriculture. Gujarat has one of the best rural road networks in India, and 98.7% of villages are connected by “pukka” roads.

5) Modi's Jyotigram scheme for power has provided regular, high-quality electricity to villages, greatly helping farming. Jyotigram provides separate electric feeders for domestic use and pump-sets. This permits the state to supply round-the-clock domestic supply, while limiting agricultural supply to eight hours a day (which is continuous and of constant voltage).
This has facilitated a switch to high-value crops like mango, banana and wheat, which need assured water. Constant voltage has protected farmers from damage to pump-sets earlier caused by fluctuating voltage. Continuous power for non-agricultural uses has spurred diversification into non-farm activities, vital for rural growth.

6) The irrigated area has expanded at the rate of 4.4% per year. The fastest growth in crops has been in wheat, followed by cotton and fruits and vegetables.

7) Private seed companies have brought in new technology for several crops, ranging from bajra to castor, but above all in Bt cotton. More than 20 Bt cotton varieties are now produced by 30 seed companies. Gujarat has only 26% of India's cotton area, but 35.5% of its production, thanks to high yields.

I hope this can also be replicated in the whole country.
Thanks for A2A.
Source link Agriculture: Secret of Modi's success

Indian agriculture is plagued with multiple problems however OECD, an international body of developed nations in its analysis on Indian Agriculture blamed government for artificially deflating and controlling agricultural commodities pricing in order to check inflation. When we calculate CPI i.e. Consumer Pice Index, Agricultural commodities holds majority share and obviously food is fundamental to survival.

IMPORT-EXPORT CONTROLS- This is today’s news!

Why this a problem-

Imagine you are producing certain handicrafts. If you sell it in India you may fetch 50% profits over production costs however if you sell the same in France your profits may shoot up to 500%. We live in a capitalist world and would not like government to control how and what we can sell.

Imagine a situation where an automobile company such as TATA is forced by government to not export any of its cars and is forced to sell them in India. Price of automobiles can be controlled this way as per the economic principles of Supply and Demand but will TATAs be happy. Will they invest more in India or will they opt for some other country which promotes free market.

Agricultural commodities face such restriction time and again which results in erosion of income of farmers. They never truly realise the price of their produce. Controlling price of agricultural commodities is beneficial for general public however not for farmers. In all we compromise interests of farmers in order to further the interests of others.

Next time when you question various subsidies extended by government to farmers do remember that irrespective of all the subsidies, farmers are unable to realise true profits.

However there are other inbuilt problems such as-

• Fragmentation of land and market.
• Lack of modernisation and thus lower productivity
• Changing climate and our farmers are unable to develop due adaptive capacity
• ETC

Let’s hope for better policies by government for agricultural upliftment.

Before knowing how can mechanization will help to increase the productivity of Indian agriculture, lets first understand the problems faced by Indian agriculture.

Agriculture is an essential component of the primary sector in the Indian economy. This sector provides employment to more than 55% population. It contributes to the food security of the nation.

The contribution of agriculture in the Indian economy is decreasing day by day. The following graph depicts that the agriculture sector contributed about 48% in 1954 which has decreased to 14% in 2010–11. It is not a good sign.

Challenges in Agriculture

1. The average size of landholdings has decreased from 2.3 ha in the 1970s to 1.15 ha in 2011. Small landholdings lead to disguised employment, makes irrigation difficult, wastage of productive land in making boundaries and so on.
2. The Good quality seeds and fertilizers remain out of reach of small farmers. The black marketing of chemical fertilizers leads to price rise. Although, Cow dung is considered as good organic manure for maintaining the fertility of soil but its availability is being reduced as it is being diverted for cooking.
3. The combined effect of tropical location, EL Nino, Erratic Monsoon, the concentration of 90% rainfall in the 4 months of monsoon makes Indian agriculture more vulnerable to drought-like conditions.
4. Most of the agricultural operations are carried on by human hand and by drought animals. Small farmers even do not have enough money to get rental of farm machinery like tractors, harvesters, etc.
5. Over 25% of India's total land is undergoing desertification while 32% is facing degradation that has affected its productivity, critically affecting the livelihood and food security of millions across the country.
6. In the absence of sound marketing facilities, the farmers have to depend upon local traders and middlemen for the disposal of their farm produce which is sold at the throw-away price. In most cases, these farmers are forced, under socio-economic conditions, to carry on distress sale of their produce.
7. There are inadequate storage facilities in rural areas. The farmers are compelled to sell their produce immediately after the harvest at the prevailing market prices which are bound to be low. This problem is more severe for perishable commodities and horticultural crops.
8. The large pool of farmers still depends on the informal sector (money lenders) to avail credits. Money lenders charge huge interest that leads to the exploitation of farmers.
9. Indian agriculture has become cereal-centric. There is a neglect of pulses and oilseed production even though the demand for protein-based items is rising. This lead to soil exhaustion and decline in productivity.
10. Productivity, in general, is lower. For instance, the avg yields of wheat are 39% below China. Despite being the top producer in pulses India's productivity is being lower than Brazil, Nigeria.

Source: Economic Survey 2016–17

The challenges faced by Indian agriculture are mainly related to - human skills & choices, adverse geographical conditions [soil fertility, monsoon], lack of institutional support [MSPs, market, land ceiling policies, land reforms] and lack of growth in agricultural infrastructure [transport, irrigation, power, HYVs seeds, mechanization].

Mechanization is one of the components of the agricultural infrastructure. The growth in mechanization certainly leads to a change in the present state of agriculture. But it has its own pros and cons.

How is mechanization a solution to the problems faced by the Indian agricultural sector?

• Increase in crop intensity and yield thus ensuring better returns to the farmer
• Reduction of weather risk and risk of non-availability of labor thus minimizing post-harvest wastages
• Improved working conditions and enhanced safety for the farmer
• Conversion of uncultivable land to agricultural land through advanced tilling technologies
• Shifting land used for feed and fodder cultivation for draught animals towards food grain production

To sum up, the mechanization facilitates the timely and precise farm operation and thus, enhances the efficiency of farm laborers. And hence, increases the productivity of agriculture.

Mechanization is not an easy way out. It requires huge initial capital and being as marginal farmers in the majority, they lack in the capital. The farmers do not have access to formal sources of credit. They lack knowledge and skills which are required for mechanization.

Source

So, in a nutshell, mechanization is not the one-stop solution for problems faced by Indian agriculture rather it is one of the solutions to modernize the Indian agriculture sector and increase its productivity.

For the all-round development of Indian agriculture, there is an urgent need to adopt an integrated approach that takes into consideration the various aspects - farmers skills and choices, geographical conditions, infrastructure, and institutional factors.

Thank you!

Being in an Agricultural family, I hope I am qualified enough to answer this.

Okay…Let me ask some questions on behalf of farmers.

Case 1:

You are going to purchase for buying some clothes in your nearby textile showrooms.

Who is fixing the price of the clothes…?

YOU OR SHOWROOM OWNER???

Obviously the answer is Showroom owner.

Case 2:

You are going to a restaurant for having food.

Who is fixing the price of the food items…?

YOU OR RESTAURANT OWNER???

Again the answer is Restaurant owner.

Case 3:

You are going to buy a car in Automobile Showroom.

Who is fixing the price of the car…?

YOU OR SHOWROOM OWNER???

Once Again the answer is Showroom owner.

Case 4:

But in this case the merchant is coming to buy things(rice or any other food items) from the farmer.

Who is fixing the price of the food items?

This time the farmer was not able to fix the prices for the food items. The merchant demands the low price and the farmer is not able to refuse it. Because all merchants have some thing in common. That is they all demand same low price. If the farmer refuse to sell then he can't sell anywhere. This is reality. Because we are facing this problem over the years.

Unless the farmer fixes the prices for his products he can't improve economically.

Photo: Google images.

Please share your thoughts with me. This time comments will be more valuable than upvotes.

Thank you for scrolling.

Agriculture has always, since automation first appeared on farms in the early 20th century (and likely before), depended on illegals to pick crops and do menial work around the farm.

If all farmers had to hire legal laborers, the pay penalty would equilibrate across all farms and farmers, and we’d all pay more for farm products, whether vegetables and fruits, or dairy, beef, pork, or chicken. The problem has always been that farmers in the southwest had more ready access to illegals and hence cheaper labor, putting northeast farmers at a disadvantage trying to compete with the same crops or products.

The dance floor has never been level.

As things have improved in Mexico, fewer Mexicans have illegally crossed for work, and farms are now in even more of a bind that they have been in the past. The lack of illegals is one side of the problem. The other side is finding legals to do the work at any wage.

The idea that eliminating all illegals would result in Americans filling those jobs “because wages have gone up” is simply wishful thinking. It is hard, dirty, dusty work that will never pay much because it is essentially menial labor that requires almost zero skills. People simply won’t do the work for love nor money. And bottom line, shoppers will buy products grown in Honduras if it’s cheaper than the equivalent grown in the Imperial Valley.

According to the current prevailing scenerio in india where the rich is getting more rich and condition of poor going worse due to the capatalism centric society ,As our population is growing day by day & the unemployment ,loss of motivation , distracted youth these are the signs which shows if the government & society doesn’t awake to take any step at this point then situation are going to be worse .

In india 70% population lives in villages “ Mirror of Country” but the image in these mirrors are not crystal clear & also fadding day by day . Modernisation is came like curse for the Indian village population as their expenditure rose to double but the income on the value addition still remained the same (price increased but at the same time pesticides n seeds prices n other input prices also gone up ) . As Government is promising to double up the income of the Farmers by 2022 but first of all they need to understand that what is current situation in the agriculture feild what are the main problems the farmers are facing . Politicians need to look beyond the vote bank i.e. just providing subsidies is not the solution this things just make them dependent on system .the government need to come with initiatives which really address the problem on the root level . As i came from a Farming background so, some of major problems which i had seen till now are as follows:

1.)Lack of Information & preparedness :

As you can see what indian mentality is one who is illiterate will do farming , so , major population in this sector is illiterate. People don’t know about latest technology , if somehow they know then too benifits of them and the policies by government to support that is missing .

2.) Market & Middleman:

As the fluctuations in commodity market are too high & farmers are not well informed nor they have any surplus cash so that they can wait untill the price goes up . so , the middleman takr advantage controls the major market supply dynamics by which they control prices by purchasing at the time of flooding market & wait until the commodity get scarce in the market . The figure are quite alarming that farmers only get 30–40% of what consumer pays on thr commodity.

3.) Monsoon dependency :

In major part of our country except gangatic plans the agriculture is mainly dependent on monsoon only. After 70 year of independence government not succeed in providing an essential irrigation infrastructure to the largest sector of India . Many ways are suggested by different government i.e river interlink , dabri etc but at grassroot level problem is still mamooth . Climate is going worse year by year which is an major challenge .

4.) Absency of organisation to voice opinion :

You will find different संघ & organisation in different sector which voice the demand and complaints of that sector effectively but in case of farmers as they are not united and having no such firm who actually understand & voice their problem .political parties only use farmers as vote bank by having big unfulfilled announcements .

Their are many other factors also which are the cause behind the bad condition of the farmers in india . Today in our country no one count the largest sector as an employment oppertunity the people working in the sector are mostly seen as unemployed &illiterate . The mindset needs to be changed & we need to take steps that really change the lives of farmers.

Farmers don’t understand even the basics of demand to supply ratio….

originally answered :What is the problem with Indian agriculture?

I am son of a farmer rather say cultivator and would like to answer this question

I feel the biggest problem with Indian farmers is that they dont apply thier brains before selecting which crop to grow…they generally grow that product which was marketed at a great price last year.

For example this year Madhya Pradesh saw a very high yield of onions and the images and news of onions rotting got spread every where…

“Madhya Pradesh’s farmers have always grown onions, but when prices skyrocketed in 2010-11, the land under onion cultivation doubled over the next five years, resulting in the current problem of plenty. When prices crashed for three consecutive years, the Madhya Pradesh government offered an MSP for onions for the first time in 2016 and acquired about one million quintals. “But the government did not know how to store onions,” said an onion trader in Ujjain’s vegetable market. “The entire consignment rotted away in damp warehouses.”-Why Madhya Pradesh farmers are crying over bumper onion produce

they all grew onions this time as last year onions saw a great hike in pricing. It was sold for rs 100 per kg last year as last year demand rose but supply was limited as crop failed.

But this time we saw a bumper produce in crop and as the area of production also increased, it lead to very high supply but the demand remained the same thus decreasing the price of the crop leading to failure of mandis to auction the onions and prices fall to 2–3rs per kg.

It is not the first time it has happened same was with the pulses last year prices were hovering to 140–150 rs per kg but as the production increased due to increment in the area it fall to 50–60 rs.

The problem is not the fall in prices, the major problem is farmer’s expectations. They expect that they will fetch rs 100 per kg as return so they take loans uses high priced pesticides and increases their incurring cost but when they see the result in price fall they loose their part.

All their money and labor go in vain and they fall in debt trap as they are not even able fulfill the incurring costs through the produce.

Next year same thing and as every year same thing happens it leads to great debts and at last farmers which are not able to withstand the pressure fall prey to commit the deadly thing…

So in my opinion if the farmers are made familiar with the basic principles of Agronomy or the prevailing market we can see some good results.…

1. Government should focus on decentralized teaching of farmers rather than waiving off their loans because this is going to help them only once but providing them with knowledge will help them all through the life.
2. We do not only need technology to improve the state of agriculture in India we also need the population with good news of technology and who can innovate according to the situation in the field. So, another possible solution could be rather than being unemployed in the urban India engineers and other professionals should take up an oath to improve the agrarian sector of the country India as it lacks a lot in technological upfront and we need educated beings to really innovate in this field…

let me share a story of an engineer turned farmer who had grown more than 50 variety of mangoes on one tree…i don’t know how he was able to do that…please comment if any one able to decipher it…

51 Types of Mango on One Tree! An Engineer-Turned-Farmer's Unique Plan to Save Endangered Varieties

we need more like him…

Hoping for bright future

Indian agriculture faces several technical problems that hinder productivity and sustainability:

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* Inadequate Irrigation:

* Limited access to reliable water sources: A significant portion of Indian agriculture relies on rainfall, making it vulnerable to droughts.

* Over-exploitation of groundwater: This leads to declining water tables and soil salinity.

* Inefficient irrigation systems: Traditional methods like flood irrigation waste a lot of water.

* Soil Degradation:

* Soil erosion: Caused by wind and water, leading to loss of topsoil and nutrients.

* Soil salinity and alkalinity: Due to excessive irrigation and poor drainage.

* Nutrient depletion: Intensive farming practices deplete soil nutrients over time.

* Lack of Mechanization:

* Reliance on manual labor: Many farming activities are still labor-intensive, leading to low productivity and increased costs.

* Limited access to modern machinery: Small and marginal farmers often lack access to tractors, harvesters, and other modern equipment.

* Climate Change Impacts:

* Erratic weather patterns: Unpredictable rainfall, heatwaves, and extreme weather events disrupt crop cycles and reduce yields.

* Rising temperatures: Affect crop growth and development, leading to reduced productivity.

* Lack of Technology Adoption:

* Limited awareness and access: Many farmers are unaware of or lack access to modern agricultural technologies like precision farming, drone technology, and advanced seed varieties.

* Lack of infrastructure: Poor connectivity and limited access to electricity hinder the adoption of technology in many rural areas.

* Post-harvest Losses:

* Inadequate storage facilities: Lack of proper storage leads to significant post-harvest losses due to spoilage, insect infestations, and rodent damage.

* Limited access to markets: Poor transportation infrastructure and lack of market linkages hinder the timely and efficient marketing of agricultural produce.

These technical challenges significantly impact agricultural productivity, income of farmers, and food security in India. Addressing these issues through technological interventions, improved infrastructure, and farmer education is crucial for sustainable agricultural development in the country.

The problems faced by a farmer is many if he is uneducated and inexperienced and who do the farming forsake and to blame other nature and to others

Basic problems

1 . Water, in indian the rain reservation system is too poor . The rain water at the time of rainy season, about 70 % of waters are discharged to the river and it devastats the riverside crops and went to the see

2 . Poor investment plan , eg how much money u can manage, is basic logic .

Getting loan for agricultural and spending, daughter s marriage or sons expenses.

Get the loan for the right crop to return the principal and with interest and a profit rate for u

3 . Poor selection of crop.

4 . Other than these , government are providing a lot of benefits.

5. Pesticides , people go a lot for pesticides I don't how of them believe pesticides reduces pest and I don't what is in the pesticides that is killing pest. Every farmer need to know and to study about it.

First and foremost is to revamp the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act. Though central government has passed a model act, many of the states haven't aligned their respective state acts to it. There are some major lacunae in it.

1. It makes selling of agriculture products via local mandis compulsory. Farmers can't sell their produce directly if they are getting more price from some other customer.
2. These mandis have become looting point where farmers have to pay commission to middle agents for things like unloading their produce, weighing it, loading it again to buyers vehicle etc. The rates are exorbitant and its final burden lies on seller i.e. farmer. So the system of minimum support price doesn't work.
3. The licences for setting shop in such mandis are auctioned hence they are costly. In turn the shop owners recover the costs by burdening the farmer.
4. The act doesn't cover perishable items like vegetables, fruits. So here farmer is at the helm of local Mandi and hence ends up incurring severe losses.
5. The shop owners form a lobby and keep the price low so that farmers can't get benifit of competition and supply-demand equation.
6. Further the nexus between mandi heads and politicians excerbates the problem of farmers.

So first it is very crucial to implement an revamped APMC act in each state which aligns itself to model act. Which comprises of things like

1. Steps towards making one national market for agriculture produce.
2. Choice to farmer to sell produce wherever he wants.
3. Direct transaction between farmer and retail companies.

Second is effort like food parks need to be promoted. It minimizes the middleman plus direct access to customers is ensured. Farmers can easily supply perishables and losses could be avoided.

Third is food processing industries and cold storage chains. We incur huge losses in wastage of agriculture products. By establishing food processing industries this can be avoided. Also a strong chain of cold storage helps in increasing shelf life of products.

Fourth educating farmers about best international practices. Though some our of products are world class they are rejected by foreign countries cause they don't follow international standards. So it is crucial to follow them.

I'll keep adding as I remember more. Feel free to suggest edits.

The agricultural sector is a significant pillar of the Indian economy, although its contribution has been decreasing in recent times. Here's a breakdown of its role and the challenges it faces:

Role of Agriculture in India:

• Employment: Provides livelihood for a vast majority of the population - estimates range from 50% to 70% depending on the source [1, 2]. This makes it a critical source of income and social stability in rural areas.
• Food Security: Contributes significantly to India's food security by producing a wide variety of crops like rice, wheat, pulses, fruits, and vegetables.
• Raw Materials: Supplies raw materials to allied sectors like food processing, textiles (cotton), and sugar production.
• Exports: India is a major exporter of agricultural products like spices, mangoes, tea, and coffee, contributing to foreign exchange earnings.

Current Challenges in Indian Agriculture:

• Low Productivity: Compared to developed nations, India's agricultural productivity is lower due to factors like fragmented landholdings, lack of irrigation facilities, and inadequate use of technology.
• Dependence on Rainfall: Indian agriculture heavily relies on monsoon rains, making it vulnerable to droughts and erratic weather patterns.
• Post-harvest Losses: Inadequate storage facilities and transportation infrastructure lead to significant spoilage of agricultural produce after harvest.
• Market Fluctuations: Farmers often face volatile market prices for their crops, leading to income insecurity.
• Rural-Urban Migration: The younger generation in rural areas may be attracted to better opportunities in cities, leading to a shrinking agricultural workforce.

Government Initiatives:

The Indian government is implementing various programs to address these challenges, including:

• Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme to ensure a baseline income for farmers.
• Investments in irrigation infrastructure and micro-irrigation techniques.
• Promoting use of technology and agricultural extension services.
• Initiatives to improve rural storage facilities and marketing infrastructure.

Overall, the agricultural sector remains a crucial part of the Indian economy, but significant challenges need to be addressed to improve farm productivity, ensure food security, and improve the livelihoods of farmers.

Some of the major problems and their possible solutions have been discussed as follows. Indian agriculture is plagued by several problems; some of them are natural and some others are manmade.

1. Small and fragmented land-holdings:

The seemingly abundance of net sown area of 141.2 million hectares and total cropped area of 189.7 million hectares (1999-2000) pales into insignificance when we see that it is divided into economically unviable small and scattered holdings.

The average size of holdings was 2.28 hectares in 1970-71 which was reduced to 1.82 hectares in 1980-81 and 1.50 hectares in 1995-96. The size of the holdings will further decrease with the infinite Sub-division of the land holdings.

The problem of small and fragmented holdings is more serious in densely populated and intensively cultivated states like Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and eastern part of Uttar Pradesh where the average size of land holdings is less than one hectare and in certain parts it is less than even 0.5 hectare.

Rajasthan with vast sandy stretches and Nagaland with the prevailing ‘Jhoom’ (shifting agriculture) have larger average sized holdings of 4 and 7.15 hectares respectively. States having high percentage of net sown area like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have holding size above the national average.

Further it is shocking to note that a large proportion of 59 per cent holdings in 1990- 91 were marginal (below 1 hectare) accounting for 14.9 per cent of the total operated area. Another 19 per cent were small holdings (1-2 hectare) taking up 17.3 per cent of the total operated area.

Large holdings (above 10 hectare) accounted for only 1.6 per cent of total holdings but covered 17.4 per cent of the operated area (Table 22.1). Hence, there is a wide gap between small farmers, medium farmers (peasant group) and big farmers (landlords).

The main reason for this sad state of affairs is our inheritance laws. The land belonging to the father is equally distributed among his sons. This distribution of land does not entail a collection or consolidated one, but its nature is fragmented.

Different tracts have different levels of fertility and are to be distributed accordingly. If there are four tracts which are to be distributed between two sons, both the sons will get smaller plots of each land tract. In this way the holdings become smaller and more fragmented with each passing generation.

Sub-division and fragmentation of the holdings is one of the main causes of our low agricultural productivity and backward state of our agriculture. A lot of time and labour is wasted in moving seeds, manure, implements and cattle from one piece of land to another.

Irrigation becomes difficult on such small and fragmented fields. Further, a lot of fertile agricultural land is wasted in providing boundaries. Under such circumstances, the farmer cannot concentrate on improvement.

The only answer to this ticklish problem is the consolidation of holdings which means the reallocation of holdings which are fragmented, the creation of farms which comprise only one or a few parcels in place of multitude of patches formerly in the possession of each peasant.

But unfortunately, this plan has not succeeded much. Although legislation for consolidation of holdings has been enacted by almost all the states, it has been implemented only in Punjab, Haryana and in some parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Consolidation of about 45 million holdings has been done till 1990-91 in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. The other solution to this problem is cooperative farming in which the farmers pool their resources and share the profit.

2. Seeds:

Seed is a critical and basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of assured quality seed is as critical as the production of such seeds. Unfortunately, good quality seeds are out of reach of the majority of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers mainly because of exorbitant prices of better seeds.

In order to solve this problem, the Government of India established the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) in 1963 and the State Farmers Corporation of India (SFCI) in 1969. Thirteen State Seed Corporations (SSCs) were also established to augment the supply of improved seeds to the farmers.

High Yielding Variety Programme (HYVP) was launched in 1966-67 as a major thrust plan to increase the production of food grains in the country.

The Indian seed industry had exhibited impressive growth in the past and is expected to provide further potential for growth in agricultural production: The role of seed industry is not only to produce adequate quantity of quality seeds but also to achieve varietal diversity to suit various agro-climatic zones of the country.

The policy statements are designed towards making available to the Indian farmer, adequate quantities of seed of superior quality at the appropriate time and place and at an affordable price so as to meet the country’s food and nutritional security goals.

Indian seeds programme largely adheres to limited generation system for seed multiplication. The system recognises three kinds of generation, namely breeder, foundation and certified seeds. Breeder seed is the basic seed and first stage in seed production. Foundation seed is the second stage in seed production chain and is the progeny of breeder seed.

Certified seed is the ultimate stage in seed production chain and is the progeny of foundation seed. Production of breeder and foundation seeds and certified seeds distribution have gone up at an annual average rate of 3.4 per cent, 7.5 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively, between 2001-02 and 2005-06).

3. Manures, Fertilizers and Biocides:

Indian soils have been used for growing crops over thousands of years without caring much for replenishing. This has led to depletion and exhaustion of soils resulting in their low productivity. The average yields of almost all the crops are among t e lowest in the world. This is a serious problem which can be solved by using more manures and fertilizers.

Manures and fertilizers play the same role in relation to soils as good food in relation to body. Just as a well-nourished body is capable of doing any good job, a well nourished soil is capable of giving good yields. It has been estimated that about 70 per cent of growth in agricultural production can be attributed to increased fertilizer application.

Thus increase in the consumption of fertilizers is a barometer of agricultural prosperity. However, there are practical difficulties in providing sufficient manures and fertilizers in all parts of a country of India’s dimensions inhabited by poor peasants. Cow dung provides the best manure to the soils.

But its use as such is limited because much of cow dung is used as kitchen fuel in the shape of dung cakes. Reduction in the supply of fire wood and increasing demand for fuel in the rural areas due to increase in population has further complicated the problem. Chemical fertilizers are costly and are often beyond the reach of the poor farmers. The fertilizer problem is, therefore, both acute and complex.

It has been felt that organic manures are essential for keeping the soil in good health. The country has a potential of 650 million tonnes of rural and 160 lakh tonnes of urban compost which is not fully utilized at present. The utilization of this potential will solve the twin problem of disposal of waste and providing manure to the soil.

The government has given high incentive especially in the form of heavy subsidy for using chemical fertilizers. There was practically no use of chemical fertilizers at the time of Independence As a result of initiative by the government and due to change in the attitude of some progressive farmers, the consumption of fertilizers increased tremendously.

In order to maintain the quality of the fertilizers, 52 fertilizer quality control laboratories have been set up in different parts of the country. In addition, there is one Central Fertilizer Quality Control and Training Institute at Faridabad with its three regional centres at Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Pests, germs and weeds cause heavy loss to crops which amounted to about one third of the total field produce at the time of Independence. Biocides (pesticides, herbicides and weedicides) are used to save the crops and to avoid losses. The increased use of these inputs has saved a lot of crops, especially the food crops from unnecessary wastage. But indiscriminate use of biocides has resulted in wide spread environmental pollution which takes its own toll.

4. Irrigation:

Although India is the second largest irrigated country of the world after China, only one-third of the cropped area is under irrigation. Irrigation is the most important agricultural input in a tropical monsoon country like India where rainfall is uncertain, unreliable and erratic India cannot achieve sustained progress in agriculture unless and until more than half of the cropped area is brought under assured irrigation.

This is testified by the success story of agricultural progress in Punjab Haryana and western part of Uttar Pradesh where over half of the cropped area is under irrigation! Large tracts still await irrigation to boost the agricultural output.

However, care must be taken to safeguard against ill effects of over irrigation especially in areas irrigated by canals. Large tracts in Punjab and Haryana have been rendered useless (areas affected by salinity, alkalinity and water-logging), due to faulty irrigation. In the Indira Gandhi Canal command area also intensive irrigation has led to sharp rise in sub-soil water level, leading to water-logging, soil salinity and alkalinity.

5. Lack of mechanisation:

In spite of the large scale mechanisation of agriculture in some parts of the country, most of the agricultural operations in larger parts are carried on by human hand using simple and conventional tools and implements like wooden plough, sickle, etc.

Little or no use of machines is made in ploughing, sowing, irrigating, thinning and pruning, weeding, harvesting threshing and transporting the crops. This is specially the case with small and marginal farmers. It results in huge wastage of human labour and in low yields per capita labour force.

There is urgent need to mechanise the agricultural operations so that wastage of labour force is avoided and farming is made convenient and efficient. Agricultural implements and machinery are a crucial input for efficient and timely agricultural operations, facilitating multiple cropping and thereby increasing production.

Some progress has been made for mechanising agriculture in India after Independence. Need for mechanisation was specially felt with the advent of Green Revolution in 1960s. Strategies and programmes have been directed towards replacement of traditional and inefficient implements by improved ones, enabling the farmer to own tractors, power tillers, harvesters and other machines.

A large industrial base for manufacturing of the agricultural machines has also been developed. Power availability for carrying out various agricultural operations has been increased to reach a level of 14 kW per hectare in 2003-04 from only 0.3 kW per hectare in 1971-72.

This increase was the result of increasing use of tractor, power tiller and combine harvesters, irrigation pumps and other power operated machines. The share of mechanical and electrical power has increased from 40 per cent in 1971 to 84 per cent in 2003-04.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest average sales of tractors during the five year period ending 2003-04 and/West Bengal recorded the highest average sales of power tillers during the same period.

Strenuous efforts are being made to encourage the farmers to adopt technically advanced agricultural equipments in order to carry farm operations timely and precisely and to economise the agricultural production process.

6. Soil erosion:

Large tracts of fertile land suffer from soil erosion by wind and water. This area must be properly treated and restored to its original fertility.

7. Agricultural Marketing:

Agricultural marketing still continues to be in a bad shape in rural India. In the absence of sound marketing facilities, the farmers have to depend upon local traders and middlemen for the disposal of their farm produce which is sold at throw-away price.

In most cases, these farmers are forced, under socio-economic conditions, to carry on distress sale of their produce. In most of small villages, the farmers sell their produce to the money lender from whom they usually borrow money.

According to an estimate 85 per cent of wheat and 75 per cent of oil seeds in Uttar Pradesh, 90 per cent of Jute in West Bengal, 70 per cent of oilseeds and 35 per cent of cotton in Punjab is sold by farmers in the village itself. Such a situation arises due to the inability of the poor farmers to wait for long after harvesting their crops.

In order to meet his commitments and pay his debt, the poor farmer is forced to sell the produce at whatever price is offered to him. The Rural Credit Survey Report rightly remarked that the producers in general sell their produce at an unfavourable place and at an unfavourable time and usually they get unfavourable terms.

In the absence of an organised marketing structure, private traders and middlemen dominate the marketing and trading of agricultural produce. The remuneration of the services provided by the middlemen increases the load on the consumer, although the producer does not derive similar benefit.

Many market surveys have revealed that middlemen take away about 48 per cent of the price of rice, 52 per cent of the price of grounduts and 60 per cent of the price of potatoes offered by consumers.

In order to save the farmer from the clutches of the money lenders and the middle men, the government has come out with regulated markets. These markets generally introduce a system of competitive buying, help in eradicating malpractices, ensure the use of standardised weights and measures and evolve suitable machinery for settlement of disputes thereby ensuring that the pro­ducers are not subjected to exploitation and receive remunerative prices.

8. Inadequate storage facilities:

Storage facilities in the rural areas are either totally absent or grossly inadequate. Under such conditions the farmers are compelled to sell their produce immediately after the harvest at the prevailing market prices which are bound to be low. Such distress sale deprives the farmers of their legitimate income.

The Parse Committee estimated the post-harvest losses at 9.3 per cent of which nearly 6.6 per cent occurred due to poor storage conditions alone. Scientific storage is, therefore, very essential to avoid losses and to benefit the farmers and the consumers alike.

At present there are number of agencies engaged in warehousing and storage activities. The Food Corporation of India (F.C.I.), the Central Warehousing Corporation (C.W.C.) and State Warehousing Corporation are among the principal agencies engaged in this task. These agencies help in building up buffer stock, which can be used in the hour of need. The Central Government is also implementing the scheme for establishment of national Grid of Rural Godowns since 1979-80.

This scheme provides storage facilities to the farmers near their fields and in particular to the small and marginal farmers. The Working Group on additional storage facilities in rural areas has recommended a scheme of establishing a network of Rural Storage Centres to serve the economic interests of the farming community.

9. Inadequate transport:

One of the main handicaps with Indian agriculture is the lack of cheap and efficient means of transportation. Even at present there are lakhs of villages which are not well connected with main roads or with market centres.

Most roads in the rural areas are Kutcha (bullock- cart roads) and become useless in the rainy season. Under these circumstances the farmers cannot carry their produce to the main market and are forced to sell it in the local market at low price. Linking each village by metalled road is a gigantic task and it needs huge sums of money to complete this task.

10. Scarcity of capital:

Agriculture is an important industry and like all other industries it also requires capital. The role of capital input is becoming more and more important with the advancement of farm technology. Since the agriculturists’ capital is locked up in his lands and stocks, he is obliged to borrow money for stimulating the tempo of agricultural production.

The main suppliers of money to the farmer are the money-lenders, traders and commission agents who charge high rate of interest and purchase the agricultural produce at very low price. All India Rural Credit Survey Committee showed that in 1950-51 the share of money lenders stood at as high as 68.6 per cent of the total rural credit and in 1975-76 their share declined to 43 per cent of the credit needs of the farmers.

The biggest challenge is to educate the farmer and tell him that the practices he has been following over the past 7 decades is only ruining his land and also contributing to environmental degradation

Am talking about use of inorganic fertilisers and pesticides

There is hardly any headway made by our government in promoting organic methods of cultivation which not only improve upon soil fertility and yields, but are also environmental friendly

It is a misconception that productivity drops on coversion as I have experienced otherwise

We need to revert to what our forefathers were doing and also put a stop to burning the stubble in the fields as it's counterproductive in each and every way

International Panaacea Ltd (IPL) is India's leading biological company specializes in biological solutions for agriculture applications. We have widest portfolio of over 50 products in disease and pest management, plant nutrient & health management, and soil management helping customers in India and around the globe to control diseases, pest, improve plant health and increase crop yields.

Focused on research and technology, We have two R&D labs which are manned by highly qualified & experienced Microbiologists, Chemists, Entomologists, Pathologists and Agronomists. The state-of-the-art facility is recognized by Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology, India.’

IPL has an incredible legacy of over 22 years and today is present in over 18 states in the country, reaching out to millions farmers almost on a daily basis. We also operate globally and are present in present 25 countries. We promote green and non-chemical solutions for a safer, sustainable and healthier world.

India's arable land area is 39 cr acres, irrigated crop area of 21 cr acres.

The fence eats the crop syndrome: We already spend ₹1.87 Lakh cr on agriculture and ₹10 lakh cr in Ag credit!(versus over 100 lakh crores of overall lending and ₹10 lakh crores of bad loans. 10% of credit for 17% of the economy! Unfair!!

GOI spends ₹6000(centre+state) per acre, often not the income of an avearage Indian farmer! And provides ₹25,000 per acre of credit!

MSP is not effective, it guarantees sales price, what happens to failed crops due to climate change caused by industry and urban clusters? Also MSP is practised in denial and FCI a ₹50,000 cr behemoth is riddled with moths, bats and rats!

Rajiv Gandhi famously said: less than 5% of Govt spend reaches the beneficiaries. Instead why not do a direct fund transfers and kill farmer suicides and loan waivers?

Modi ji would do well to spend ₹100 Lakh cr instead of writing off debt of a similar amount. First being preventive versus the later being curative, often after significant duress. This will end up saving the exchequer 87 lakh crores instead and saving us the agony of suicides!!

Any business is driven by inputs and outputs. A business in which input costs are low and profits are high will do well.

Coming to agriculture inputs - land, seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, irrigation and labour

While agri labour is cheap everything else seems to be adding to costs of farming. Land is becoming increasingly commercialized for business zones and residential projects.

Seeds are being dominantly controlled by few cos. and leading to monopolization and increase in costs. Same is the case with fertilizers and insecticides.

Dependency on rain for irrigation and high cost irrigation equipments is affecting the costs for farmers who end up as cheap labour.

On the sales front farmers get peanuts while bearing all risks and supply chain managers earn max with little risk.

What can be done ?

Farmers should be given rights to use their own seeds, pesticides and fertilizers (preferably organic) made available to them by the govt.

River linking is the only solution to end rain dependency of irrigation. Irrigation equipment can also be given at lower costs by giving a fraction of ownership to the irrigation providers in agri produce sales . This will reduce risks for farmers by sharing with other powerful enterprises.

Supply chain managers would also need to pay up for risks as crop insurance in every quintal of produce they buy to share the risks of the farmers.

Sales should be powered through a govt driven platform on the lines of BHIM UPI and I’m sure things would be fine.

Cheers… Amit

• There are lots problems for small land holder farmers like use of precision working equipment for land preparing (primary tillage & secondary tillage equipment) and other farm machinery for the sowing, harvesting and threshing operation. And after the harvesting the crop the major problem is storage of that, and for getting better price we also looking towards the processing of the crop.
• Because of India’s Land Ceiling Act and increasing population, the total land under agriculture is decreasing and at present it is only 1.5 acre per farmer. With such small land holdings, for farmers it become difficult to justify ownership of any kind of agri-machinery.
• Domestic growing population and increasing disposable incomes, there is robust demand for food grains including cereals, fruits and vegetables. Increasing crop yield is the only solution to this problem since there is very limited prospect to increase land under agriculture. Among the methods of increasing farm productivity domestically, farm mechanisation is also essential in augmenting the earning capacity of rural farmers and consequent progress of Indian agriculture.
• Adoption of mechanization through Custom Hiring. The Custom Hiring Centre(CHCs) is place where farmers can get farm machinery on rental basis especially when they cannot afford to purchase agricultural machinery and equipment. The centres play critical role in introducing high technology agriculture machinery to even poor farmers with the objective of increasing yield and improving quality of agriculture operations. Hence, renting out farm machines becomes more viliable.
• Out of 120 million strong farmer population in India, majority of them are incapable of buying machines. Moreover, the reality of labour shortage is making farmers more inclined towards mechanization to ensure faster work at a lower cost. Custom hiring makes available various farm machinery/equipments to expand mechanized activities during cropping seasons in large areas especially for small and marginal farmers and improve mechanization in places with low farm power availability. It balances the adverse economies of scale due to high cost of individual ownership. With the concept of custom hiring, various agricultural machinery/implements and high value crop specific machines applied for different operations will be available for farmers. It has also helped develop centres under contract Farming, for example “Axereal’s entrepreneur center” , which are Centers of Excellence for farm Machinery, agri-Inputs and expert’ s advice. These centers promote development of entrepreneurs among farmers.These centers also help companies like Axereal to add qualitative and quantitative value in contract farming program. are two prevailing models of Custom Hiring, namely

1. Tractor Centric Model: Tractor Centric Model emphasizes on tractor along with range of equipments. This model offers only basic services like leveling, ploughing, harrowing, planting etc. Mostly local entrepreneurs who are mainly farmers with limited financial capability implement this model in focused territories.
2. Operation based model: Operation based model involves one type of high value machinery (single/fleet) with operations in larger territory, even in multiple states for better utilization of the machine. (Harvester, thresher,sowing machines)

Social, Economic and Environmental benefits of Custom Hiring:

There are multiple social and economic benefits for custom hiring such as reduction of harvest and post-harvest losses, reduction of workloads particularly for women, improved safety, efficient labour, saving in cost of production, increased cultivation area, timely production, better quality cultivation, increased yields, crop diversification, retention of farmers in rural areas along with improved livelihood. The use of combined harvesters has led to increment in quality, reducing harvesting cost and saving time. Custom hiring provides employment and entrepreneurship opportunity among Villagers. Progressive farmers also takes it as business opportunities to develop CHCs.

In the US:

Organic agriculture is focused on ensuring minimal synthetic fertilizer and herbicide is on the food we eat. This tends to have minimal impact on the nutrient density of food.

Regenerative agriculture is focused on increasing the health of the agricultural soil. This tends to increase the nutrient density of food.

The Rodale Institute has been a leading source of organic farming resources for decades. They are now urging farmers adopt regenerative organic agriculture practices.

As of 2019 Rodale has a pilot program ongoing for “Certified Regenerative Organic” agricultural items: Regenerative Organic Certified - ROC Pilot Program & Participants

For 2020 the pilot should be over and general applications from farms, ranches, and dairies for enrollment should be in place.

I suggest that anyone currently buying organic produce should switch to regenerative organic as soon as it becomes available.

Being an farmer, I came up with this answer very ago. Firstly not all farmers are same, not all have real issues.water is backbone of farming,treated hygienic water is must for roti with good nutrients in your dinner plate.firstly legacy of bank limits on land must go through some liquidation. Farmers are carefree people and spend a lot on marriages,parties,vehicles and living luxuries.all these entities come through loan on land and after failing to pay uniform installments of loan received, farmers come with strikes,public agitation. On first basis bank should counsel farmers for type of loan they are requesting for and detail it's aftermath to them. On second basis the brokery system in graineries and farming market should be deceased, and govt. Undertaking with fix bar should be imposed. On third basis price of crops shouldn't be decided before harvesting and market price ratio to farmer's price shouldn't be in surprising figures so that youth find farming an good profession to opt. On fourth basis prices of farming land should have different government department to deal with and shouldn't be affected by market property prices. On fifth basis new farming techniques should be presented as demo for free and first trial pack should be free for farmers so that he knows about global farming scenario. On sixth basis help people of metropolitan cities and ambient classes to stop yelling farming as profession of illiterate and undeveloped people,it prevents new generation to opt career in farming. On seventh basis help farming entrepreneurship grow on national level so that Indian farming sector sees global growth and farmers learn what actual business is.

This would be enough of limelight.

Recent year-long fake farmers' agitation forced the government to withdraw the three laws enacted by our Parliament for benefit of the farmers and the transformation of our farming. This speaks volumes about what is wrong with our agriculture.

There were three kinds of intermediaries plaguing our agriculture at the time of independence viz. the landlords, the moneylenders, and the Arhatiyas. The first two were eliminated by zamindari abolition and nationalization of banks which extended bank branches and farm credit in a big way in the rural areas. Agricultural Produce Markets were established and MSP FCI and PDS were put in place to tide over the food shortages.

But arhtiyas of Punjab and some other places penetrated politics in a big way as many of the political leaders benefitted hugely from the large-scale purchase of foodgrains by FCI at MSP. They had deep pockets too which supported the so-called farmer's agitation which remained confined to Punjab, Haryana, and northwestern UP. As rightly said by the PM, we failed to make small and marginal farmers all over the country aware of why the three Acts were passed in the first place. But our biggest failure is that the taxpayers remained meek spectators when the highways built with their taxes were blocked for such a long time. And citizens of Delhi didn’t have the courage to block the entry of such elements inside the city.

Now let us be bold enough to accept what is wrong with our farming.

The biggest thing that is wrong with our agriculture is that it is still so important as a component of the economy and way of living for more than half of our population. The percentage of farmers in the USA for instance is below 2 ( TWO)! compared to 70 (SEVENTY) in our case. Disguised unemployment conceals enormous surplus labour in our agriculture. This is getting worse with the population explosion and sub-division of holdings. That's the main reason why farmers are so poor and why they have no voice against the middlemen arhatiyas.

What ‘annadata’? That way all of us are ‘datas’ in one way or the other. We pay the market price of farm produce and don't beg for the minimum support price which is also subsidized from the tax that we pay.

As development picks up one expects that importance of agriculture in the economy and in employment comes down as industry and services sectors not only bring more GDP they also provide employment to a high proportion of the workforce. Our manufacturing has not picked up as it should have.

Low yield. For most farm products our yields are lower than the World average what to say about the best yields.

Our holdings are small and fragmented. 85% are small and marginal.

Due to MSP for wheat and rice, our cropping patterns have become lopsided with millets, coarse cereals, and pulses losing area. Broadening MSP to cover all crops is absurd. Why should the government fix prices in a free market when the position is comfortable. It is also absurd to pay an MSP of Rs.20/ kg and then sell the same wheat or rice at Re 1 or Rs.2 per kg through PDS to the same farmers who were paid MSP.

We waste a lot of water and electricity because farmers take them to be free. 90% freshwater going into flood irrigation is criminal when we have a shortage of the same.

Investment is lacking. Nobody wants to invest in agriculture. Loans are being made available under pressure only to be written off later and this has been going on for the last 60 years.

One dry crop a year is the norm. We should instead set up aquaponic farms on all small and marginal holdings across the country where in addition to fish or poultry, dairying, farmers can take 4 to 5 crops in a year under fully controlled conditions and with much less water. They may thus say goodbye to underemployment and poverty.

I am not sure what you mean by technical problems in agriculture.

Maybe you are asking about real world problems of farming in india

Most of the initial problems will be in soil, water, seeds or weather risks and knowledge at the time of growing. Tools can be a challenge. Pests can be a problem. Post the growing phase there are harvesting related challenges followed by storage, shippment and selling related challenges

As an Software Engineer, Entrepreneur and also a farmer in India, here are some real world challenges in farming that i have ran into esp during the plant growing phase.

1. Need Simple mechanism, at home, to find soil condition and recommendation on what needs to be added to enrich it. Idealy organic method
2. Need Simple mechanism, at home, to find borewell water composition. Often it will all sorts of salts depending upon neighbourhood and depth
3. Need Simple mechanism to find depth of water in borewell so that one doesn't run the borewell dry. I built my own gadget for this
4. Borewell is critical for farmers. Water diving before digging a borewell is largely a huge and expensive gamble. There does not seem to be much science in that field. Most of it BS. So need some geologists, data scientists and engineers to work together to improve the accuracy of predictions
5. Weather forecast is super important for Indian farmers as they largely rely on rain. Need more focused local forecasts
6. Seed quality is another problem. No tool or mechanism to test or predict quality.
7. Use of Manure/fertilizer and pesticides (if used) are largely tribal knowledge. Need plant/tree doctors to guide the farmer.
8. Even an educated farmer needs access to good info. Need better and uptodate website/books/mobile app with relevant info. Maybe in multiple languages.

Similarly there are many other real world challenges that one or more entrepreneurs need to solve.

Anyone out there with skills and desire?

I am a keen observer of agrarian distress.India agrarian distress is very complex than it seems to be.

Small and marginal operational land holding accounts to about 86% (0–2 hectares).Which clearly states that the production of these small and medium land holders will not be able to make money out of it. In addition to that Indian climate is vagarious, most of our rivers, lakes, water reservoirs are encroached by illegal structures.There are many government buildings build on lakes and rivers, as a result we are facing serious water crisis which again puts farmers under distress.Even if farmers are able to work efficiently and be able to produce a good amount of crops India’s cold storage capacity is way lower than what is needed .SO farmers are pushed to a situation where they have to sell their products at half or even less. There are many products in India which are sold at prices way less than MSP because many are not aware of that . Many farmers are not ready to sell at MSP to Gov because of liquidity crisis, they want liquid they cant wait as most of then have commitments they have to pay financiers.

Middle men are making huge profits and they are not passing their profits to the farmers.Most of the Indian farmers are illeterates which makes things even more complex.Financial inclusion in Indian is increasing at a steady pace but still a long way to go.We can fix this problem by taking this middle man out. Government should make procurement of products from farmers at ease and should also promote government initiatives like http://eNam.gov.in which will help farmers to know about their opportunities. Young starts ups should come up with innovative ideas to decrease the cost of storage and transportation.Infact government should start building cold storage godowns if not private players are gonna make huge profits. Most of the cold storage godowns are making hell lot of profits and government is not ready to capitalize on this. Farmers should be educated about modern day practices of farming and should learn how to make farming a profitable business. I can give you in written that government will not take any steps because they dont care about poor farmers, most of the middle men and godown owners are affiliated to political parties so they will never make things to happen.