Agriculture plays a vital role in the Indian economy and the agricultural sector employs more than 50% of India's population. Over 58% of rural households depend on agriculture as a primary means of livelihood. Along with fisheries and forestry, Agriculture is one of the largest contributions to a nation's GDP. The agricultural sector is currently experiencing its most stressful period in the last three decades. Because around 65% of India's agriculture is dependent on rain, and more than half of the population is dependent on agriculture, too little or too much rain is always a sign of trouble. Several problems plague Indian agriculture, some of which are natural and others which are man-made. In this article, we will discuss Problems of Indian Agriculture which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Importance of Agriculture in India

• Agriculture, with a 16% contribution to GDP, still provides a living for approximately two-thirds of the country's population.
• The sector employs 58% of the labour force in the country and is the single largest private sector occupation.
• Agriculture accounts for approximately 15% of total export earnings and supplies raw materials to a wide range of industries (textiles, silk, sugar, rice, flour mills, milk products).
• Rural areas are the most important markets for low and middle-priced consumer goods, including consumer durables, and rural domestic savings are a significant source of resource mobilisation.
• The agriculture sector serves as a barrier to food security and, by extension, national security.
• Horticulture, animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries play an important role in improving the overall economic conditions as well as the health and nutrition of the rural masses.
• To maintain ecological balance, agriculture and allied sectors must be developed in a sustainable and balanced manner.
• Agriculture contributes to the advancement of a community comprised of various castes and communities to a better social, cultural, political, and economic life. Agriculture keeps nature in a state of biological equilibrium.
• Satisfactory agricultural production brings a nation's citizens peace, prosperity, harmony, health, and wealth by removing distrust, discord, and anarchy.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Scope and Importance of Agriculture

Challenges Faced by Indian Agriculture

Stagnation in Major Crop Production

• Production of some of the major staple food crops, such as rice and wheat, has been stagnant for some time.
• This is a situation that our agricultural scientists, planners, and policymakers are concerned about because it creates a huge gap between the demand of an ever-growing population and production.

High Farm Input Costs

Farm inputs include fertiliser, insecticides, pesticides, HYV seeds, farm labour costs, and so on. Such an increase disadvantages small and medium-sized farmers.

Soil Depletion

• The Green Revolution has helped to reduce hunger in India, but it has also had negative consequences.
• One of these is soil exhaustion, which refers to the loss of nutrients in the soil as a result of farming the same crop repeatedly.

Groundwater Depletion

• It is another negative consequence of the green revolution.
• The majority of irrigation in dry areas of Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh was done with excessive use of groundwater.
• Today's fresh groundwater situation in these states is concerning.

Global Climate Change

• It has been predicted that climate change will have a massive impact on Indian agriculture.
• Climate change is expected to raise temperatures, resulting in higher sea levels, more intense cyclones, unpredictable rainfall, and other effects.
• These modifications would have a negative impact on rice and wheat production.
• A rise in winter temperatures, in particular, would have an impact on wheat production in northern India.
• Rice production in coastal areas of India would be hampered by saline water ingress and an increase in the frequency of cyclones.

Impact of Globalization

• The most visible effect is a decrease in farmer income and a threat to India's agricultural viability. This is because input prices are rising while output prices are falling.
• This reflects a combination of reduced subsidies and farm protection.
• Due to trade liberalisation, these farmers will face competition from heavily subsidised production in the developed world.

Providing Food Security

• Prior to the Green Revolution, India was not self-sufficient in terms of food grain production.
• However, agriculture has not grown in tandem with population growth in recent decades, and in order to ensure food security, factors such as accessibility, affordability, and nutritional value of available food must be addressed.

Farmers Suicides

• Suicides among farmers appear to be concentrated in areas with high commercialization of Indian agriculture and high peasant debt.
• Farmers growing cash crops appeared to be far more vulnerable than those growing food crops.
• The decline began with the commercialization of the countryside and a massive drop in agricultural investment.
• The privatisation of many resources has exacerbated the situation.

Problems with Natural Resource Availability

Small and Dispersed Landholdings​

• The average landholding size in India has decreased from 2.28 hectares in 1970 to 1.1 hectares in 2018.
• On such small and fragmented fields, farming activities such as irrigation and farm mechanisation become difficult.
• Furthermore, much fertile agricultural land is wasted in the process of establishing boundaries.

Insufficient Water Supply

• Monsoon rains are critical to Indian agriculture. Irrigation facilities cover only half of the cropped area. Agriculture is thus vulnerable to the whims of the monsoon.
• Furthermore, if there is an assured supply of water, ordinary seed varieties can be replaced by better varieties.
• Droughts frequently cause distress among farmers, pushing them into debt and resulting in farmer suicide.

Problems with Farming Systems and Techniques

Inadequate Supply of Guaranteed Quality Seed

• Improved seed varieties have not been widely used in India. The major cereals (rice, millets, and pulses) are still primarily grown with unimproved seeds.
• The majority of farmers, particularly small and marginal farmers, cannot afford good quality seeds due to exorbitant prices for better seeds.
• Quality produce is impossible to produce without quality seed.

Inadequate Application of Manures and Fertilisers

• Indian agriculture is much less productive than Japanese or Chinese agriculture due to insufficient use of manures such as cow dung or vegetable refuge and chemical fertilisers.
• The careless use of chemical fertilisers has brought the issue of water and soil degradation to the fore.

Inadequate Application of Efficient Farm Technology​

• Most of India's cultivation methods are still primitive. The majority of farmers continue to use native ploughs and other equipment.
• It reduces agricultural productivity in India.
• Cutting-edge technologies such as precision farming and pesticide sprinkling drones are not being used.

Problems Related to Market Produce

Inadequate Storage Facilities

• Because adequate storage facilities are unavailable, most farmers sell their produce immediately in the market without realising remunerative prices.
• Lack of storage becomes more problematic for horticulture production, which has a shorter shelf life.
• During peak production times, this results in a 30 to 40% decrease in price and, in some cases, a price crash.
• Grains storage facilities have been prioritised, while perishable storage facilities have been overlooked.

Market Segmentation

• The entire geographic area is divided into markets managed by APMCs established by the state government.
• Agricultural markets in India are highly regulated and fragmented. This has resulted in inefficiency and prevented a universal national market.

Problems Related to Indebtedness of Farmers

Farmers Indebtedness

• According to the NSSO report, more than half of farm-households in India are in debt.
• Even today, 40% of agricultural households obtain loans from informal sources such as money lenders.
• Drought and crop losses have forced farmers into a vicious cycle of debt traps, sometimes leading to suicide.

Major Government Initiatives for Agriculture

Green Revolution Krishonnati Yojana

• In 2005, the Indian government launched the Green Revolution Krishonnati Yojana to help the agriculture sector.
• The government intends to develop the agriculture and allied sectors in a holistic and scientific manner in order to increase farmer income.
• The scheme aims to boost agricultural production, productivity, and produce returns.
• The scheme's various missions will contribute to the government's goal of doubling farmer income by 2022.

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)

• The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) is a plan for the holistic growth and development of the Indian horticulture sector.
• MIDH is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme that was implemented by the Agriculture Ministry in 2014-15 as part of the Green Revolution Krishonnati Yojana.
• This Centrally Sponsored Scheme includes vegetables, fruits, roots and tuber crops, aromatic plants, flowers, spices, bamboo, coconut, cashew, and cocoa.
• MIDH also provides technical assistance and advice to state horticultural missions, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), the Saffron Mission, and the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
• The scheme's horticulture improvement strategies include technology promotion, research, post-harvest management, extension, processing, and marketing.

National Food Security Mission (NFSM)

• In 2007, the Government of India launched the 'National Food Security Mission,' a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, in response to stagnant food grain production and an increasing consumption need of the country's growing population.
• The scheme was launched in response to the recommendation of the National Development Council's agriculture subcommittee.
• The Mission was a resounding success, with additional rice, wheat, and pulse production exceeding expectations.
• The Mission continued during the 12th Five Year Plan, with new targets of additional food grain production of 25 million tonnes by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan, consisting of 10 million tonnes rice, 8 million tonnes wheat, 4 million tonnes pulses, and 3 million tonnes coarse cereals.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)

• The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is one of eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
• It aims to address 'Sustainable Agriculture' issues in the context of climate change risks by developing appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies for ensuring food security, equitable access to food resources, enhancing livelihood opportunities, and contributing to national economic stability.
• The Mission recognises that the risks to the Indian agriculture sector from climatic variability and extreme events would be exacerbated at multiple levels, including crop or livestock, farm or cropping system, and food system.

Sub-Mission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE)

• SMAE aims to achieve food and nutritional security as well as farmer socioeconomic empowerment.
• To foster effective linkages and synergies among various stakeholders, as well as to promote widespread and innovative use of electronic/print media, inter-personal communication, and ICT tools, among others.

Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP)

• SMSP aims to increase certified/high-quality seed production.
• Strengthening the seed multiplication chain and modernising infrastructure for seed production, storage, certification, and quality, among other things.
• Promoting new technologies and methodologies in seed production, processing, testing, etc.

Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM)

• SMAM aims to expand farm mechanization's reach to small and marginal farmers, as well as to regions where farm power is scarce.
• It will promote 'Custom Hiring Centers' to offset the negative economies of scale caused by small landholding and the high cost of individual ownership.
• It will establish hubs for high-tech and high-value farm equipment and raise awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and capacity-building activities.

National Horticulture Mission (NHM)

• A Centrally Sponsored Scheme, the National Horticulture Mission, has been launched to promote holistic growth of the horticulture sector through area-based regionally differentiated strategies.
• The scheme is fully funded by the government, and the various components proposed for implementation are financially supported according to the scales established.
• The National Horticulture Mission (NHM) is being implemented in all Indian states and union territories, with the exception of the North Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttaranchal.
• For these states a separate Technology Mission for integrated horticulture development exists to promote holistic growth of the horticulture sector, which includes fruits, vegetables, roots and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, cashew, and cocoa.

Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme

• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Department of Agriculture & Co-operation promotes the Soil Health Card (SHC), a programme of the Government of India.
• The Department of Agriculture of each State and Union Territory Government is responsible for implementing its action.
• The Soil Health Card programme aims to educate each farmer about the status of their farm's soil nutrients and provide guidance on the amount of fertiliser to use and how to apply soil amendments in order to preserve soil health over the long term.
• This programme is being implemented across all the States and Union Territories,.
• The Soil Health Card SHC programme calls for the State Governments to analyse the composition of the soil once every three years so that corrective action can be taken to improve soil nutrients.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, or the Traditional Farming Improvement program is one of the sub-components of National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture's Soil Health Management (SHM) program.
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana or PKVY was launched in April 2015.
• PGS-India or Participatory Guarantee System of India is a quality assurance initiative that strengthens the participation of stakeholders in the quality assurance of organic farming.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare laid out this scheme chiefly to encourage and strengthen organic farming.
• It advocates the use of bio-pesticides, vermicompost, and so on, instead of chemical fertilizers.
• This ensures a healthy and organic yield. It was a very comprehensively laid out scheme.

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – RAFTAAR (RKVY-RAFTAAR)

• RKVY was formed in the year 2007, and later it was reformed as Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation (RAFTAAR ).
• This RAFTAAR scheme was to be implemented for three years, starting from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 with a budget distribution of 15,722 crores.
• The RKVY scheme was launched as an umbrella scheme to ensure the holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors by allowing states to select their own agriculture and allied sector development activities in accordance with the district/state agriculture plan.
• This scheme was also made to provide flexibility as well as autonomy to the various states in performing programs with the purpose of motivating/encouraging investment in Agriculture and its associated areas.
• The RKVY scheme encourages states to increase public investment in agriculture and related industries.

Conclusion

It can thus be concluded that there is a lot to improve in the agriculture sector. Efforts are being made to encourage farmers to adopt advanced agricultural techniques such as means of irrigation, availability of chemical fertilizers, HYV seeds to increase yields, etc. Moreover the use of genetically modified crops will also improve the yields for Indian farmers. The need is to educate the farmers regarding the use of proper quantity of manure, fertilizer and good quality seeds to get desired output of the produce. It is expected that Indian agriculture will generate better momentum in coming years due to increased investment in agricultural infrastructure.

FAQs

Question: What are the major problems faced by Indian agriculture?

Question: How does land fragmentation affect Indian agriculture?

Question: What is the role of irrigation in Indian agriculture?

Question: How does climate change impact Indian agriculture?

Question: What measures can be taken to improve Indian agriculture?

MCQs

1. Which of the following is a major cause of low agricultural productivity in India?

a) Excessive mechanization

b) Large landholdings

c) Fragmented and small landholdings

d) Surplus labor

2. What percentage of Indian agricultural land is dependent on monsoon rains?

a) 50%

b) 65%

c) 75%

d) 85%

3. Which of the following is a consequence of inadequate irrigation in Indian agriculture?

a) Increased crop yields

b) Reduced water wastage

c) Dependence on rain-fed agriculture

d) Abundant water supply for farming

4. Which sector employs the largest portion of India’s workforce?

a) Manufacturing

b) Services

c) Agriculture

d) Mining

5. How does climate change pose a threat to Indian agriculture?

a) By increasing soil fertility

b) By reducing the need for irrigation

c) By causing unpredictable weather patterns and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events

d) By stabilizing crop yields

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: “Indian agriculture is the backbone of the economy, but it faces numerous challenges.” Discuss the key challenges and suggest ways to improve the sector.

Answer: Indian agriculture, despite being the backbone of the economy, faces several challenges such as dependence on monsoon rains, fragmented land holdings, low productivity, poor infrastructure, and inadequate access to institutional credit. Farmers also face market inefficiencies, post-harvest losses, and volatile pricing due to lack of storage facilities. To improve the sector, steps such as modernizing agricultural practices, expanding irrigation coverage, improving rural infrastructure, offering better access to institutional credit, promoting cooperative farming, and ensuring fair pricing through government support schemes like MSP and crop insurance are essential.

Q2: Analyze the role of government policies in addressing the challenges of Indian agriculture.

Answer: Government policies play a crucial role in addressing the challenges faced by Indian agriculture. Initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) provide crop insurance to farmers, mitigating risks from crop failure due to unpredictable weather. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) aims to expand irrigation infrastructure, reducing farmers' dependence on monsoons. Minimum Support Price (MSP) ensures that farmers get a fair price for their produce. However, challenges remain in policy implementation, such as delays in payments, limited irrigation coverage, and market access. Strengthening these policies through better execution and addressing the needs of small and marginal farmers is essential.

Q3: Examine how modern agricultural technologies can help address the problems of low productivity in Indian agriculture.

Answer: Modern agricultural technologies, such as precision farming, drip irrigation, genetically modified seeds, and mechanized farming, can significantly enhance productivity in Indian agriculture. Precision farming techniques help optimize the use of resources like water and fertilizers, reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Drip irrigation ensures water efficiency, crucial in regions with water scarcity. The use of genetically modified seeds can enhance crop resistance to pests and increase yields. Mechanization reduces labor costs and increases the speed of agricultural operations. Adopting these technologies, along with government support and training for farmers, can address the issue of low productivity in Indian agriculture.

Previous Year Questions on Problems of Indian Agriculture

1. UPSC CSE 2019

Q1: Discuss the impact of fragmented landholdings on agricultural productivity in India. 

Answer: Fragmented landholdings are a major factor contributing to low agricultural productivity in India. Small and scattered plots make it difficult to adopt modern techniques like mechanization and efficient irrigation. This leads to inefficient resource use, increased costs, and lower crop yields. Consolidation of landholdings through land reforms and cooperative farming could help improve productivity by enabling economies of scale and easier adoption of modern technologies.

2. UPSC CSE 2020

Q2: How has climate change affected Indian agriculture? Suggest measures to mitigate its impact. 

Answer: Climate change has adversely affected Indian agriculture by causing unpredictable weather patterns, more frequent droughts and floods, and shifts in monsoon timings. These changes have reduced crop yields and increased the vulnerability of farmers, particularly in rain-fed regions. To mitigate its impact, measures such as improving irrigation infrastructure, promoting drought-resistant crops, adopting climate-smart agricultural practices, and enhancing early warning systems for weather-related events are essential.