Indian Agriculture: Types, Characteristics, and Difficulties of Farming
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For over 58% of Indians, agriculture is their main source of income. To learn more about Indian agriculture, click this link.
India is home to the vast and extremely fertile Indo-Gangetic plain, one of the world's largest plain areas.
India has a wide range of soil types and climates.
These physical differences have contributed significantly to the evolution of various farming techniques in the Indian agriculture sector, as have elements like the availability of irrigation, the use of machinery, and contemporary agricultural inputs like High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of seeds, insecticides, and pesticides.
India's agricultural practices
Below is a discussion of a few of the main farming disciplines.
Farming for subsistence:
In India, the vast majority of farmers engage in subsistence farming, or cultivating for personal consumption. The farmers and their families consume the majority of the production; they have no excess to sell on the market.
This kind of farming involves modest, dispersed landholdings and straightforward, archaic cultivation methods. Modern farm inputs like chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides are completely absent, as are tractors and other farm machinery. Farmers typically grow cereals in this type of farming, along with oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, and sugarcane.
Subsistence farming is divided into several categories:
- Profound
- primitive
On small plots of land, primitive subsistence agriculture is practiced with the aid of crude digging implements and labor from the community or family. This kind of farming depends on the monsoon in addition to other environmental factors including soil fertility. Nomadic herding and changing agriculture are two examples of these kinds.
In heavily wooded areas like the Amazon basin, tropical Africa, sections of southeast Asia, and northeast India, shifting agriculture is practiced. Since there is a lot of rainfall in these locations, the vegetation grows back quickly.
By cutting down and burning trees, a section of land is made clear. After that, the soil is mixed with the ashes, and crops including cassava, yam, potatoes, and maize are planted. When fertility declines, the land is abandoned.
Nomadic herding is practiced in the arid and semi-arid regions of Central Asia, the Sahara, and certain regions of India, including Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir.
Seasonal variations cause herdsmen to travel along predetermined routes, carrying their livestock, in search of water and feed. Most often raised animals are sheep, camels, yaks, and goats.
On small plots of land, intensive subsistence farming is carried out with more labor and basic tools. There is sufficient supply for both local consumption and outdoor sales. It is possible to cultivate multiple crops on the same plot each year due to the sunny climate and fertile soil for the most of the year. Most commonly grown crops include oilseeds, rice, wheat, maize, and pulses.
Profound and Intense farming
The amount of yield per unit of land is the primary distinction between these two agricultural methods. India's vast cultivation is not as widespread as it is in the USA, Canada, or other temperate regions.
Extensive farming is the practice of cultivating a sizable area of land. Because of the bigger area, there may be a high overall production, but there is a low production per unit.
Produce per unit of land is high with intensive farming. In Kerala, where there is a severe lack of land available for cultivation, intensive farming is used.
Industrial agriculture
Since the majority of the output is sold on the market to make money, it is exactly the reverse of subsistence farming. Farmers employ inputs such as chemical fertilizers, irrigation, insecticides, herbicides, high-yielding seed varieties, etc. in this system.
Groundnuts, cotton, jute, sugarcane, and other significant commercial crops are grown throughout India.
Since the majority of the population in Haryana is a wheat eater, the majority of rice grown there is farmed for commercial purposes. However, rice farming would primarily be of the subsistence variety in the eastern and northeastern regions of India.
Farming on plantations:
This kind involves growing just one cash crop for both domestic and foreign markets. In this kind of farming, a single cash crop that is only intended for sale is grown and processed.
Plantation crops include bananas, spices, tea, coffee, rubber, and tea. The British brought the majority of these crops to India in the 19th century.
Mixed Farming:
Mixed farming refers to the simultaneous practice of growing crops and raising animals. Farmers that practice mixed farming also benefit financially.
Since each classification is dependent on the type and intent of farming, there may be instances where they overlap. For instance, banana growing is categorized as both commercial and plantation farming.
Indian Agriculture's Characteristics
Maintenance Agriculture: Subsistence farming, which has been practiced throughout the majority of India for several hundred years, is still prevalent there.
Population pressure on agriculture: Approximately 70% of people are still reliant on agriculture, either directly or indirectly, despite the rise in urbanization and industrialization.
Mechanization in agriculture: Despite the Green Revolution and advancements in agricultural machinery and equipment spanning over 40 years, full mechanization remains unattainable.
Monsoon dependency: Today, irrigation covers just about one-third of the entire planted area, despite the large-scale increase. Consequently, the monsoon continues to be a major source of income for two thirds of farmed areas.
Crop diversity: Due to India's dual tropical and temperate temperatures, a wide range of crops can be found there. Similar variety to that of India can be seen in very few other countries. You would understand it as we got into a detailed discussion of the various crop varieties.
Food crops predominate: Farmers practically everywhere in the nation prioritize producing food crops.
Seasonal patterns: India has three separate seasons—Kharif, Rabi, and Zaid—for agriculture and crops. In India, particular crops are cultivated throughout these three seasons. For instance, wheat is a rabi crop and rice is a kharif crop.
Obstacles in Indian Agriculture
The difficulties encountered by Indian agriculture can be roughly divided into two groups: persistent issues and new ones arising from the system, changing climate, economy, and current agricultural techniques.
Production Stagnation of important Crops:
For a considerable amount of time, the production of several important staple food crops, such as wheat and rice, has been stagnant. Our agricultural experts, planners, and policymakers are concerned about this situation because it widens the gap between the supply and demand of our expanding population.
High cost of farm inputs:
The costs of farm labor, HYV seeds, fertilizer, insecticides, and pesticides are examples of farm inputs. Farmers who own low and medium lands are disadvantaged by such an increase.
Soil exhaustion: The green revolution has reduced hunger in India, but it has also had unfavorable effects. One of these is soil exhaustion, which is the depletion of soil nutrients brought on by repeatedly cultivating the same crop.
Crucial Information Regarding Indian Agriculture
According to the Economic Survey of India 2020–21 report, in FY20:
296.65 million tonnes of food grains were produced nationwide in total, an increase of 11.44 million tonnes from 285.21 million tonnes in FY19.
In FY21, the government intends to purchase 42.74 million tons from the central pool, a 10% increase over the amount acquired in FY20.
With 307.31 million tons of food grains, the government has set a record goal for farmers to increase food grain production by 2% in FY22.
303.34 million tonnes were produced in FY21, compared to a target of 301 million tonnes.
Depletion of Fresh Groundwater:
This is the second adverse effect of the Green Revolution on the environment. Groundwater was used excessively for most irrigation in arid regions of Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh. The current state of fresh groundwater in these states is concerning.
Global Climate Change: It has been estimated that climate change will have a significant impact on Indian agriculture. Temperature increases brought on by climate change are expected to raise sea levels, intensify cyclones, cause erratic rainfall, and other problems. The output of wheat and rice would be negatively impacted by these modifications. In particular, wheat output in north India would be impacted by a rise in wintertime temperatures. The influx of salt water and an increase in cyclone frequency would have an impact on rice production in India's coastal regions.
Effects of Globalization: Globalization has an impact on all developing nations. The most obvious impact is the decline in farmers' income and the danger to India's capacity to continue cultivating. Falling output pricing and increasing input costs are to blame for this. This is a reflection of both decreased farmer protection and subsidies. These farmers now face competition from heavily subsidized produce in the industrialized world as a result of trade liberalization.
Providing Food Security: Our production of food grains was not self-sufficient in India prior to the start of the green revolution. However, over the past few decades, agriculture has not kept up with population growth. As a result, measures including accessibility, affordability, and the nutritional value of the food should be taken to ensure food security.
Farmers Suicides: It appears that the majority of farmer suicides occur in areas where Indian agriculture is heavily commercialized and where peasant debt is quite high. Farmers who raised cash crops appeared much more vulnerable than those who raised food crops. The downturn started with the commercialization of rural areas and a sharp drop in agricultural investment. A large number of resources have been privatized, which has made matters worse.
The combined Gross Value Added (GVA) of fishery, forestry, and agriculture was projected to be Rs. 19.48 lakh crore in FY20.
In FY20, the agricultural and related industries accounted for 17.8% of India's GVA at current prices.
Following the pandemic-caused decline, consumer expenditure in India is expected to rebound in 2021, growing by as much as 6.6%.
