The agriculture sector employs nearly half of the workforce in the country. However, it contributes to 17.5% of the GDP (at current prices in 2015-16).Agriculture sector’s contribution has decreased from more than 50% of GDP in the 1950s to 15.4% in 2015-16 (at constant prices). This slides discuss about Indian agriculture status and problems and solutions.

1. Indian Agriculture : A way
forward
Dr.Senthil Natesan, Project Director, Centre of Innovation,
AC&RI,Madurai, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu, India

3. Status of Agriculture in India
• India is among the top producers of
several crops such as wheat, rice,
pulses, sugarcane and cotton.
• It is the highest producer of milk and
second highest producer of fruits and
vegetables. In 2013, India contributed
25% to the world’s pulses production,
the highest for any one country, 22% to
the rice production, 13% to the wheat
production and 25% of the total
quantity of cotton produced, besides
being the second highest exporter of
cotton for the past several years
• Agricultural growth has been fairly
volatile over the past decade, ranging
from 5.8% in 2005-06 to 0.4% in 2009-
10 and -0.2% in 2014-15.

4. Key States

5. Agriculture contribution to GDP
• The agriculture sector
employs nearly half of the
workforce in the country.
However, it contributes to
17.5% of the GDP (at current
prices in 2015-16).
• Agriculture sector’s
contribution has decreased
from more than 50% of GDP
in the 1950s to 15.4% in
2015-16 (at constant prices).

6. Agriculture exports and imports status
• Major commodities imported to
India are pulses, edible oils, fresh
fruits and cashew nuts.
• Major commodities exported by
India are rice, spices, cotton, meat
and its preparations, sugar, etc.
• Over the past few decades, the
share of agricultural imports in
total imports has increased from
2.8% in 1990- 91 to 4.2% in 2014-
15, whereas the share of
agricultural exports has reduced
from 18.5% to 12.7%.

7. Land holding and farm credit
• Access to agricultural credit is linked to the holding
of land titles. Farmers having small land holding
unable to access institutionalized credit
• Farmers with land holdings of less than a hectare
primarily borrow from informal sources of credit
such as moneylenders (41%), whereas those with
land holdings of two or more hectares primarily
borrow from banks (50% or more).

8. Fertilizer consumption and subsidy
• The average consumption of
fertilizers increased from 106 kg
per ha in 2005-06 to 128 kg per
ha in 2012-13 in comparison with
China which consumes 396 kg per
ha.
• Allocations for fertilizer subsidy
have been increasing at an annual
rate of11.4% between 2000 and
2016. Of these subsidy allocated
for 2017-18, Rs 49,768 crore has
been allocated for subsidy on
urea. 2017-18, Rs 70,000 crore as
been allocated for fertilizer
subsidy, which is the second
biggest expenditure

9. Evolution Of Agriculture

12. Latest research on archaeological sites of the ancient Indus Civilisation, which
stretched across what is now Pakistan and northwest India during the Bronze
Age, has revealed that domesticated rice farming in South Asia .Domesticated
rice, but also millet and the tropical beans urad and horsegram, and used
radiocarbon dating to provide the first absolute dates for Indus multi-
cropping: 2890-2630 BC for millets and winter pulses, 2580-2460 BC for
horsegram, and 2430-2140 BC for rice
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2016-11-rice-farming-india-older-
thought.html#jCp
History of Rice cultivation in India

13. Above, a comparative timeline for the origins of agriculture and
associated technologies in various parts of the Old World. Drawn
by Dr. Chris Stevens as part of the ComPAg project

14. Neolithic/ Chalcolithic timeline in india

15. SN – Southern Neolithic
ON – Orissa Neolithic
GN – Middle Ganges
EH – Early harappa
SC - Sourastra
Zones of early farming Neolithic/ Chalcolithic culture areas

16. Roots of Indian Agriculture
• Wild progenetors of number of important
cultivated crops in abundance gives
evidence of early crop domestication in
india
• Archeological evidences proves that
around 3500-3000 BCE horse gram, mung
bean, and urd bean were cultivated
during pre harappan period
• But civilisation is suspected to have
started 7000 BC
• By around 2500 BC, India had fully formed
urban culture – Indus valley civilization –
largest bronze age civilization in the world
• Domestication and agricultural origin -
South India, Orissa, the Middle Ganges,
Saurashtra, and the Himalayan foothills of
the Punjab region.

17. Crops originated in India
South Deccan
centre
Vigna radiata,
Macrotyloma
uniflorum,
Brachiaria
ramosa and
Setaria verticillata
Orissa Centre
Oryza sativa, Cajanus
cajan, Macrotyloma
uniflorum, Vigna radiata
and Vigna mungo
Saurashtra Centre
Panicum sumatrense,
Brassica ramose,
Panicum sumatrense,
Himalayan foothills
Centre
Vigna aconitifolia,
Panicum sumatrense
Middle ganges centre
Oryza sativa, Paspalum
scrabiculatum,
Cucurbita sp.

18. Banana Diversity in India
Grand Nine- Cavandish

19. Rice varietal Diversity in India

20. Vigna diversity in India

21. Rainbow revolution

22. Agriculture during British period
• Spices and plantation crops invited
East India Company to India
• Commercialisation of agriculture
initiated
• Tremendous increase in the
cultivation of cash crops
• Deadly famines
• Established botanical gardens at
Calcutta (1786), Saharanpur (1817)
and Dapooree (1828)
• In 1905, the Imperial Agricultural
Research Institute (IARI) was
established at Pusa
• Railway networking increased the
transport and export of cash crops

23. Green revolution (1967-1978)
High yielding varieties, use of
fertilizers, pesticides and increased
water use efficiency
• Double / multiple cropping
system
• Seeds of superior genetics
• Proper irrigation systems
• High yielding varieties
• Use of fertilizers and pesticides
• Use of modern machinery
• Expansion of farming areas

24. Ancient Indian Irrigation System- Paddy breeding station ,TNAU

30. Soil health

34. Opportunities in Indian Agriculture

35. Vision 2023 for Agriculture

36. Vision 2023

38. Value chain-Food processing

39. Modern high yielding varieties having
reduced nutrition value

40. New Agriculture Technologies

41. New Agriculture Technologies

42. New Agriculture Technologies

43. Indian crop genome sequencing initiatives
Wheat ordered draft sequence of the 17-gigabase hexaploid
bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) genome has been produced
by sequencing isolated chromosome arms. Annotated 124,201
gene loci distributed nearly evenly across the homeologous
chromosomes and subgenomes

44. Rice genome sequencing

45. Transgenics in India
• Transgenic crops were vigorously denied due to
the myths related to GMOs
• Bt Cotton was allowed for cultivation from
2002 – Mahyco/ Mansanto
• Field trials during 2006-2013: GM events of 18
crops
• brinjal, cotton, corn , cabbage, castor,
cauliflower, chickpea, groundnut, mustard,
okra, papaya, potato, rice, rubber, sorghum,
sugarcane, tomato, watermelon
• Like all other resistant varieties, Bt cotton is
also getting susceptible to boll worms
• No GM food crop is cultivated in India as of
now, and some GM (Mustard, Brinjal) crops
shall be permitted for cultivation in near future

46. Phenomics facilities at IARI

47. Looking at the opportunities in the Farm
sector from an investor’s standpoint

48. Improving farm productivity
• Developing farm-specific, data-driven diagnostics to
determine soil health and help to improve soil health
like soil amendments.
• Drones, sensors technology, and data analytics to
provide decision support to farmers and other players
in the supply chain

49. Market linkage models for farmers
• Indian agriculture is supply driven and less market-driven compared
to other markets.
• Food inflation as well as significant food waste and value loss along
the supply chain is noticed
• Opportunity for developing market linkage models for farmers with
the timely and accurate estimation of sowing and harvesting in the
context of patterns in consumer demand

50. E -platforms for farmers
• Majority of farm income is in cash, presenting an opportunity for digitizing payments to farmers
through payment gateways linked to their accounts.
• Given increasing penetration of smartphones among farmers, this could come in the form of
apps and platforms that connect farmers digitally with rest of the trade.
• Apps in vernacular languages, high on simplicity and safety, is the way to scale.

51. Supply chain models for dairy and horticulture
• Dairy and horticulture
industries are growing
faster than the grain
industry in India.
• Optimize these supply
chains for both milk and
horticulture.
• Solutions that can
preserve the quality,
reduce waste, improve
traceability, and
improve shelf-life
efficient aggregation,
transportation and
storage.

55. Agriculture under different five year plans
I Plan (1956-1961)
- Dams and irrigation
structures
- Bhakra Dam and
Hirakud Dam
II Plan (1956-1961)
- Not much share on
agriculture
- Concentrated on heavy
industries
III Plan (1961-1966)
- Rice production
- Fertilizer industries
- dam constructions
IV Plan(1969-1974)
- Green revolution
V Plan(1974-1979)
- Self reliance in agricultural
production

56. VI Plan (1980-
1985)
- Economic
liberalization
- Increase in food
prices
VII Plan (1985-
1989)
- Agricultural
production
- Increasing the
productivity of
small and
marginal farmers
VIII Plan(1992-
1997)
- Modernisation of
industries
- Not much
importance to
agriculture
IX Plan(1997-
2002)
- Agriculture and
rural development
- Food and
nutritional security
X Plan (2002-
2007)
- Increase in forest
and tree cover
- Cleaning of
major rivers
XI Plan (2007-2012)
- Increase in agricultural
growth rate 4%
- Increase in forest cover
- Cleaning of major rivvers
XII Plan (1912-2017)
- Increase in land productivity and water use
efficiency
- Infrastructure development for storage of
agricultural products and food processing
Agriculture under different five year plans

57. Performance of Agriculture
Growth performance in agriculture %)
1950-1 to 1964-5: 2.51 (area gro. +yield gro)
1967-8 to 1980-1: 2.20 (yield gr. green revol)
1980-1 to 1990-1: 3.07 (spread of green rev)
1992-3 to 2004-5: 2.76 (reform period)
1997-8 to 2004-5: 1.60 (neglect of agri.)
2004-5 to 2010-1: 3.47 (revival of growth)
 The policy, institutional and investment focus during green revolution
time helped India achieve its food self sufficiency goals.
 However, now different policies are needed to focus on small holdings,
rainfed areas, women, lagging regions, rural non-farm for sustainable
agricultural transformation

58. Background on Indian Agriculture
• India ‘s population is 1.21 billion in 2011.
67% are rural. Majority are in
agriculture.
• Importance of agriculture in Indian
economy. Although it contributes only
15% of GDP, the share of workers is
about 55%.
• Marginal and small farmers dominate
• Major crops are rice, wheat, maize,
coarse cereals, groundnut, cotton,
sugarcane, fruits and vegetables
• 60% of cultivated area is rainfed as only
40% of area is under irrigation.
• Agriculture is a ‘State Subject’. In other
words, the policies of provinces are also
important

59. Steps taken by the government
• Crop Insurance Policy
• Easy availability of capital or investment input
• Introducing the MSP policy
• Subsidy in using capital intensive technology
• Land reforms
• Institutional credit increased
• PDS & TPDS

61. Scheme By Government
• Agricultural Technology Management
Agency (ATMA)
• Small Farmers Agribusiness
Consortium (SFAC)
• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana (PMKSY)
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana
(PKVY)
• Agribusiness includes agrichemicals,
breeding , crop production
(farming and contract farming),farm
machinery and seed supply, as well
as marketing and retail sales. All
agents of the food and fiber value
chain and those institutions that
influence it are part of the
agribusiness system.

62. Challenges faced by Indian agriculture
One category belongs to the problems that
have been long standing. Second category
of problems is new and has been emerging
from the prevailing agricultural practices,
system, changing climate and economy.
Stagnation in Production of Major Crops:
• Production of some of the major staple
food crops like rice and wheat has been
stagnating for quite some time. This is a
situation which is worrying our agricultural
scientists, planners and policy makers. If
this trend continues, there would be a
huge gap between the demand of ever
growing population and the production
•High cost of Farm Inputs:
• Over the years rates of farm inputs have
increased manifold. Farm inputs include
fertilizer, insecticide, pesticides, HYV
seeds, farm labour cost etc. Such an
increase puts low and medium land
holding farmers at a disadvantage.

63. Challenges in Indian Agriculture
• On one hand green revolution has played a positive role in
reducing hunger from India.
• On the other hand it has also led to negative
consequences. One of which is Soil exhaustion. Soil
exhaustion means loss of nutrients in the soil from farming
the same crop over and over again. This usually happens in
the rain forest.
• The second major negative consequence of green
revolution is depletion of fresh ground water. You would
remember that areas where green revolution was
successful, it was due to the use of chemical fertilizers and
irrigation.
• Most of the irrigation in dry areas of Punjab, Haryana and
Western Uttar Pradesh was carried out by excessive use of
ground water.
• Today fresh ground water situation in these states is
alarming. In the coming few years if this type of farming
practice continues, these states are going to face water
famine.
• You can see the effect of globalisation on the farm sector
in India. All developing countries have been affected by it.
The most evident effect is the squeeze on farmer’s income
and the threat to the viability of cultivation in India.
• This is due to the rising input costs and falling output
prices. This reflects the combination of reduced subsidy
and protection to farmers. Trade liberalization exposes
these farmers to competition from highly subsidized
production in the developed world.

64. Opportunities to Agricultural Sector in India
• India is the largest manufacturer of tractors
in the world. Power tillers are gaining
popularity especially for lowland flooded
rice fields and hilly terrains.
• Manually operated tools, animal-operated
machines, and mechanical - or electrical -
operated machinery are some examples,
which are slowly increasing in demand.
• Innovation and technology in the Indian
agricultural machinery industry can take the
industry to greater heights, keeping pricing
in mind.d chin sector
• Due to India being an agricultural-based
economy, wastage is a concern and so the
government with the help of U.S. technology
is developing the cold chain sector.
• Therein lies an opportunity for those looking
to invest in this sector with improved
storage and transportation techniques.

65. • Indian economy is still agrarian, because about 55% population is directly dependent upon
agriculture.
• FPI directly targets farming sector as it attempts to create more types of products out of single
crop. This will increase demand for farmers and hence more remunerative prices
• India’s demographic dividend is much talked about and most of this lies in rural India.
• Indian youth is turning away from agriculture because of low profitability.
• FPI is perhaps best bet to seize opportunity of demographic dividend. It can give us a genre of
progressive rural entrepreneurs.
• Prosperous countryside will have multiplier positive impact on socio-economic and political
problems. In short, FPI can narrow gap between rural and urban India.
• FPI is employment intensive industry; it can be an answer to jobless growth of past decade.
• Currently, only 3 % of employment is in FPI, while in developed countries it handles 14%
population.
• Again, much of the employment will be created into rural India. This can remedy problem of
distress migration.
Food Processing Industries

67. Thanks