2. Agriculture, also called farming or husbandry, is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi, and
other life forms for food, fiber, biofuel, and other products used to sustain and enhance human
life.
Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby
farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of
civilization.
The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven
and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies.
Until the Industrial Revolution, the vast majority of the human population labored in
agriculture. Pre-industrial agriculture was typically subsistence agriculture in which farmers
raised most of their crops for their own consumption instead of for trade.
Agriculture in India has a significant history. Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm
output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 16.6 % of the GDP
in 2009, about 50 % of the total workforce. The economic contribution of agriculture to India's
GDP is steadily declining with the country's broad-based economic growth. Still, agriculture is
demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic
fabric of India.

3. Agriculture is the main sector of Indian economy which is amply powered by the following
points:-
1. Share in National Income: The contribution from agriculture has been continuously
falling from 55.1% in 1950-51 to 37.6% in 1981-82 & further to 18.5% in 2006-07. But
agriculture still continues to be the main sector because it provides livelihood to a
majority of the people.
2. Largest Employment Providing Sector: in 1951, 69.5% of the working population was
engaged in agriculture. This percentage fell to 66.9% in 1991 & to 56.7% in 2001.
However, with rapid increase in population the absolute number of people engaged in
agriculture has become exceedingly large.
3. Contribution to Capital formation: There is a general agreement on the importance of
Capital Formation in economic development. Unless the rate of Capital Formation
increases to a sufficient high degree, economic development cannot be achieved.
Agriculture can play a big role in pushing the Capital Formation in India. Rural sector
can transfer labor & capital to the industrial sector which can be effectively used to
increase the productivity in the latter.
4. Providing Raw Material to industries: Agriculture provides raw materials to various
industries of national importance. Sugar industry, Jute industry, Cotton textile industry,
Vanaspati industry are examples of some such industries which depend on agriculture for
their development.
5. Market for Industrial Products: Since more than two-thirds of the population of India
lives in rural areas, increased rural purchasing power is a valuable stimulus to industrial
development.
6. Importance in International Trade: Agriculture constitutes about 75% of the total
exports of the country. Such is the importance of agriculture as far as earnings of foreign
exchange are concerned.

4. Factors of production are the inputs to the production process. Finished goods are the
output.Input determines the quantity of output i.e. output depends upon input. Input is the
starting point and output is the end point of production process and such input-output
relationship is called a production function.
Every production is organised by combining land, labour, physical capital and human capital,
which are known as factors of production.
'Factors of production' may also refer specifically to the 'primary factors', which are stocks
including land, labor, and capital goods applied to production. Materials and energy are
considered secondary factors because they are obtained from land, labor and capital.
Agriculture or farming can be looked at as a system. The important inputs are seeds, fertilisers,
machinery and labour. Some of the operations involved are ploughing, sowing, irrigation,
weeding and harvesting. The outputsfrom the system include crops, wool, dairy and poultry
products.
The first factor is land, and other natural resources such as water, forests, minerals. The second
requirement is labour, i.e. people who will do the work. Some production activities require
highly educated workers to perform the necessary tasks. Other activities require workers who
can do manual work. Each worker is the labour necessary for production. The third requirement
is physical capital, i.e. the variety of inputs required at every stage during production.

5. Over 50 years since its independence, India has made immense progress towards food security.
Indian population has tripled, but food-grain production more than quadrupled: there has thus
been substantial increase in available food-grain per capita.
Prior to the mid-1960s India relied on imports and food aid to meet domestic requirements.
However, two years of severe drought in 1965 and 1966 convinced India to reform its
agricultural policy, and that India could not rely on foreign aid and foreign imports for food
security. India adopted significant policy reforms focused on the goal of foodgrain self-sufficiency.
This ushered in India's Green Revolution. It began with the decision to adopt
superior yielding, disease resistant wheat varieties in combination with better farming
knowledge to improve productivity. The Indian state of Punjab led India's green revolution and
earned itself the distinction of being the country's bread basket.
The initial increase in production was centred on the irrigated areas of the Indian states of
Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. With both the farmers and the government officials
focusing on farm productivity and knowledge transfer, India's total foodgrain production soared.
A hectare of Indian wheat farms that produced an average of 0.8 tonnes in 1948, produced 4.7
tonnes of wheat in 1975 from the same land. Such rapid growths in farm productivity enabled
India to become self-sufficient by the 1970s. It also empowered the smallholder farmers to seek
further means to increase food staples produced per hectare. By 2000, Indian farms were
adopting wheat varieties capable of yielding 6 tonnes of wheat per hectare.
With agricultural policy success in wheat, India's Green Revolution technology spread to rice.
However, since irrigation infrastructure was very poor, Indian farmer innovated with tube-wells,
to harvest ground water. When gains from the new technology reached their limits in the states
of initial adoption, the technology spread in the 1970s and 1980s to the states of eastern India —
Bihar and West Bengal. The lasting benefits of the improved seeds and new technology
extended principally to the irrigated areas which account for about one-third of the harvested
crop area. In the 1980s, Indian agriculture policy shifted to "evolution of a production pattern in
line with the demand pattern" leading to a shift in emphasis to other agricultural commodities
like oilseed, fruit and vegetables. Farmers began adopting improved methods and technologies

6. in dairying, fisheries and livestock, and meeting the diversified food needs of India's growing
population. As with Rice, the lasting benefits of improved seeds and improved farming
technologies now largely depends on whether India develops infrastructure such as irrigation
network, flood control systems, reliable electricity production capacity, all season rural and
urban highways, cold storage to prevent food spoilage, modern retail, and competitive buyers of
produce from the Indian farmer. This is increasingly the focus of Indian agriculture policy.
India's agricultural economy is undergoing structural changes. Between 1970 and 2011, the GDP
share of agriculture has fallen from 43 to 16%. This isn't because of reduced importance of
agriculture, or a consequence of agricultural policy. This is largely because of the rapid
economic growth in services, industrial output, and non-agricultural sectors in India between
2000 to 2010.
Farming lands HYV Seeds
Pesticides Harvesting

7. Agriculture in India, largest crops by economic value
Economic
value Unit price
Average yield,
India
(2010)
World's most productive
farms
(2010)
Rank Produce (2009 prices,
US$)
(US$ /
kilogram)
(tonnes per
hectare)
(tonnes per
hectare) Country
1 Rice $38.42 billion 0.27 3.3 10.8 Australia
2 Buffalo milk $24.86 billion 0.4 1.7 1.9 Pakistan
3 Cow milk $17.13 billion 0.31 1.2 10.3 Israel
4 Wheat $12.14 billion 0.15 2.8 8.9 Netherlands
5 Mangoes $9 billion 0.6 6.3 40.6 Cape Verde
6 Sugar cane $8.92 billion 0.03 66 125 Peru
7 Bananas $8.38 billion 0.28 37.8 59.3 Indonesia
8 Cotton $8.13 billion 1.43 1.6 4.6 Israel
9 Fresh
Vegetables $5.97 billion 0.19 13.4 76.8 USA
10 Potatoes $5.67 billion 0.15 19.9 44.3 USA
11 Tomatoes $4.59 billion 0.37 19.3 524.9 Belgium
12 Buffalo meat $4 billion 2.69 0.138 0.424 Thailand
13 Soyabean $3.33 billion 0.26 1.1 3.7 Turkey
14 Onions $3.17 billion 0.21 16.6 67.3 Ireland
15 Chicken Meat $3.12 billion 0.64 10.6 20.2 Cyprus
16 Chick peas $3.11 billion 0.4 0.9 2.8 China
17 Okra $3.07 billion 0.35 7.6 23.9 Israel
18 Cattle Meat $2.93 billion 0.83 13.8 24.7 Jordan
19 Eggs $2.80 billion 2.7 0.1 0.42 Japan
20 Beans $2.57 billion 0.42 1.1 5.5 Nicaragua

8. Agriculture productivity in India, growth in average yields from 1970 to 2010
Crop Average YIELD, 1970-
1971
Average YIELD, 1990-
1991
Average YIELD, 2010–
2011
kilogram per hectare kilogram per hectare kilogram per hectare
Rice 1123 1740 2240
Wheat 1307 2281 2938
Pulses 524 578 689
Oilseeds 579 771 1325
Sugarcane 48322 65395 68596
Tea 1182 1652 1669
Cotton 106 225 510
The Statistics Office of the Food and Agriculture Organisation reported that, per final
numbers for 2009, India had grown to become the world's largest producer of the following
agricultural produce:
· Fresh Fruit
· Lemons and limes
· Buffalo milk - whole, fresh
· Castor oil seeds
· Sunflower seeds
· Sorghum
· Millet
· Spices
· Okra
· Jute
· Beeswax
· Bananas
· Mangoes, mangosteens, guavas
· Pulses
· Indigenous Buffalo Meat
· Fruit, tropical
· Ginger
· Chick peas
· Areca nuts
· Other Bastfibres
· Pigeon peas
· Papayas
· Chillies and peppers, dry
· Anise, badian, fennel, coriander
· Goat milk, whole, freshmeat

9. Per final numbers for 2009, India is the world's second largest producer of the following
agricultural produce:
· Wheat
· Rice
· Vegetables, fresh
· Sugar cane
· Groundnuts, with shell
· Lentils
· Garlic
· Cauliflowers and broccoli
· Peas, green
· Sesame seed
· Cashew nuts, with shell
· Silk-worm cocoons, reelable
· Cow milk, whole, fresh
· Tea
· Potatoes
· Onions
· Cotton lint
· Cottonseed
· Eggplants (aubergines)
· Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms
· Indigenous Goat Meat
· Cabbages and other brassicas
· Pumpkins, squash and gourds
In 2009, India was the world's third largest producer of eggs, oranges, coconuts,
tomatoes, peas and beans.
In addition to growth in total output, agriculture in India has shown an increase in average
agricultural output per hectare in last 60 years. The table below presents average farm
productivity in India over three farming years for some crops. Improving road and power
generation infrastructure, knowledge gains and reforms has allowed India to increase farm
productivity between 40% to 500% over 40 years. India's recent accomplishments in crop
yields while being impressive, are still just 30 % to 60 % of the best crop yields achievable in the
farms of developed as well as other developing countries. Additionally, despite these gains in
farm productivity, losses after harvest due to poor infrastructure and unorganised retail cause
India to experience some of the highest food losses in the world.

10. Principal crops of India
According to the Indian Statistical Report, 2011, the following are the principal crops of India*.
Crop Crop
group
State with the
highest area
under cultivation
(till 2008-09)
Area (in
thousand
hectares)
State with
highest
production
Yield (in
thousand
tonnes)
Second
highest
yield
Rice Cereals Uttar Pradesh 6034 West Bengal 15037 13097
(UP)
Jowar Cereals Maharashtra 4071 Maharashtra 3587 1629
(KN)
Bajra Cereals Rajasthan 5175 Rajasthan 4283 1302 (UP)
Maize Cereals Karnataka 5175 Andhra
Pradesh 4152 3029
(KN)
Ragi Cereals Karnataka 841 Karnataka 1394 193 (UK)
Small millets Cereals Madhya Pradesh 307 Uttarakhand 89 89 (MP)
Wheat Cereals Uttar Pradesh 9513 Uttar Pradesh 28554 15733
(PJ)
Barley Cereals Rajasthan 287 Rajasthan 878 276 (UP)
Gram Pulses Madhya Pradesh 2841 Madhya
Pradesh 2786 981 (RJ)
Tur Pulses Maharashtra 1009 Maharashtra 605 315 (KN)
Other Pulses Pulses Rajasthan 2394 Uttar Pradesh 1148 830 (RJ)
Groundnut Oilseed Gujarat 1907 Gujarat 2661 1554 (AP)
Sesamum Oilseed Rajasthan 521 Rajasthan 153 133 (WB)
Rapeseed
and mustard Oilseed Rajasthan 2388 Rajasthan 3806 874 (UP)
Linseed Oilseed Madhya Pradesh 126 Madhya
Pradesh 48 27 (UK)
Castor Oilseed Gujarat 434 Gujarat 852 159 (RJ)
Cotton Others Maharashtra 3107 Gujarat 8787 (000
bales) 4618 (GJ)
Jute Others West Bengal 596 West Bengal 8412 (000
bales)
1253
(BH)
Mesta Others Andhra Pradesh 62 Andhra
Pradesh
544 (000
bales) 137 (BH)
Sugarcane Others Maharashtra 761 Uttar Pradesh 109048 60648
(MH)

12. India has very poor rural roads affecting timely supply of inputs and timely transfer of
outputs from Indian farms, inadequate irrigation systems, crop failures in some parts of the
country because of lack of water while in other parts because of regional floods, poor seed
quality and inefficient farming practices in certain parts of India, lack of cold storage and
harvest spoilage causing over 30% of farmer's produce going to waste, lack of organised retail
and competing buyers thereby limiting Indian farmer's ability to sell the surplus and commercial
crops. The Indian farmer receives just 10 to 23 % of the price the Indian consumer pays for
exactly the same produce, the difference going to losses, inefficiencies and middlemen traders.
Farmers in developed economies of Europe and the United States, in contrast, receive 64 to 81
% of the price the local consumer pays for exactly the same produce in their supermarkets.
Even though, India has shown remarkable progress in recent years and has attained self-sufficiency
in food staples, the productivity of Indian farms for the same crop is very low
compared to farms in Brazil, the United States, France and other nations. Indian wheat farms,
for example, produce about a third of wheat per hectare per year in contrast with wheat farms in
France. Similarly, at 44 million hectares, India had the largest farm area under rice production in
2009; yet, the rice farm productivity in India was less than half the rice farm productivity in
China.
Indian farms are not poor performing for every crop. For some, Indian farms post the
best yields. For example, some of India's regions consistently posts some of the highest yields
for sugarcane, cassava and tea crops every year.
Crop yields for some farms within India are within 90 % of the best achieved yields by
farms in developed countries such as the United States and in European Union. No single state
of India is best in every crop. Indian states such as Tamil Nadu achieve highest yields in rice and
sugarcane, Haryana enjoys the highest yields in wheat and coarse grains, Karnataka does well in
cotton, Bihar does well in pulses, while other states do well in horticulture, aquaculture, flower
and fruit plantations.

13. The low productivity in India is a result of the following factors:
· The average size of land holdings is very small (less than 2 hectares) and is subject to
fragmentation due to land ceiling acts, and in some cases, family disputes. Such small
holdings are often over-manned, resulting in disguised unemployment and low
productivity of labour. Some reports claim smallholder farming may not be cause of poor
productivity, since the productivity is higher in China and many developing economies
even though China smallholder farmers constitute over 97 % of its farming population.
Chinese smallholder farmer is able to rent his land to larger farmers, China's organised
retail and extensive Chinese highways are able to provide the incentive and
infrastructure necessary to its farmers for sharp increases in farm productivity.
· Adoption of modern agricultural practices and use of technology is inadequate,
hampered by ignorance of such practices, high costs and impracticality in the case of
small land holdings.
· According to the World Bank, Indian Branch: Priorities for Agriculture and Rural
Development", India's large agricultural subsidies are hampering productivity-enhancing
investment. Overregulation of agriculture has increased costs, price risks and uncertainty.
Government intervenes in labour, land, and credit markets. India has inadequate
infrastructure and services. World Bank also says that the allocation of water is
inefficient, unsustainable and inequitable. The irrigation infrastructure is
deteriorating.The overuse of water is currently being covered by over pumping aquifers,
but as these are falling by foot of groundwater each year, this is a limited resource.
· Illiteracy, general socio-economic backwardness, slow progress in implementing land
reforms and inadequate or inefficient finance and marketing services for farm produce.
.

14. Several organisations have taken steps to promote awarness in agriculture
Various measures taken by the central and state governments from time to time, some of
them are:
1. To begin with government took lead in providing various facilities on its own. In course of
time different types of activities were entrusted to specific public agencies.
2. The government abolished the zamindari system. It was followed with the consolidation of
small holdings to make them economically viable.
3. Another important input was the widespread use of radio and television for acquainting
farmers in new and improved techniques of cultivation.
4. The crop insurance was another step to protect the farmers against losses caused by crop
failure on account of natural calamities like drought, flood, hailstorm, cyclone, fire, diseases etc.
5. Easy availability of capital or investment input through a well-knit network of rural banking
and small scale cooperative societies with low interest rates were other facilities provided to the
farmers for modernisation of agriculture.
6. Special weather bulletins for farmers were introduced on radio and television.
7. The government announced minimum support price for various crops removing the elements
of uncertainty. It ensures minimum price for the crop grown by the farmers.