INDIAN AGRICULTURE AND MONSOON TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS 2012-13

Submitted by Kanavdeep Singh Mangement Trainee Marketing

EVERYTHING CAN WAIT BUT NOT AGRICULTURE

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 1st Prime Minister of India

AGRICULTURE- AN INTRODUCTION
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food , fiber, biofuel and other products used to sustain life. The word agriculture is the English adaptation of Latin agricultra, from ager, "a field and cultra, "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil" All farming generally relies on techniques to expand and maintain the lands that are suitable for raising domesticated species.

HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE

Prehistoric origins - Forest gardening Ancient history By 7000 BC, small-scale agriculture reached Egypt By 5000 BC, techniques like large-scale intensive cultivation of land, monocropping, organized irrigation, and the use of a specialized labor force, developed Middle Ages Significant improvements in the agricultural techniques and technology Gradual evolution of the scratch plough and other tools Move from a two field crop rotation to a three field crop rotation

MODERN DEVELOPMENTS
Global exchange of previously local crops Mechanization Production practices Tillage Pest control Nutrient management Water management Crop alteration and biotechnology

Herbicide-tolerant GMO crops Genetic engineering Insect-resistant GMO crops

AGRICULTURE IN INDIA
Indian agriculture is diverse, ranging from impoverished farm villages to developed farms utilizing modern agricultural technologies. Indian Agriculture has made rapid strides since independence

From food shortages and import to self-sufficiency and exports. From subsistence farming to intensive and technology led cultivation. Today , India is the front ranking producer of many crops in the world. Ushered in through the green, white, blue and yellow revolutions

AGRICULTURE IN INDIA -FACTS

Land
Total Geographical Area - 328 million hectares Arable land area -159.7 million hectares (394.6 million acres) is the second largest in the world

Gross irrigated crop area of 82.6 million hectares (215.6 million acres) is the largest in the world Rain fed 80 million hectares Double Cropped 50 million hectares Forest 68 million hectares

Crop Production(Major Crops)

Rice Wheat Coarse Cereals Pulses Oilseeds Sugarcane

89.5 million tonnes 75.6 million tonnes 30.5 million tonnes 13.4 million tonnes 20.9 million tonnes 29.9 million tonnes

Farmers & Land Holdings

Landless- 7.5 crores Marginal Farmers- 7.6 Crore ( less than 2.5 acre ) with average of 1 acre holding Small Farmers- 2.2 Crore ( Between 2.5 to 5 acre ) with average of 3.5 acre holding Large Farmers- 2.2 Crore ( more than 5 acre )

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE IN INDIA

Agriculture is the backbone of Indias economy. Produces 51 major Crops and feeds a population of 1.2 billion About 46 percent of India's geographical area is used for agricultural activity. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in 2009 It employs 58% of the working population of India. Agriculture is also a major supplier of raw materials for industry Contributes to 1/6th of the export earnings

ACHIEVEMENTS OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE

In 50s and60 India was ship to mouth in response to food shortages In 1967, Mrs. Indira Gandhi embarked on bringing Food Security through Green revolution India has grown to become among the top three global producers of a broad range of crops, including wheat, rice, pulses, cotton, peanuts, fruits, and vegetables Largest producer in the world of pulses , tea , and milk Second Largest producer of fruits, vegetables, wheat , rice, groundnut and sugarcane.

THIS TABLE PRESENTS THE NINTEEN MOST IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN INDIA, BY ECONOMIC VALUE

REASONS FOR LOW PRODUCTIVITY

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 Adoption of modern agricultural practices and use of technology is inadequate India's large agricultural subsidies are hampering productivity-enhancing investment. Overregulation of agriculture has increased costs, price risks and uncertainty. Non availability of seeds variety, quantity , quality & in time

Illiteracy, slow progress in implementing land reforms and inefficient finance and marketing services for farm produce. Inconsistent government policy A third of all food that is produced rots due to inefficient supply chains Irrigation facilities are inadequate, as revealed by the fact that only 52.6% of the land was irrigated in 200304, which result in farmers still being dependent on rainfall, specifically the Monsoon season.

MONSOON IN INDIA
Monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind that lasts for several months The word is derived from the Arabic mawsim The term was first used in the Indian subcontinent to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, bringing heavy rainfall South west monsoon caused by winds flowing from arabian sea to hot thar desert in summers North east monsoon caused by winds flowing from himalayas to arabian sea

IMPORTANCE OF MONSOON IN INDIAS ECONOMY

The monsoonal torrents supply over 70% of Indias annual rainfall and, in the process, affect the fortunes of Indian agriculture Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on the monsoons, especially crops like cotton, rice, oilseeds, and coarse grains. In urban areas, the monsoon provides relief from the summer heat in June. Some parts experience heavy flood, which claims a large number of lives, a huge loss of property, and causes severe damage to economy.

INDIAS FOOD PRODUCTION AND MONSOONS

Water is the leading input in agriculture and is required by plants for healthy growth Too much or too little rain can be harmful to crops Drought can kill crops and lead to soil erosion Overly wet conditions can cause harmful fungus growth Share of kharif crops in indian agriculture is more than rabi crops Kharif crops require soil moisure and are more dependant on rain

The rain-fed agriculture constitutes about 60% of Indias total net sown area The ultimate irrigation potential of the country has been assessed at around 140 million hectares (58.46 MH major irrigation and 81.42 MH from minor irrigation, of which 64.09 million hectares is from groundwater sources) Nearly 37%of the available irrigation potential from major irrigation projects in the country still remains to be exploited. Around 70% of the available potential from minor irrigation sources (81.4 MH) consists predominantly groundwater sources requires electricity and financing

HOW TO REDUCE DEPENDENCY ON MONSOON

Tapping ground water in gangetic plains Conservation of surface and ground water has become imperative It is important to accord high priority to sustainable development through watershed development approach. It is important to assign water rights to the community at large as a part of watershed approach Land use should be made more remunerative through the new dry land technologies and the development of infrastructure Traditional water harvesting structures like tanks have become virtually defunct and should be repaired

A watershed is an area of land that feeds all the water running under it and draining off of it into a body of water. Imagine turning an open umbrella upside down in the rain. Rain that hits anywhere within the umbrella's surface area would go to the bottom at the center of the umbrella and gets collected Topography determines where and how water flows. Waterways within the watershed all feed into that main body of water, which could be a river, lake, or stream

NEGATIVE TRENDS IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE

Lack of new technologies Inadequate seed production and fertilizer subsidy

Ineffectiveness of government schemes

Lack of GAP good agricultural practices Lack in improvement of irrigation facilities

POSITIVE TRENDS IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE

Declining per capita cereal intake Movement of labor away from agriculture will lead mechanization and hence productivity Provision of greater finance for agriculture Individual states participating in issues like land reforms, private participation Government priority shift from food grain production towards sustainable farming

PREDICTIONS
Weak monsoons will lead to contraction of agricultural GDP Food inflation will remain high Cutting edge technology R&D efforts will be concentrated on poor and vulnerable regions. Conservation of ground and surface water Contract farming Development of drought resistant seeds Overregulation of agriculture to continue Focus on north east region Development of dryland technologies

Thank you
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