Introduction to Agriculture sector

Agriculture sector from an Indian Economic perspective constitute majorly the following four such as: Food-crops and oilseeds, Fiber, plantation crops, fruits and vegetables. As per the 2013 RBI statistics Indian agriculture sector contributed 11.36% of real GDP. This sector is also the highest employer in the country employing approximately 60% of the population.

In H1 2013-2014 Agriculture sector of India recorded growth rate of 3.4% [1] and this is higher by a margin of 0.8% during H1 2012-13. The primary reasoning was attributed to a good and a normal monsoon during the year. This spike in the growth of the agricultural sector contributed to a better growth rate for the GDP of 4.6 considering it was a sluggish period for all other sectors including services and manufacturing. Eventhough being one of the oldest sector, Agricultural sector is still contributing phenomenally to the GDP growth of the country. So, in this report an attempt is made to analyse salient aspects of the Agriculture sector from economic perspective, government policy perspective and other items that constitute the growth of the sector. Also, the report studies the major issues that’s being faced by the facing and potential way to resolve them is being brought out.

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Key factors affecting the performance of Agriculture sector:

1. Climatic factors: Monsoons, soil degradation, water availability, floods and droughts.
2. Policy factors: Government policies related to credit availability, support prices, crop specific programmes, ensuring availability of markets for the produce.
3. Market factors: Pricing, integration with downstream consumers, transparency.
4. Macro-economic factors: Supply and demand, change in consumption patterns.
5. Technology factors: Availability of farming technology, awareness of the available technology among the farmers, incentives to adopt modern technology, educating farmers about the benefits of using technology.
6. Global factors: Export and import policies, trade restrictions.

Section IV Agriclutural Policies, Ramesh V V

Issues faced by Indian Agriculture sector

1. Unequal growth of Agriculture sector at different areas of India
2. Dependence on seasonal rainfall :The performance of the sector is highly dependent on the seasonal rainfall India receives during the monsoon season.
3. Decrease in land availability due to population growth and industrial sector growth
4. Non availability of farm labourers
5. Low level of mechanisation of the sector yielding lower productivity
6. Unavailability of logistics affecting the returns from the sector
7. Traditional cultivation methods:
8. Restrained access to finance:
9. Lack of facilities for storage of the food grains:
10. Fragmentation of land
11. Low quality seeds: Using better quality seeds can improve the yield by 40%, adoption of Bt seeds can also increase the yield, however higher cost of seeds and activism are hindrances to adopt Bt seeds widely.
12. Unbalanced fertilizer utilization: It is one of the main reason for the stagnation of the yield, depletion of soil fertility and pollution of water bodies. Lacklustre government policies on fertilizer subsidies are one of the reasons for unbalanced use of Nitrogen based fertilizers
13. Cropping Patterns: Sub-optimal crop pattern leads to low rates of profits. Geographical conditions vary and accordingly suitable crop patterns should be adopted, however farmers follow traditional practices which leads to lower profits.

Policies and Schemes towards Agriculture:

The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Government of India, has been implementing various schemes and programmes for the benefit of farmers through State Governments. The Guidelines and other details of various programmes and schemes have been made available in their departmental scheme guidelines. Relevant details on the type and extent of benefits for different components promoted under various schemes are mentioned here. For simple understanding of subsidies and eligibility criteria of the same a handbook has also been constructed by the department. It has been prepared by categorizing various activities in 11 different themes such as, Soil Health, Soil Conservation & Fertilizers, Seeds, Irrigation, Training & Extension for Farmers, Mechanization & Technology, Agricultural Credit, Agricultural Insurance, Plant Protection, Horticulture, Agricultural Marketing and Integrated Farming. Besides this, broad suggestions on practical aspects of each of these themes have also been included.

Schemes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (subject to qualifying criteria for the States), National e-Governance Plan-Agriculture, National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology Etc have nation-wide coverage.A few other schemes such as National Food Security Mission, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), Cotton Technology Mission, Jute and Mesta Technology and Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI) have Crop/ Area / District wise applicability.