Agriculture has been the backbone of India’s economy, providing livelihoods to over 50% of its population and contributing around 17-18% to the country’s GDP. However, the sector has faced several challenges, including low productivity, outdated farming practices, inadequate infrastructure, and poor market access. Over the years, various reforms have been initiated to address these challenges and modernize Indian agriculture. This blog explores the progress of agriculture reforms in India and looks ahead at the future outlook for the sector.
The Need for Agricultural Reforms
Despite being one of the largest producers of agricultural commodities, India has struggled with several issues in its agricultural sector, such as:
1.Low productivity: due to a lack of access to modern technology, primitive irrigation techniques, traditional farming methods leads to low productivity as compare to world standards.
2. Fragmented landholdings: A majority of Indian farmers operate on small and fragmented plots, limiting their ability to adopt advanced techniques and reduce operational costs.
3. Post-harvest losses: due to inadequate cold storage facilities, poor transportation infrastructure, and inefficient supply chains lead to post-harvest losses, particularly in perishable commodities like fruits and vegetables.
4. Price volatility: Farmers often face unpredictable price fluctuations, which are compounded by the lack of access to efficient markets. Most rely on local mandis (marketplaces) controlled by middlemen, which reduces their bargaining power and profit margins.
5. Water scarcity and climate change: Agriculture in India is highly dependent on monsoon.
Key Agriculture Reforms and Progress
1. Green Revolution (1960s–70s): it was one of the first movement related to agriculture which introduced high yielding varieties seeds in India led to increase in the productivity.it was most favoured in the regions of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
2. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): Launched in 2016, is an insurance scheme aimed at providing financial protection to farmers in case of crop failure due to natural calamities, pests, and diseases. However, the scheme has faced challenges such as delayed claim settlements and low awareness among farmers.
3. Soil Health Card Scheme: Introduced in 2015, provides farmers with detailed assessments of the nutrient status of their soil, allowing them to optimize fertilizer usage and improve crop yields.
4. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY): This scheme, launched in 2015, aims to improve irrigation coverage and water-use efficiency through initiatives like micro-irrigation and watershed management. Given the growing water crisis in India, increasing irrigation efficiency is essential for sustainable agricultural growth.
5. e-NAM (National Agriculture Market): Launched in 2016, e-NAM is an online trading platform that connects existing APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) mandis across the country. It allows farmers to sell their produce directly to buyers across India, thus eliminating middlemen and ensuring better prices.
6. Kisan Credit Card (KCC): launched in 1998, provides farmers with timely access to short-term credit at low interest rates, allowing them to purchase inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and equipment. The government has also extended the scheme to cover livestock and fisheries, broadening its impact.
7. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for Fertilizers: To improve transparency in the distribution of subsidies, the government implemented DBT for fertilizers, ensuring that subsidies reach farmers directly.
8. Recent Farm Laws (2020): In an effort to liberalize agricultural markets, the government passed three contentious farm laws in 2020:
– The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce Act: It allowed farmers to sell their produce outside the APMC mandis, aiming to increase their access to larger and more competitive markets.
– The Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act: This law promoted contract farming, enabling farmers to enter into agreements with buyers before the planting season, thus reducing their market risks.
– The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act: This act aimed to deregulate the storage and sale of certain agricultural commodities, encouraging private investment in storage infrastructure.
While these reforms were intended to empower farmers, they faced widespread protests, particularly from farmers in Punjab and Haryana, who feared the loss of minimum support prices (MSP) and the dominance of large corporations. The government eventually repealed these laws in 2021 after sustained protests, signalling the need for more inclusive dialogue in future reform processes.
Future Outlook and the Road Ahead
The future of Indian agriculture depends on the successful implementation of several forward-looking initiatives. These include integrating modern technology, improving market linkages, encouraging sustainable practices, and providing better social safety nets for farmers.
1. Technology-Driven Agriculture (Agritech): The rise of Agritech startups is revolutionizing Indian agriculture by introducing innovations like precision farming, AI-based crop monitoring, and drone technology. As the government encourages digital platforms like e-NAM and farmer-centric apps, the use of technology will become even more critical in driving productivity and efficiency.
2. Doubling Farmers’ Income: The Indian government has set an ambitious goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, focusing on increasing productivity, reducing input costs, and improving market access. To achieve this, there needs to be a focus on value addition, such as encouraging agro-processing industries, promoting organic farming, and supporting export-oriented agriculture.
3. Sustainable Agriculture Practices: As climate change continues to affect agricultural productivity, India must adopt sustainable practices such as organic farming, natural farming, crop diversification, and water-efficient technologies like drip irrigation. The use of renewable energy in agriculture, such as solar-powered pumps, can also reduce farmers’ dependence on fossil fuels.
4. Strengthening Agricultural Infrastructure: Investments in post-harvest infrastructure, such as cold storage, warehousing, and logistics, are crucial to reducing wastage and ensuring better price realization for farmers. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), with a budget allocation of ₹1 lakh crore, aims to address this issue by providing funding to build infrastructure closer to farm gates.
5. Revisiting the MSP Regime: The MSP regime has been a safety net for farmers, especially in the procurement of crops like wheat and rice. However, it has led to an over-dependence on these crops, which is not sustainable in the long term. There is a need to diversify the crops covered under MSP, promote more sustainable crops, and ensure that farmers are adequately compensated for their produce across all regions.
6. Farmer Welfare and Social Security: Strengthening farmer welfare schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), which provides direct income support to farmers, is essential for improving their financial security. Additionally, creating a universal social security framework for small and marginal farmers, covering health, education, and retirement benefits, can significantly improve their standard of living.
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