Agriculture in India: Definition, Farming System & Green Revolution

• Agriculture in India is the primary activity.  
• It includes raising of crops, animal husbandry, agroforestry and pisciculture.
• Agriculture in India is a State subject.
• The United Nations’ Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028) was launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

TARGETS

• Doubling of farmers’ income by the year 2022 (Ashok Dalwai Committee)
• Agriculture export policy: increase the agriculture export to over US$ 60 billion by 2022.

RANKING OF INDIA

• Third largest consumer of edible oil; Top States: Gujarat (Groundnut), UP (Mustard), MP (Soyabean).
• Fourth largest oilseed-producing country.
• Second largest fish producer in the world in 2018-19; Inland Source >> Marine Source.
• First in milk production since 1998; 20 % of world milk production.
• Largest bovine population in the world. 

AGRICULTURE CENSUS

• Census is conducted by Department of Agriculture in India, Cooperation and farmers welfare
• Conducted at intervals of every 5 years.
• Collect data on structural aspects of farm holdings. “Operational Holding” is a basic statistical unit of data collection.
• Operational Holding: All land which is used wholly or partly for agricultural production and is operated as one technical unit by one person alone or with others without regard to the title, legal form, size or location.
• First Census in 1970-71; Last Census (10th Census) was conducted in 2015-16.
• It found out that the percentage of female operational holdings in the country has increased from about 13% percent during 2010-11 to around 14% during 2015-16.

• Fertilizer
• Finance
• Seeds DISTRIBUTION
• PDS
• FCI
• Negotiable Warehouse Receipt

SALE

• APMC
• E-NAM
• MSP
• Price Deficiency Payment
• Operation Greens

INCOME SUPPORT AND PENSION

• PM Kisan
• PM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana
• PM AASHA

ISSUES

• Crop Residue and Stubble Burning

• Removing institutional discrepancies of the agrarian structure in Agriculture in India. 
• Issues of socio-economic inequality in Agriculture in India.
• Increasing agricultural production for solving the inter-related problems of poverty, malnutrition and food insecurity.

First Generation Land Reforms

• Abolition of intermediaries
• Tenancy reforms
• Redistribution of land
• Cooperative farming
• Consolidation of land.

(Focused on marketing)

• land records modernization
• Appropriate land compensation
• Land leasing
• Contract farming- Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.
• Consolidation of land holdings
• FDI in sector of agriculture in India – At present, 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed through the automatic route into India for the following agricultural activities:
  • Floriculture, horticulture, apiculture and cultivation of vegetables and mushrooms under controlled conditions
  • Development and production of seeds and planting material
  • Animal husbandry (including breeding of dogs), fish farming, aquaculture, under controlled conditions
  • Services related to agriculture in India and its allied sectors
• Use of land banks (Odisha) and land Pooling

• Second largest consumer of urea after china.
• Second in the production of Nitrogenous fertilizer.
• One of eight core industries.
• Second biggest subsidy after food.
• Potash is met through imports.

• Not included in the NBA.
• Source of nitrogenous fertilizer.
• Urea Subsidy is a part of Central Sector Scheme which includes freight subsidy for movement of urea across the country.
• Diversion of urea to plywood and animal feed makers, smuggled to neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal – Neem coated urea is one of the solutions.
• Urea overuse is detrimental to the fiscal health of the economy, proving detrimental to the soil health of the country .

• The Scheme was initiated in the year 2010.
• Being implemented by the Department of Fertilizers.
• Envisaged linking subsidy to nutrient composition (N, P, K & S) rather than products.
• Aim was to discourage farmers from applying too much urea containing only nitrogen and increase the consumption of P&K fertilizers which will result in balanced fertilization.
• Applicable to 22 fertilizers (other than Urea) in Agriculture in India.

• Neem coated Urea
• Slow release of nitrogen into the soil
• Improved Plant absorption of Nitrogen from Urea in Agriculture in India.
• Reduced Pesticide Consumption
• Improved Yields

• Nucleus seeds
• Breeder seeds
• Foundation seeds
• Registered seeds
• Certified seeds

• Printed report card; given to all farmers at an interval of 2 years; implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture in India and Farmers welfare.
• The cost of sampling, testing and reporting is borne by the Central Government.
• It provides two sets of fertilizer recommendations for six crops including recommendations of organic manures and recommendations for additional crops on demand in agriculture in India.
• Soil samples are tested with respect to 12 parameters:
  • Macro nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K);
  • Secondary nutrient: Sulphur (S); Micronutrients: Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Boron (B);
  • Micronutrients: Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Boron (B);
• Physical parameters: pH, EC (electrical conductivity), OC (organic carbon).

• Integrated Management of Public Distribution System-nation-wide portability of ration card holders under the National Food Security Act,2013 (NFSA), through the ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ system.

• It involves making a standard format for ration cards.
• Enable beneficiaries of National Food Security Act (NFSA) to purchase subsidized food grains from any fair price shop in these states.
• Ration card holders buy food grains anywhere in the country.

• Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the nodal agency under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution for the procurement, storage and movement of food grains, public distribution and maintenance of buffer stocks.
• It procures food grains:
  • At minimum support price (MSP).
  • On an open-ended basis.
• Procurement is also done by State Government Agencies and private rice millers on behalf of the FCI.
• The food grains are also disposed of by FCI and State Governments through sale under Open Market Sales Scheme.

• NWRs are issued by registered warehouses to enable Farmers to get loans from banks against NWRs. This way NWRs become a prime tool of trade.
• They are regulated by the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
• It allows transfer of ownership of the commodity stored in a warehouse without having to deliver the physical commodity. These receipts are issued in negotiable form, making them eligible as collateral for loans.
• NWR avoids distress sale of agricultural produce + Allow transfer of ownership of that commodity without having to deliver the physical commodity + Enhance banks’ interest in lending in respect of farm goods + Can increase liquidity in the rural areas + Encourage scientific warehousing of goods.
• E Negotiable Warehousing Receipts was launched in 2017.
• Farmers will not have to worry about losing the receipt.
• This will also stop farmers from taking multiple bank loans on a single receipt.

• Cereals (7) – Paddy, Wheat, Barley, Jowar, Bajra, Maise and Ragi
• Pulses (5) – Gram, Arhar/ Tur, Moong, Urad and Lentil
• Oilseeds (8) – Groundnut, Rapeseed/Mustard, Toria, Soyabean, Sunflower seed, Sesamum, Safflower seed and Niger seed
• Copra
• De-husked coconut
• Raw cotton
• Raw jute
• Sugarcane (Fair and remunerative price)
• Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco.

• The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) was under the chairmanship of Professor M.S. Swaminathan.
• Recommended -to fix minimum support prices (MSP) for crops at levels at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production.

• It is set up under the Chairmanship of Bibek Debroy to recognize honeybees as inputs to agriculture and considering landless beekeepers as farmers.

Shanta Kumar committee (2014)

• Reduce the number of beneficiaries under the Food Security Act—from the current 67 percent to 40 percent.
• Allow private players to procure and store food grains.
• Stop bonuses on minimum support price (MSP) paid by states to farmers, and adopt a cash transfer system so that MSP and food subsidy.
• Abolishing levy rice: Under levy rice policy, the government buys a certain percentage of rice (varies from 25 to 75 percent in states) from the mills compulsorily, which is called levy rice. Mills can sell only the remainder in the open market.
• Deregulate the fertilizer sector and provide a cash fertilizer subsidy of Rs 7,000 per hectare to farmers.
• Outsource the stocking of grains and set up negotiable warehouse receipt (NWR) systems.
• Clear and transparent liquidation policy for buffer stock.

Ashok Dalwai committee (2016)

• On doubling Farmers Income (by 2022)
• It recommends that:
  • Placing agricultural marketing in the concurrent list.
  • Greater private participation.
  • Upgrading the existing rural periodical markets as Primary Rural Agricultural Markets for meeting the rural retail market demand.
• FPO’s can play an important role in integrating small and marginal farmers into the agricultural market system.

• Autonomous Society promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• To promote agribusiness project development in their respective States.
• To promote Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) / Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs).
• Implementation of National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Electronic Trading platform.
• Few Important Schemes Implemented by SFAC: Equity Grant & Credit Guarantee Fund (EGCGF) Scheme, Venture Capital Assistance (VCA) Scheme, Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) Scheme, National Agriculture Market (NAM) Scheme, etc.
• SFAC launched the Kisan Rath app with the help of Ministry of Agriculture which lessened the problem of transport of farm produce during lockdown

• Statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Promotes export of agricultural and processed food products from India.
• Entrusted with the responsibility to monitor import of sugar.

FPOs

• A type of Producer organization where the members are farmers.
• Farmers will have better collective strength, better access to quality input, technology, credit, better marketing access through economies of scale, better realization of income.
• Issues: difficulty in mobilizing farmers, proper management, limited membership, autonomy and credit restrictions without offering collateral.

• Debt financing facility for investment in projects.
• Rs. One Lakh Crore as loans
• For post harvest management
• Infrastructure and community farming assets
• Interest subvention of 3% per annum up to a limit of Rs. 2 crore..
• From FY2020 to FY2029 (10 years)

• MOCVD is a Central Sector Scheme, a sub-mission under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). It was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in 2015 for implementation in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The scheme aims to develop certified organic production in a value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development of the entire value chain.

• Launched in 2015 is an elaborated component of Soil Health Management (SHM) of the major project National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). Under PMKVY, organic farming is promoted through adoption of organic villages by cluster approach and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification.

• NPOP grants organic farming certification through a process of third party certification for export purposes.

• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) launched the PM FME scheme as a part of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’. It aims to bring in new technology, apart from affordable credit to help small entrepreneurs penetrate new markets.

• Permits the sale of produce outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Mandis.
• No cess or levy outside the Mandis will be charged to farmers.
• Permits interstate trade of agricultural produce.
• Lead to the end of Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime.
• This will facilitate remunerative prices through competitive, alternative trading channels to promote efficient, open and barrier-free interstate and intrastate trade.

• The state’s income from the respective Mandis would be lost.
• Farmers across various states believe that the scheme would lead to the end of Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime.
• Lack of confidence and trust causing clashes between farmers and the government.

• This policy encourages ‘contract farming’.
• It will reduce the marketing costs and increase farmers’ earnings.
• Removes intermediaries appointed by the state APMC.

• The probability of conflicts will increase.
• Can give rise to intermediaries/middlemen again.

• It deregulates manufacturing, storing, and selling of a range of food products, including cereals, pulses, edible oils, and onions, except in rare situations.
• It can bring in new investments in infrastructure provisions, e.g., cold storage, warehouse.

• This legalizes hoarding effectively, which can be devastating for prices of vital commodities such as vegetables and pulses.

• Green Box
• Blue Box
• Development Box
• Amber Box: (De Minimus + Commitments)

• Export Subsidies
• Agriculture Circumvention: Food Aid + Export Credit

• Subsidies which are no or least market distorting.
• Income Support which is not product specific and uniformly available to farmers and crop doesn’t matter.
• subsidies must not distort trade, or at most cause minimal distortion
• They have to be government-funded.
• They should not relate to (are “decoupled” from) current production levels or prices.

• Those subsidies which are trade distorting and need to be curbed.

• This is the “amber box with conditions.”
• Any support that would normally be in the amber box, is placed in the blue box if the support also requires farmers to limit production.

• Under this provision, developed countries are allowed to maintain trade distorting subsidies or ‘Amber box’ subsidies to a level of 5% of total value of agricultural output. For developing countries this figure was 10%.

• Special concessions to the developing economies for their agricultural development like subsidies for tractors, plowing machines, pump sets, winnowing machines etc.

• Measures for food safety and animal and plant health based on scientific terms. They should not be arbitrary and discriminatory in nature.

Changes in Agriculture In India: Exploring Various Revolutions in India

• Green Revolution – Food Grains
• White Revolution – Milk
• Blue revolution – Fisheries
• Yellow Revolution – Oilseeds
• Red Revolution Meat
• Silver Revolution Egg
• Grey Revolution Fertilizers
• Golden Revolution Horticulture

Green Revolution

• The first Green Revolution in mid 1960’s to mid 1970’s was to ensure food security as there was severe scarcity of food in the country.
• The second Green Revolution (1970’s-1980’s) aims at creating sustainable agriculture by leveraging advancements in technology.

BRINGING GREEN REVOLUTION IN EASTERN INDIA:

• BGREI is the flagship programme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
• It is intended to address the constraints limiting the productivity of “rice based cropping systems”.
• The BGREI program was announced in the Union Budget, 2010-11.
• BGREI focuses on bringing the second Green Revolution in the eastern region, which has rich water resources.
• Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and eastern Uttar Pradesh (Poorvanchal) are the seven states.

• Launched in India during the seventh five-year plan from 1985 to 1990.
• Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana– to bring all fishermen under the ambit of farmer welfare programs and social security schemes.
• Its aim is to augment fish production to achieve its target of 15 million tonnes by 2020 under the blue revolution and raise it thereafter to about 20 million tonnes by 2020 to 2023.
• MISSION FINGERLING– facilitate establishment of hatcheries and Fingerling rearing pond to ensure the fish production of fish fingerling, Post Larvae of shrimp and crab in the country.

BUDGET 2020-

• “Sagar Mitras”- these are extension workers to advise fishermen with processing and marketing.
• Target to raise fishery export to ₹1 lakh crore by 2024-25.
• Promote growing algae, sea-weed and Cage Culture (growing of fishes in existing water resources in a net cage which allows free flow of water.)

White Revolution- Milk

• Nodal Department– Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
• OPERATION FLOOD:
• Operation Flood was started by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in the 1970s.
• Objective– to create a nationwide milk grid. The result was that India became the largest producer of Milk and Milk Products.
• Operation flood is called White Revolution of India.
• Dr. Verghese Kurien and Gujarat-based co-operation “Anand Milk Union Limited” (Amul) are associated with white revolution

Improving Animal Farming for Better Agriculture in India 

Agriculture in India: Connected Programs and Initiatives

Sanjivani

• Animal Wellness Programme with emergency helpline.
• Farmers given Nakul Swasthya Patra- An Animal Health card with UID identification number of each animal registered in a National Database.

Haat portal

• Online portal for connecting farmers with breeders of indigenous bovine breeds so they can connect with each other for bulls, artificial insemination etc.

Rashtriya Gokul
mission

• Indigenous bovine breeds – conserve them & increase their population. E.g. Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, etc.
• State govts are given money for establishing Gokul Gram breeding & disease treatment centers.

Kamdhenu

breeding center

• For development and conservation of indigenous breeds in a scientific manner.

Kamdhenu Aayog 2019

• Ministry- Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
• Aim: Genetic up-gradation of cow resources + Enhance cow productivity through research in organic manure, biogas etc; Cow welfare, cow protection laws.