India has a large agriculture sector. While the sector’s share of GDP has halved in the past 30 years to around 15%, it still employs around half of India’s workforce. India has the second largest area of arable land in the world and is a major producer of a number of agricultural products. Around the turn of the century, India became the world’s largest producer of milk and is also a major producer of pulses, such as chickpeas and lentils, which are major sources of protein. India is also a major producer of buffalo-milk, cow milk, paddy, wheat, sugarcane, bananas, fresh vegetables, potatoes, cotton lint, etc.
The agricultural sector plays a significant role in creating livelihoods and ensuring food security. Of the total land holdings, 85% fall under the marginal and small farm categories of less than 2 hectares. The average size of landholdings is estimated to be 1.15 hectares. During the last five decades, global agricultural production has increased at an average annual rate of 2.5-3%. The slowdown in agricultural growth has become a major cause for concern. India’s total rice yields are one-third of China’s and about half of that in Vietnam and Indonesia. The same is true for most other agricultural commodities.
Uncertain agricultural growth is explained further by the fact that there are limited irrigation facilities. Around 45% of agriculture is dependent on rainfall, which aggravates production risks.
Climate change is a major issue with rising incidence of extreme events such as droughts, floods, erratic rains. This is expected to have a significant impact in rain-fed areas.
Challenges in Indian agriculture
India’s food security depends on the production of cereal crops, fruits, vegetables and milk to meet the demands of a growing population with rising income. A productive, competitive, diversified and sustainable agricultural sector will need to emerge at an accelerated pace. Innovative solutions to the challenges mentioned below are needed for the welfare of its farmers:
Productivity
Low productivity is a major challenge. Various measures to increase productivity need to be explored including increasing yield, diversification to higher-value crops, and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs.
Irrigation and Water Management
As of 2022-23, 55% of the gross sown area has irrigation access. Thus, a large area under cultivation remains dependent on rainfall. We have to find ways to enhance the productivity of irrigation. Initiatives such as “more crop per drop” need to be implemented. Better on-farm water management is the need of the hour. Innovations such as rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation need to be implemented on a larger scale.
Agricultural Credit
Access to credit remains a significant challenge for small and marginal farmers. Farmers typically get credit through the informal sector, where interest rates exceed 100% per year. An increase in access to and availability of institutional credit can help solve this issue. If rural cooperatives and commercial banks begin acting as sources of credit, they can replace money lenders in the informal sector.
Market Access
For small and marginal farmers, marketing of products is a challenge. We need to organize these farmers into collectives to enhance their bargaining power and link them to higher value markets.
Limited Extension Services
Revitalizing the existing agricultural extension system is essential. Reforms should focus on increasing the use of media and information technology including cyber kiosks to disseminate knowledge on new agricultural practices as well as information on input / output prices.
Climate Change
Recent trends in temperature and precipitation indicate that farmer income could decline on average by 15-18% as a result of a changing climate. Losses could rise to 20-25% in rainfed areas. India needs to strengthen its irrigation facilities rapidly against the backdrop of rising water scarcity and depleting groundwater resources.
Scaling-up Ag-tech start-ups
Ag-Tech companies develop technologies that enable farmers to enhance yield through automation. These start-ups have the potential to grow. However, they require a viable route to reach farmers and provide solutions customized to local needs.
Work of FIND India
In this context, FIND India was set up as an independent not-for-profit foundation. FIND India’s mission is to enable small and marginal farmers to enhance productivity and income by strengthening access to credit, technology and markets. FIND works to strengthen access to information on sustainable agricultural practices. The organization also strives to enhance awareness on innovations in climate resilient agriculture among small and marginal farmers.
FIND is promoting research in areas such as sustainable agriculture, climate change, water management, green energy, agro-forestry and related fields. The foundation organizes meetings, lectures, seminars, symposia, conferences and cultural activities to achieve its objectives in the above areas.