While the nation’s overall economic outlook is promising, the growth rate of agriculture and allied sectors has dwindled to 0.7 per cent, the lowest in the decade
The country’s economy is expected to grow by 7.6 per cent in the current financial year (2023-24). However, it’s alarming to note that the growth rate of the agriculture and allied sector has drastically fallen below 1 per cent, and it’s estimated to be at 0.7 per cent, the lowest in the last ten years. The Indian agriculture sector, which provides a source of livelihood to 65 per cent of households, faces multiple challenges, including fragmented small landholdings, sub-optimal mechanisation, and low productivity. Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare predicts that the total food grain production during the Kharif and Rabi seasons of 2023-24 may decrease by 41 lakh tonnes compared to the previous year.
The crisis in agriculture is deep-rooted and results from an accumulation of distress. Meanwhile, five significant crises are impeding the growth of Indian agriculture, and a range of indicators suggest that the sector is losing its sheen. The first and foremost is an income crisis, with stagnant or falling incomes of farm households, leading to an investment crisis on the family farm. The second is a factor crisis of degrading natural resources, particularly soils and water. The third is the accelerating human resource crisis, as the younger generation of farmers loses faith in the future of agriculture as an attractive employment option and seeks to escape to urban or even overseas for alternative livelihoods.
The fourth is the impact of the climate crisis is growing, and it threatens our hard-won food security. Furthermore, the fifth crisis is the almost complete lack of clarity on a coherent and coordinated policy response to address the multifaceted unattended challenges of the agriculture sector. All of this underscores the need to address the problems affecting the country’s farmlands. Therefore, we need a policy-backed intervention for re-orientation to equip farmers to overcome these challenges.
Re-orientation of the Farm Land: Indian farmers face a major challenge due to the small size of their landholdings. The average size of landholding in India has decreased by half over the past two decades and is currently at just 1.08 hectares, which is significantly smaller than that of developed countries.
Smaller landholdings often result in lower yields, but there are ways to maximise productivity and make these small landholdings work for farmers. One approach is to aggregate small farms and create network effects, allowing farmers to jointly access credit, inputs, information, and known products. Such initiatives could help address current issues in agriculture and make it more income and employment-oriented. Moreover, educating farmers on the best ways to utilise modern technology and mechanisation suitable for small landholdings could enhance yields and boost incomes. By adopting a holistic approach, farmers can overcome the challenges of small landholdings and achieve greater success in agriculture.
Re-orientation of Technology: Farmers have always been at the mercy of unpredictable weather patterns, but with increasingly frequent climate changes, their vulnerability has risen significantly. Therefore, it is imperative to take immediate and decisive steps to enhance farm productivity and resilience. The government must increase spending on research and development, as the current share of the agricultural budget is a meagre 0.3 to 0.5 per cent, which falls far behind the United States (2.8 per cent), China (2.1 per cent), South Korea (4.3 per cent), and Israel (4.2 per cent). These inadequate investments in R&D hinder the ability of science and technology research to tackle multiple challenges that lead to farm distress.
Fortunately, we are living in a technological era where connected technologies can revolutionize agriculture. Innovations have to be scaled up urgently around hybrid technology, biotechnology, protected cultivation, precision farming, bioenergy, crop biofortification, remote sensing, information and communication technology, etc. Predictive analytics, drones, sensors, artificial intelligence(AI), and the Internet of Things(IoT) are some of the new technologies that can enable farmers to adopt resource-conserving precision farming practices and predict and prepare for unseasonal weather events.
Moreover, countries that have embraced genetically engineered technology have a significant advantage in terms of productivity and cost. Clearly, with 30 per cent of cereals still under traditional varieties, it is high time to increase the penetration of improved seed technology to more farmers across the country. Farm mechanisation can help increase productivity by using other inputs and natural resources efficiently and promptly while reducing the cost of cultivation and the physical strain associated with various farm operations.
Engage younger as agricultural entrepreneurs: Around 25 per cent of India’s population is below 15 years of age. Therefore, it is crucial to reorient agricultural higher education in the context of globalisation, food security, diversification, sustainability of ecosystems and agribusiness. A more broad-based curriculum coupled with scientific training around new-age technologies such as biotechnology and genetic engineering can help students understand the effort, money, and resources that go into food production and make farming an attractive career choice.
To engage the younger generation in agriculture and nurture them as successful agricultural entrepreneurs, it is imperative to give paramount importance to practical skills and entrepreneurial capabilities among students. This is a non-negotiable requirement for the economic and social development of the country.
The Future Agricultural Leaders of India (FALI) program is one such initiative that has been instrumental in achieving this objective. FALI has successfully empowered around 13,000 students in just under a decade and established itself as a highly impactful and unique program that makes the field of agriculture an attractive option for the next generation. The program does so by facilitating interactive learning, field visits, business plan contests, and exposure to cutting-edge agriculture and agribusiness.
In conclusion, the Indian agriculture sector is facing significant hurdles. However, a comprehensive collaborative approach that involves all stakeholders, including farmers, policymakers, researchers, and the private sector, can overcome these challenges. The farming community must be given an active role in policy, planning, and execution, allowing them to become partners rather than just passive beneficiaries.
(The author is Vice-Chairman of Sonalika Group, Vice-Chairman of the Punjab Economic Policy and Planning Board, Chairman of ASSOCHAM Northern Region Development Council. Views expressed are personal)
