Salient Features of Indian Agriculture – Part 2

by Devender

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Salient Features of Indian Agriculture

HYV Seeds (High Yielding Variety) - Green Revolution by Norman Borlaug

Positives

Achieved self-sufficiency in food
Shorter Life cycles
Increased productivity
Benefited Wheat & Rice
Benefitted Punjab, Haryana, UP, TN, Andhra Pradesh & Maharashtra

Negatives

Input cost increased
Required more water and fertilizers
Chemical poisoning of soil
Salinity & Alkalinity increased which makes soil impermeable
Depletion of groundwater
Loss of fertility of the soil
Limited to selective states only
Limited to selected crops only

Government Schemes for farmers

The government subsidized the power supply and provided cheaper credits to farmers and better roads. They set up FCI to provide MSP to farmers, adequate public distribution of food grains, and stabilize the market volatility.

Storage & Marketing policies for food grains & crops
Redistribution of ownership holding of land by abolishing intermediaries
Bringing actual cultivators in direct contact with the state
Land record modernization
Kissan Credit Card, Personal and Crop Insurance schemes, etc. have been launched
Ceiling on land holdings and distribution of surplus land to landless agricultural laborers & small farmers

The government also set up the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), agricultural universities, animal breeding centers for research and development of different activities in agriculture. Government also launched programs for better use of land and irrigation. These programs were:

Command Area Development Programme
Integrated Watershed Management Programme

1 Command Area Development Programme (CADP)

Command Area - Area fed by an irrigation system like Wells, Tubewells, Canals, Tanks, etc.
Cultivable Command Area - An area that can be fed by an irrigation scheme & is fit for cultivation
Objective - Improving utilization of irrigation potential and optimizing agricultural productivity & production
Aim - Bridging the gap between created irrigation potential and its utilization in the command area
Ministry - A Centrally-sponsored scheme under the Ministry of Water Resources

2 Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP)

It was a flagship program of the Ministry of Rural Development with aims:

Harnessing, conserving, and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover, and water
Prevention of soil run-off
Rainwater harvesting and recharging of the groundwater table
Increasing the productivity of crops
Introduction of multi-cropping and diverse agro-based activities
Promoting sustainable livelihoods and increasing the household incomes

This program actually consisted of 3 major programs which were:

Desert Development Programme (DDP)
Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP)
Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP)

Rainwater harvesting

It is a technique used for collecting, storing, and using rainwater for landscape irrigation and other uses. The rainwater is collected using various manmade catchment surfaces.

Desert Development Programme (DDP)

It was a program under the Ministry of Rural Development (Department of Land Resources). Desertification is the degradation of land in any dry land by:

Extensive cultivation of one crop
Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
Shifting cultivation without an adequate period of recovery
Industrial and mining activities
Overgrazing
Forest fires
Unsustainable water management

It was started in both the hot desert areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana and the cold deserts of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Its objectives were:

To mitigate the adverse effects of desertification on crops, human and livestock population
To restore ecological balance by harnessing, conserving, and developing natural resources
To implement developmental works through the watershed approach
Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP)

It focused on the non-arable land and drainage lines for in-situ soil and moisture conservation. It included agroforestry, pasture development, horticulture, and alternate land use. It was under the Ministry of Rural Development (Department of Land Resources).

Panchayati Raj Institutions have the right to monitor & review the program at district, block, and village levels
Area development programs to be implemented exclusively on a watershed basis

It was a watershed project to be co-terminus with village boundaries. Its objectives were:

To minimize the adverse effects of drought on crops, livestock, the productivity of land, water & human resources
To optimize utilization of the Watershed's natural resources like land, water, vegetation
To promote economic development & employment generation for the village community – directly or indirectly dependent on the watershed
Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP)

It was under the Ministry of Rural Development (Department of Land Resources). It was for improving the productivity of waste & degraded lands keeping in view poverty, backwardness, gender & equity.

Focuses on checking land degradation & putting such wastelands to sustainable use
Increasing bio-mass availability especially that of fuelwood, fodder, fruits, fiber & small timber

Its objectives were:

Wastelands development to enhance their productivity
Aims at rural employment

Organic Farming

It excludes the use of manufactured fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides & herbicides and strictly prohibits the use of plant growth regulators, livestock antibiotics, food additives, and genetically modified organisms.

It relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, biofertilizers, compost, and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity. It also relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects.

Green Manure

It is a type of cover crop that is grown to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil. It is grown for a specific period of time and after that, it is plowed and put into the ground while it is still green or shortly after flowering.

It provides subsidy on purchase of seeds & on cost for production of seeds for green manure plants and it is of two types:

Leguminous types - Have Nitrogen-fixing ability

For Example - Cowpeas, Soybeans

Non-Leguminous types - For weed suppression & addition of biomass to the soil

For Example - Sudan grass, Millets, Sorghum & Buckwheat

Advantages

It helps in soil improvement and soil protection
It provides forage for pollinating insects
It has deep rooting properties
It fixes the nitrogen in the soil, thus Less chemical fertilizers are required
It provides a habitat for predatory beneficial insects which kill and eat harmful insects thus fewer pesticides are required
Increase the aeration of the soil and its efficiency at suppressing weeds

Disadvantage

Leguminous plants require a good amount of irrigation
The primary marketable crop cannot be planted during the green manuring phase

Biofertilizers & Organic fertilizers

Organic fertilizers are derived from animal matter or vegetable matter.

For Example - Compost, Manure, Crop residue (green manure), Cow dung, Rock Phosphate, Bone Meal, Blood Meal, Fish Meal, Wood Chips/Sawdust.

The biofertilizers contain living microorganisms that, when applied promote growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant.

For Example - Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirilium, and Blue-Green Algae (BGA)

These fertilizers take time to enrich the soil but once it is done, it lasts long and is completely sustainable.

Pros of Biofertilizers

Increases crop yield by 20-30%
It provides protection against drought and some soil-borne diseases
It replaces chemical nitrogen & phosphorus by 25%
Stimulates plant growth
Cost-effective
Environment friendly
It helps to cleanse the plant from precipitated chemical fertilizers

Cons of Biofertilizers

Its effects are slower compared to chemical fertilizer
Difficulty to store as sensitive to temp. and humidity changes
Much lower nutrient density requires large amounts to get enough for most crops
hard to locate/purchase in faraway rural areas

Fertilizer

A fertilizer is any organic or inorganic, natural, or synthetic material added to soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. These fertilizers provide 6 macronutrients and 8 micronutrients to plants for well-balanced growth.

Macronutrients - Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sulphur (S)
Micronutrients - Boron, Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Chlorine (Cl), Molybdenum (Mo)

In India, Urea is the only controlled fertilizer, which is sold at statuary notified uniform sale price while the Phosphoric and Potassium fertilizers are under a decontrolled regime and are sold at indicated MRPs.

NBS (Nutrient Based Subsidy)

This scheme is for 22 grades of decontrolled fertilizers, which are provided to farmers at subsidized rates based on nutrient content (N, P, K & S) in these fertilizers. There is an additional subsidy provided on the fertilizers fortified with other secondary micronutrients & micronutrients as approved under the Fertilizer control order (FCO).

The subsidy given to companies is fixed annually on the basis of nutrient contents while the MRPs of fertilizers have been left open and manufacturers are allowed to fix MRPs at a reasonable level.

However, Urea is not covered under the NBS scheme and the government continues to provide subsidies on urea separately. As a result:

Farmers are relying more on Urea than the new P & K fertilizers
The prices of these decontrolled products under NBS have doubled relying on the control of manufacturers

Genetically Modified Food

It is the modified form of agricultural plants to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. In this, the latest molecular biology techniques & genetic engineering are used and plants are undertaken breeding to get the desired results.

Last decade, Genetically modified (GM) crops were introduced esp. for Cotton & Brinjal in India but as of now only GM Bt. Cotton production is allowed.

GM Foods Advantages

Pest resistance
Herbicide resistance
Disease resistance
Draught tolerance
Salinity tolerance
Increased nutrition
Better flavor and color
Early maturing
All year availability
All year availability

GM Foods disadvantages

Reduced effectiveness of pesticides
Unknown effects on human health
Gene transfer to non-target species
Playing with nature and its mechanisms
The monopoly of MNCs in GM seeds
High input cost as it requires a high dose of fertilizers

GM Foods have the potential to solve many of the world’s hunger and malnutrition problems and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides.

However, there are a lot of challenges standing in front of the government for safety testing, regulation, international policy, and food labeling. It should be done very carefully to avoid any unintended harm to human health and the environment.

Livestock India

India has the largest population of livestock in the world. The largest number of cattle in India found is found in MP & UP. Maharashtra (1) and Haryana (2) have the highest livestock density and cattle density in India is 12.8 cattle/100 Ha.

Kamdhenu - 2 Kg of Milk/Day
Brackish Water Aquaculture - For Shrimps
Integrated Fisheries Project - Kochi
Central Sheep Breeding Farm - Hisar
Central frozen semen institute & training center - HESARAGHATTA
Central Poultry training institute - HESARGHATTA (Maize is an imp. poultry feed ingredient)

Famous Indian Crops

Rice

It requires a Warm & Humid climate with an average temperature of 20 to 27 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 150 cm.

Clayely or alluvial moisture retentive soil
Labor intensive crop

Wheat

It requires a moderately cool climate with an average temperature of 15 to 20 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 75 cm.

Clayey or well-drained fertile soil
Machine intensive crop

Maize

It requires a warm climate with an average temperature of 18 to 27 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 75 cm.

At least 140 frost-free days
Alternate Rainy & Sunny Season is best for this crop

Sugarcane

It belongs to the Bamboo family and is indigenous to India. It requires a moderately warm climate with an average temperature of 20 to 27 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 75 to 150 cm.

It is a long duration crop that takes 10 to 15 months
Soil exhausting crop that requires a heavy dose of fertilizers
Its special feature is ratooning

Millets

It requires a warm and dry climate with an average temperature of 20 to 30 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 40 to 60 cm.

It can be grown on medium to low fertility soil
Best is sandy loamy soil with good drainage
Bigger millets are called Sorghums
Jowar is Great Millet

Cotton

It requires approx. 210 frost-free days with an average temperature of 20 to 30 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 50 to 100 cm.

It requires mineral-rich black lava soil (Regur)
Soil exhausting crop that requires a heavy dose of fertilizers

Jute

It is obtained from the bark of the plant. It requires Hot & Humid climate with an average temperature of 25 to 35 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 120 to 150 cm.

It requires rich delta or alluvial soil
Soil exhausting crop that requires a heavy dose of fertilizers
Famous substitutes of Jute are Mesta, Kenaf

Tobacco

It requires 120 – 180 frost-free days with an average temperature of more than 18 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 50 cm.

It requires sandy soil with good drainage

Tea

It requires heavy rainfall but no stagnant water with an average temperature of 20 to 30 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 150 to 250 cm.

It is grown on hill slopes

Coffee

It requires heavy rainfall but no stagnant water with an average temperature of 15 to 25 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 150 to 250 cm.

It is a Shade-loving crop and is grown in shades of banana or rubber
It is grown on hill slopes

Cocoa

It requires protection from direct sun rays with an average temperature of 25 Degree C. It requires an average rainfall of 125 cm.

It is grown in shades

Barley

It requires the same climatic conditions as wheat and it can be grown in areas of poor soil with less rainfall.

It is mainly used as fodder

Rubber

It is obtained from the latex of plants (Heavea Brasitiensis). It requires an average rainfall of 250 cm with an average temperature of 20 to 30 Degree C.