AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

it is the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products. Agriculture is one of the major sectors of the Indian economy. It is present in the country for thousands of century. Over the years it has developed and the use of new technologies and equipment replaced almost all the traditional methods of farming. Besides, in India, there are still some small farmers that use the old traditional methods of agriculture because they lack the resources to use modern methods. Furthermore, this is the only sector that contributed to the growth of not only itself but also of the other sector of the country. Agriculture is undoubtedly the backbone of our nation. One simple Agriculture in India Essay will not be sufficient to write about the importance of agriculture in India essay and contribution of agriculture to India. India, which is the second-largest producer of agricultural products in the world, produces more than 280 million tonnes, contributing to more than 15% of India GDP.

Agriculture is the back bone of Indian economy. Two-third of population is dependent on agriculture directly or indirectly. It is not merely a source of livelihood but a way of life. It is the main source of food, fodder. It is the basic foundation of economic development. Agriculture provides highest contribution to national income.

Jai jawan Jai Kisan a term coined by the former Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri holds value and relevance for thousands of years to come. While soldiers at our nations borders protect our countries from enemies, farmers of India feed the country each and every day. After the Covid 19 (corona virus) pendemic indian agriculture is the only sector which have a positive GDP of 3.5 % in india economy.

India largely depends on the agriculture sector. Besides, agriculture is not just a mean of livelihood but a way of living life in India. Moreover, the government is continuously making efforts to develop this sector as the whole nation depends on it for food.

For thousands of years, we are practicing agriculture but still, it remained underdeveloped for a long time. Moreover, after independence, we use to import food grains from other countries to fulfill our demand. But, after the green revolution, we become self-sufficient and started exporting our surplus to other countries adn become self dependent on grains. Furthermore, our agriculture sector has grown stronger than many countries and we are the largest exporter of many food grains.

Besides, these earlier we use to depend completely on monsoon for the cultivation of food grains but now we have constructed dams, canals, tube-wells, and pump-sets. Also, we now have a better variety of fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds, which help us to grow more food in comparison to what we produce during old times. Now we have aloso surplus electricity and we are not so much depend on weather (monsoon) for irrigation and other needs. we fullfill the need by modern technology in agriculture. With the advancement of technology, advanced equipment, better irrigation facility and the specialized knowledge of agriculture started improving.

It is not wrong to say that the food we eat is the gift of agriculture activities and Indian farmers who work their sweat to provide us this food.

In addition, the agricultural sector is one of the major contributors to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and national income of the country.

Also, it requires a large labor force and employees around 80% of the total employed people. The agriculture sector not only employees directly but also indirectly.

Moreover, agriculture forms around 70% of our total exports. The main export items are tea, cotton, textiles, tobacco, sugar, jute products, spices, rice, and many other items.

Although agriculture is very beneficial for the economy and survival of human being there are some negative impacts too. These impacts are harmful to both environments as the people involved in this sector.

Deforestation is the first negative impact of agriculture as many forests have been cut downed to turn them into agricultural land. Also, the use of river water for irrigation causes many small rivers and ponds to dry off which disturb the natural habitat.

Moreover, most of the chemical fertilizers and pesticides contaminate the land as well as water bodies nearby. Ultimately it leads to topsoil depletion and contamination of groundwater by the tubewells in modern agriculture.

In conclusion, Agriculture has given so much to society. But it has its own pros and cons that we can’t overlook. Furthermore, the government is doing his every bit to help in the growth and development of agriculture; still, it needs to do something for the negative impacts of agriculture. To save the environment and the people involved in it.

We can live without a driver or a carpenter or film hero or a singer, but can you live without a farmer? Can we even imagine our lives without food? Food is as important as oxygen and water. While oxygen and water are produced by our imaginary gods, food is produced by our living God, the farmer of India.

There are plenty of problems that a farmer faces in his field of work.

Unpredictable Climatic Conditions: Even though we have sophisticated technologies to detect rainfalls and sunrises, it is not sufficient for in terms of agricultural scales. But just prediction is of no use. There are scanty rainfalls, a sudden increase in temperature and other factors that might harm the crops. This is usually referred to as Force Majeure or an act of god. Man has been facing this problem ever since the beginning of time.

Lack of Support: It pains me to say that as you are reading this Agriculture in India Essay, a farmer somewhere in a corner of India would have committed suicide. India has one of the highest farmer suicide rates in the world. There is an average of ten farmer suicides in the country every day. They commit suicide usually when they are not able to repay their loans back that they took to cultivate the land. Either because of the pressure from the landlord, moneylenders or from the banks, farmers take to this extreme step. Agriculture sector needs immediate government relief and interventions to prevent any more deaths.

Lack of Awareness: Countries like America and China make use of technology and data analytics tools to improve their agricultural sector. Unfortunately, India lags far behind them in this field. After reading through Agriculture in India in China or America, where they have stated how they use data analytic tools and modern technology to overcome unpredictable weather conditions and other extraneous factors, its the right time for India to adopt the data analytic tools and modern technology.

The following measures can be adopted to improve the sector

Financial Support: As mentioned in the previous farmers need support from all corners of the country. Given the present-day scenario where every part of the economy is suffering due to coronavirus pandemic(covid 19), the agriculture sector needs immediate relief and relaxations. The government can start with waiving off loans of the farmers and infuse cash into the sector so that farmers can bounce back on their feet.

Minimum Support Price : This is another important policy that the government of India is keen to introduce. Whether its rabi crop or Kharif crops, fruits or vegetables, a minimum price will be set below which farmers should not be forced to sell their produce. Usually, the farmers are taken advantage by middlemen at mandis and wholesale market where the produce is bought for very less price and then sold it to end consumers at a very high price, leaving farmers at a loss.

Agriculture is not a uniform activity but dependent on physical and human factors giving rise to different types of farming. Some of which are:

Subsistence agriculture It is the cultivation of small and scattered holdings with the help of draught animals and family members with primitive techniques. It is practiced by majority of farmers across the world.

Nomadic Herding It is based upon the rearing of animals on natural pastures. This practice is performed by the people of semi-arid and arid regions. Northern Africa, parts of Arabia and parts of northern Eurasia are the typical regions of this type of farming.

Plantation agriculture It was introduced in India by Britishers and involves growing and processing of a single crop purely meant for sale. Examples include plantations of Tea, Rubber, Coffee, Cocoa etc. Practiced mainly in Assam, sub-Himalayan, West Bengal, Nilgiri, Annamalai and Cardamom

Shifting agriculture It involves clearing of forest land by felling and burning and then growing crops. The land is abandoned in 2-3 years after the fertility of the soil is lost. It is practiced by nearly 250 million people, especially in the tropical rain forests of South America, Central and West Africa, and Southeast

Livestock Ranching Under this system of farming, the major emphasis is laid on rearing animals. Unlike nomadic herding, the farmers live a settled This type of farming has developed on a commercial basis in areas of the world where large plots of land are available for animal grazing, such as the low rainfall areas of North America, South America and Australia.

Commercial Grain Farming This type of farming is a response to farm mechanization and is the major type of farming in the areas with low rainfall and These crops are prone to the vagaries of weather and droughts, and monoculture of wheat is the general practice. Prairies, steppes, and temperate grasslands of South America and Australia are the main areas for this type of farming.