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c i) ! " Agriculture is India's big economy.Although the share of agriculture in the total national income has been gradually decreasing on account of development of the secondary and tertiary sectors it's contribution continues to be significant. IN 1950, the share of agriculture was 57% but it is only 26% now. The more developed a country is the lesser is the contribution of agriculture. ii) #! $"% &" Today almost 60% of the population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture. The greater independence of working population on agriculture indicates the underdevelopment of non-agricultural activities in the country. iii)"% ! '#( ') %" Agriculture provides raw materials to pour leading industries such as cotton textiles and sugar industries.Not only this the workers in industries depend on agriculture for their food.Agriculture also provides the market for a variety of goods. iv)"% ! ' A number of the agricultural commodities like tea, coffee, spices and tobacco constitutes our main items of exports.These amount to almost 15% of our total exports.Hence agriculture provides foreign exchange which helps us to buy machines from abroad. It also maintains a balance of payments and make our country self-sufficient. v)) %" $ &(! Tertiary sector provides helpful services to the industries and agriculture like banking, warehousing etc. Internal trade is mostly done in agricultural produce. For example, various means of transport get bulk of their business by the movement of agricultural goods. vi)) # * ) " State government get a major part of their revenue in terms of land revenue, irrigation charges, agricultural income tax etc.Central government also earns revenue from export duties on the agricultural production. Moreover our government can raise substantial revenue by imposing agricultural income tax.However this has not been possible due to some political reasons. vii) "% ! Our agriculture has brought fame to the country.India enjoys first position in the world as far as the production of tea and groundnuts are concerned. viii) ' agriculture plays a important role in the internal trade.It is because of the fact that 90% of of our population spends 60% of their income on the purchase of the items like food, tea, milk etc.
u Agriculture is one of the strongholds of the Indian economy and accounts for 14.6 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009-10, and 10.23 per cent (provisional) of the total exports. Furthermore, the sector provided employment to 55 per cent of the work force. India's agriculture and allied sector grew by 3.8 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal (2010-11), against one per cent in the year-ago period on the back of better Kharif crop output. According to the GDP data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on November 30, 2010, the country's farm sector grew by 2.5 per cent and 4.4 per cent each in the first two quarters of the current fiscal, against 1.9 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively, in the same period last year. The Government is giving highest priority to agriculture and allied sector. The Eleventh Plan allocation has been considerably higher over the Tenth Plan allocation. An amount of US$ 19 billion has been allocated for the Ministry of Agriculture during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Capital investment in agriculture has increased from US$ 1.2 billion in 2007-08 to US$ 3.26 billion in 2010-11 (inclusive of State Plan Scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana), as per a Ministry of Agriculture press release dated August 3, 2010. u The total geographical area of India is 328.7 million hectares of which 140.3 million hectares is net sown area, while 193.7 million hectares is the gross cropped area, according to the Annual Report 2009-10 of the Ministry of Agriculture. India has become the world's largest producer across a range of commodities due to its favourable agro-climatic conditions and rich natural resource base. India is the largest producer of coconuts, mangoes, bananas, milk and dairy products, cashew nuts, pulses, ginger, turmeric and black pepper. It is also the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugar, cotton, fruits and vegetables. As per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) farm output will grow by 10 per cent to 114 million tonne (MT) in the 2010 Kharif season, while Rabi season is expected to report a 2 per cent increase at 116.6 MT. Oilseeds production is expected to rise by 11.1 per cent during the season to 18.1 per cent, sugarcane to notch up by 15.6 per cent to 321 MT and cotton to grow by 12.4 per cent to 26.9 million bales compared to 23.9 million bales in the last season. The agency pegs the overall foodgrain output growth up by 5.3 per cent to 229.7 MT. Major agricultural crops, including foodgrain, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane, and fruits and vegetables, are projected to grow by 7.2 per cent in 2010-11, while production of non-food crops as a whole is projected to grow by 9.7 per cent in the year. According to the government's agri-trade promotion body, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India's exports of agricultural and floricultural products, fruits and vegetables, animal products, cereals and processed food products was worth US$ 1.14 billion during April-May 2010-11. India's agri-export turnover is expected to rise to nearly US$ 18 billion by 2014, according to APEDA. At present, around 70 per cent of the country's agricultural and processed food exports are to developing countries in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America.
Indian seed companies are eyeing the export markets in SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and African countries with a host of hybrid seeds and best farm practices. While some of the companies like J K Seeds, Namdhari Seeds, Nuziveedu Seeds, Nath Seeds, Rasi and Vibha Seeds have already ventured into the export markets in the region. The public and private sector investment in agriculture have been steadily increasing since 2004-05. While public sector investments in agriculture have increased from US$ 3.61 billion in 2004-05 to US$ 5.5 billion in 2008-09, private sector investment has increased from US$ 14 billion in 2004-05 to US$ 25.5 billion in 2008-09, according to the Annual Report 2009-10 of the Ministry of Agriculture. Mahindra Samriddhi, an initiative of Mahindra Farm Equipment, eyes having 600 Mahindra Samriddhi centres and five million farmers under its ambit by 2020, said Pawan Goenka, President, utomotive and Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra. In the Union Budget 2010-11, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee has made the following announcements for the agriculture sector:
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Provision of US$ 86.9 million to extend the green revolution to the eastern region of the country comprising Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa Provision of US$ 65.2 million to organise 60,000 pulses and oil-seed villages in rain-fed areas in 2010-11 and to provide an integrated intervention for water harvesting, watershed management and soil health to improve productivity of the dry land farming areas Provision of US$ 43.4 million for sustaining the gains already made in the green revolution areas through conservation farming, which involves concurrent attention to soil health, water conservation and preservation of biodiversity Banks have been consistently meeting the targets set for agricultural credit flow in the past few years. For the year 2010-11, the agricultural credit flow target has been set at US$ 81.5 billion Under the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (2008), time frame for the repayment of the loan has been extended till June 30, 2010 from six months up to December 31, 2009 In addition to the 10 mega food park projects already being set up, the government has decided to set up five more such parks External commercial borrowings are to be available for cold storage or cold room facility, including for farm level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage of agricultural and allied products, marine products and meat
A number of other initiatives are already in place for the agriculture sector, which include
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The National Food Security Mission was launched in 2007-08, with an outlay of US$ 1.24 billion during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007±2012). It aims at enhancing the production of rice, wheat and pulses by 10 MT, 8 MT and 2 MT respectively, by the year 2011-12
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The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) was operationalised with effect from August 2007 with an outlay of US$ 5.3 billion during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12). The RKVY scheme aims at incentivising states to increase outlays for agriculture and allied sectors in order to achieve 4 per cent growth in the sector in the current five-year plPlan (2007-12). The RKVY scheme aims at incentivising states to increase outlays for agriculture and allied sectors in order to achieve 4 per cent growth in the sector in the current five-year plan. RKVY has encouraged states to step up allocations to this sector. Allocation to agriculture and allied sectors was 5.11 per cent of total State Plan Expenditure in 2006-07 and this has gone up to 5.84 per cent in 200809, according to the Annual Report 2009-10 of the Ministry of Agriculture The government has allocated US$ 1.43 billion this fiscal to the states under RKVY, 87 per cent more than in 2009-10 at US$ 763.3 million According to the Annual Report 2009-10 of the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) was launched in 2005-06. During 2009-10, 201 new nurseries were set up under NHM
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100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed under automatic route in Floriculture, Horticulture, Development of Seeds, Animal Husbandry, Pisciculture, Aquaculture and Cultivation of Vegetables and Mushrooms under controlled conditions and services related to agro and allied sector. Besides the above, FDI is not allowed in any other agricultural sector/activity, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion¶s (DIPP), consolidated FDI Policy The Planning Commission is working on an ambitious action plan to boost secondary agriculture, which includes value-addition to farm products, in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17). According to K Kasturirangan, Planning Commission Member, the sector was estimated worth over US$ 12.8 billion three years back and now it could be more than US$ 21.3 billion The government will provide US$ 6.43 billion in 2010-11 as subsidy to decontrolled fertilisers under the nutrient-based subsidy policy that came into effect from April 1, 2010, according to Mr Srikant Kumar Jena, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers. Under the new nutrient-based subsidy policy (NBS), the government provides subsidy on decontrolled (whose MRP is not decided by the government) nutrients such as Phosphorus (K) and Potash (S). A budget estimate of US$ 11.9 billion has been set for fertiliser subsidy during the 2010-11 In April 2010, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved US$ 142.5 million for the National Horticulture Board to implement its existing schemes and promote 25,000 integrated commercial horticulture projects in the 11th Plan period ending 2012.
c u The country's demand for horticulture products is expected to grow by over 20 per cent to touch 360 MT in 2020-21, according to a study conducted by the Horticulture Society of India. The report said that rising income will create more demand for horticultural products, which will further push the production of such crops in India. The horticulture sector encompasses a wide range of commodities, including fruits, vegetables, potatoes, tuber crops, ornamentals, medicinals and aromatic crops. The Indian organic product market, currently pegged at US$ 322.41 million, is expected to reach US$ 2.15 billion in the next five years, as per Mukesh Gupta, President, International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture.
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u ! " is one of the most significant part of India. Agriculture is the only means of living for almost two-thirds of the employed class in India. As being stated by the economic data of financial year 2006-07, agriculture has acquired 18 percent of India's GDP.
Ô The agriculture sector of India has occupied almost 43 percent of India's geographical area. Agriculture is still the only largest contributor to India's GDP even after a decline in the same in the agriculture share of India. Agriculture also plays a significant role in the growth of socio-economic sector in India.
In the earlier times, India was largely dependent upon food imports but the successive stories of the agriculture sector of Indian economy has made it self-sufficing in grain production. The country also has substantial reserves for the same. India depends heavily on the agriculture sector, especially on the food production unit after the 1960 crisis in food sector. Since then, India has put a lot of effort to be self-sufficient in the food production and this endeavor of India has led to the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution came into existence with the aim to improve the agriculture in India. The services enhanced by the Green Revolution in the agriculture sector of Indian economy are as follows:
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Acquiring more area for cultivation purposes Expanding irrigation facilities Use of improved and advanced high-yielding variety of seeds Implementing better techniques that emerged from agriculture research Water management Plan protection activities through prudent use of fertilizers, pesticides, and cropping applications
All these measures taken by the Green Revolution led to an alarming rise in the wheat and rice production of India's agriculture. Considering the quantum leap witnessed by the wheat and rice production unit of India's agriculture, a National Pulse Development Programme that covered almost 13 states, was set up in 1986 with the aim to introduce the improved technologies to the farmers. A Technology Mission was introduced in 1986 right after the success of National Pulse Development Programme to boost the oilseeds sector in Indian economy. Pulses too came under this programme. A new seed policy was planned to provide entree to superior quality seeds and plant material for fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, pulses, and flowers. The Indian government also set up Ministry of Food Processing Industries to stimulate the agriculture sector of Indian economy and make it more lucrative. India's agriculture sector highly depends upon the monsoon season as heavy rainfall during the time leads to a rich harvest. But the entire year's agriculture cannot possibly depend upon only one season. Taking into account this fact, a second Green Revolution is likely to be formed to overcome the such restrictions. An increase in the growth rate and irrigation area, improved water management, improving the soil quality, and diversifying into high value outputs, fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, medicinal plants, and bio-diesel are also on the list of the services to be taken by the Green Revolution to improve the agriculture in India.
