Agriculture of India - Essay Example

 Agriculture of India Introduction Agriculture ranks as the leading sector in the economy of India accounting for almost 8.56% of the country’s exports (Agriculture in India, 2008). Encompassing around 43% of India’s geographical area agriculture is a major factor in providing shape to the socio-economic development of India (Agriculture in India, 2008). The monsoons play a pivotal role around which the harvest revolves (“India Agriculture”, n.d.). The central government looks after the country’s agriculture by formulating policies, offering financial aids, supervising prices of essential commodities for safeguarding the farmers’ interest (“India Agriculture”, n.d.). The history of Indian agriculture can be traced back to the Indus Valley civilization providing the evidence of the presence of wheat and some legumes (Agriculture in India, 2008). The country indulged in producing wheat, peas, sesame seed, barley, dates and mangoes by 4000 BC, cotton by 3500 BC, rice and cane sugar by 3000 BC, tea, bananas and apples by 2000 BC, coconuts by 200 AD and egg plants by 500 AD (Agriculture in India, 2008). Agricultural Movements: Green Revolution, Operational Flood, National Pulse Development Programme & Special Food Production Programme Green Revolution – The rapidly rising population of India compelled the government to take steps with the objective of boosting food production (Agriculture in India, 2008). The Green Revolution of India resulted in a remarkable improvement in the yield of crops particularly wheat (“India Agriculture”, n.d.). This could be attained through encompassing additional areas under cultivation, extension of irrigation facilities, deployment of improved seeds, advanced techniques, water management and plant protection (“India Agriculture”, n.d.). Operation Flood – The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) initiated a rural development programme called the Operation Flood, with the view to establish a national milk network (Agriculture in India, 2008). The movement not only assisted a lot in cutting down poverty and famine levels but also made India the biggest producer of milk and dairy products, thereby assuming the name, the White Revolution of India (Agriculture in India, 2008). National Pulse Development Programme – This program was initiated in 1986 encompassing 13 states with the objective of offering farmers advanced technologies (“India”, n.d.). Special Food Production Programme – This programme was conducted for attaining higher pulse production resulting in a record of 292.2 million tons in 2001-02 (“India”, n.d.). Healthy Prospects It is being strongly believed: From a nation dependent on food imports to feed its population, India today is not only self-sufficient in grain production but also has a substantial reserve. The progress made by agriculture in the last four decades has been one of the biggest success stories of free India. Agriculture and allied activities constitute the single largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product, almost 33 percent of it. Agriculture is the means of livelihood of about two-thirds of the workforce in the country. (“India”, n.d.) A remarkable boost has been observed in agricultural production due to additional regions brought under cultivation, extension of irrigation facilities, the adoption of advanced high-yielding variety of seeds, improved techniques evolved through agricultural research, water management and plant protection through judicious use of fertilizers, pesticides and cropping practices (“India”, n.d.). Recently an economic shift toward agriculture has been seen in states like Bihar in the process of carving out the mineral rich regions to form the new state of Jharkhand (Agriculture in India, 2008). Production India occupies the second position in the world in the field of agricultural production (Agriculture in India, 2008). In the international market the country ranks first in the yield of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper (Agriculture in India, 2008). In the field of farm production too the economy ranks second (Agriculture in India, 2008). Apart from raking as the second biggest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish the country also occupies a third position in the production of tobacco (Agriculture in India, 2008). India not only ranks first in the yield of banana and sapota but also stands responsible for contributing around 10% of the world fruit production (Agriculture in India, 2008). According to the Department of Food and Public Distribution the following chart reveals the trend of yield of cereals and chief food- grains: (Agriculture in India, 2008) Year Cereals Rice Wheat Coarsegrains Pulses 2001-02 199,480,000 93,340,000 72,770,000 33,370,000 13,370,000 2004-05 192,730,000 87,800,000 73,030,000 31,880,000 13,670,000 Agricultural States in India Major Crops: Wheat, Rice, Sugar Cane, Cotton Punjab in north-west India also known as the region of five rivers owns one of the best fertile lands in the world (Agriculture in India, 2008). Apart from growing wheat the state also specializes in producing rice, sugar cane, cotton, pearl millet, maize, barley, fruits and vegetables (Agriculture in India, 2008). Hence, the state is known as the “Granary of India” or “India’s bread-basket” (Agriculture in India, 2008). Punjab’s contribution encompass 14% of India’s cotton and 2% of world’s cotton, 60% of India’s wheat and 2% of world’s wheat, and 40% of India’s rice and 1% of world’s rice (Agriculture in India, 2008). Haryana, the neighbor of Punjab well known for its marked contribution to the Green Revolution is self sufficient in food production (Agriculture in India, 2008). Besides Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, states of south India also specializes in yielding rice with Andhra Pradesh ranking second in the production of rice (Agriculture in India, 2008). Source: mapsofindia Website Fruits & Beverages: Apple, Tea, Coffee States of high altitudes in the north such as Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir specialize in producing apples (Agriculture in India, 2008). On the other hand the East Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is a leading producer of fruit orchards (Agriculture in India, 2008). Tea is also produced in the high altitude regions of Assam, Darjeeling district in West Bengal, Tripura, Ooty in Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala (Agriculture in India, 2008). Assamese tea is world renowned due its finest quality and high price (Agriculture in India, 2008). Previously shifting cultivation known as jhum was a common practice in the north-eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland by the tribal groups but is now rarely practiced (Agriculture in India, 2008). Karnataka another South Indian state ranks second in the production of coffee in India contributing almost 59% of the country’s coffee (Agriculture in India, 2008). Source: mapsofindia Website Spices: Pepper, Cardamom, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Nutmeg Sikkim a north eastern state is a mountainous region practicing farming on the terraced slopes produces the maximum amount of cardamom in India (Agriculture in India, 2008). Kerala in the extreme south yields 96% of national output of pepper (Agriculture in India, 2008). The state ranks first in the production of such as cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg (Agriculture in India, 2008). Miscellaneous: Edible Oil, Sandalwood, Rubber, Raw Silk Rajasthan in the North West ranks first in India in yielding edible oils along apart from occupying the second position in the country in producing oil seeds (Agriculture in India, 2008). Sandalwood and sandalwood based products such as perfumes, talcs, soaps, incense sticks, etc are produced by Karnataka which even stands as a leading producer of raw silk and Mysore silk (Agriculture in India, 2008). Silk is also produced by Tamil Nadu (Agriculture in India, 2008). Kerala accounts for 91% of India’s rubber remaining as the biggest producer of rubber in the country followed by Tripura (Agriculture in India, 2008). In the east, bamboo forests encompass 30% of Mizoram’s region which is responsible for supplying 80 million ton annual bamboo crop (Agriculture in India, 2008). Conclusion Agriculture in India plays a pivotal role in providing livelihood to around two thirds of the work force in the country. It undoubtedly remains India’s most crucial economic sector. Much improvement has been observed in the agricultural yield through the adoption of various means such as involving additional land for cultivation, deploying high quality seeds, improved irrigation systems, use of advanced effective pesticides, education of farmers and other advanced techniques. The carrying out of various programs such as the Green Revolution, Operational Flood, and National Pulse Development Programme & Special Food Production Programme has come out with flying colors. With its remarkable contribution to the world’s agricultural market through its high yielding states India occupies a prestigious position in the agricultural market in the world. References Agriculture in India. (2008). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved Mar 28, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_India#Production. Agricultural Map (Food Crops), India [map]. (n.d.). Scale not given. mapsofindia.com. Compare Infobase Pvt. Ltd. http://www.mapsofindia.com/indiaagriculture/foodcrops.htm. Agricultural Map (Commercial Crops), India [map]. (n.d.). Scale not given. mapsofindia.com. Compare Infobase Pvt. Ltd. http://www.mapsofindia.com/indiaagriculture/commercialcrops.htm. India Agriculture, Agriculture in India. (n.d.). Retrieved Mar 28, 2008, from http://www.indianchild.com/india_agriculture.htm. India: Agriculture and Rural Development. (n.d.). High Commission of India, London. Retrieved Feb 18, 2008, from http://www.hcilondon.net/india-overview/agriculture-rural-development.html. Read More