Revitalising Indian Agriculture: Towards Productivity, Sustainability, and Inclusive Growth

Introduction – Revitalising Indian Agriculture

Agriculture is the bedrock of India’s socio-economic framework, employing nearly half of its workforce and ensuring food security for its vast population. However, the sector grapples with numerous challenges, including low productivity, over-reliance on subsidies, underfunded agricultural R&D, and fragmented welfare schemes. These issues, compounded by climate change and resource depletion, necessitate comprehensive reforms to ensure sustainability, equity, and growth. This essay explores key strategies to address these challenges, making Indian agriculture vibrant, climate-resilient, and inclusive.

Boosting Agricultural Productivity: A Multipronged Approach

Improving agricultural productivity in India requires addressing multiple challenges, including low yields, resource inefficiency, and outdated practices, through a combination of technological, infrastructural, and market-based solutions.

Adoption of Technology and Modern Practices: Indian agriculture needs modern technology to tackle climate challenges and improve yields. Introducing 109 climate-resilient crop varieties is a positive step, but weak agricultural extension services limit their adoption. Strengthening these services through digital tools and local outreach can ensure farmers benefit from research advancements. Precision agriculture, using drones, GPS tools, and data analytics, offers great potential to improve yields and reduce input waste. However, scaling these technologies requires proper farmer training and the development of necessary infrastructure to support their effective use.

Efficient Irrigation and Water Management: Improved water management is crucial, as 63% of farmland depends on rain. Conventional irrigation wastes water and harms soil health. Micro-irrigation systems like drip and sprinkler irrigation, promoted by schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), can optimise water use. Expanding these initiatives, combined with regulating groundwater usage and encouraging community-led water management systems, can address resource concerns effectively. Sustainable water use policies are essential to balance agricultural productivity with long-term resource availability.

Diversification and Value Chain Strengthening: Shifting from traditional cereals to high-value crops such as fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, and pulses can boost farmer incomes and cater to changing dietary needs. This shift requires robust market links, cold storage facilities, and improved rural logistics. Reducing post-harvest losses, currently at 10-15% of output, is another priority. Strengthening the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) can support better storage, efficient transportation, and market access, ensuring a reliable value chain and reducing wastage, which ultimately benefits both farmers and consumers.

Rationalising Subsidies for Efficiency and Sustainability

Reforming agricultural subsidies in India is vital to enhance efficiency, ensure sustainability, and address systemic resource mismanagement while supporting farmers equitably:

Fertiliser Subsidy Reforms: India’s fertiliser subsidy favours nitrogen-based fertilisers like urea, leading to imbalanced soil nutrient use. Shifting to Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT), linked to land records and Aadhaar authentication, can ensure efficient nutrient application and reduce misuse. Promoting organic farming and bio-fertiliser adoption through targeted incentives aligns with global sustainability goals and encourages eco-friendly farming practices.

Addressing Power Subsidies and Groundwater Depletion: Free electricity for irrigation exacerbates groundwater depletion, especially in water-stressed regions. Reforms should include metering agricultural electricity connections and providing DBT for power usage, promoting accountability. Separating agricultural electricity feeders from general supply lines can also improve equitable resource distribution. These measures ensure sustainable water and energy use, balancing productivity with resource conservation.

Rationalising Loan Waivers and Expanding Crop Insurance: Loan waivers, while politically popular, undermine credit discipline and often fail to benefit smallholders. Replacing waivers with universal income support schemes, like PM-Kisan, ensures fairness and predictability. Expanding crop insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) provides farmers with protection against climate-related and market risks, fostering stability in rural livelihoods.

Enhancing Agricultural R&D for Innovation and Resilience

Enhancing agricultural research and development (R&D) is vital to fostering innovation and resilience in the sector. Prioritising public investment, public-private collaborations, and robust extension services ensures sustainable agricultural progress and climate adaptation:

Increasing Public Investments: India’s public spending on agricultural R&D remains below global benchmarks, at less than 1% of agricultural GDP. Strengthening institutions like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and state agricultural universities is essential. These bodies can spearhead the development of advanced technologies, such as drought-resistant seeds and precision farming tools, to address emerging agricultural challenges effectively.

Promoting Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Encouraging public-private partnerships (PPPs) in agricultural R&D bridges funding gaps and accelerates technological progress. Competitive grants and co-funding initiatives can attract private investment in critical sectors, including biotechnology and agrochemicals. These collaborations foster innovation by combining public institutional expertise with private sector efficiency and resources.

Strengthening Extension Services: Extension services remain a weak link in India’s agricultural ecosystem and require urgent improvement. Modernising Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) with digital advisory platforms and real-time weather data enhances knowledge dissemination. Additionally, training farmers in modern practices promotes the adoption of innovative technologies, fostering improved productivity and resilience.

Aligning Welfare Schemes with Development Goals

Achieving development goals requires aligning welfare schemes with efficiency and sustainability. Strategies must address inefficiencies and optimise resource use for impact:

Restructuring the Public Distribution System (PDS): The Public Distribution System (PDS) plays a critical role in ensuring food security but suffers from significant inefficiencies and wastage. Transitioning to cash transfers or digital food coupons, as successfully tested in several states, can reduce these inefficiencies. This modernisation can also enhance dietary diversity by empowering beneficiaries to make more flexible food choices tailored to their needs.

Leveraging MGNREGS for Asset Creation: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) can promote sustainable rural development by focusing on creating durable assets. Projects such as farm ponds, check dams, and afforestation serve dual purposes—generating employment and improving agricultural productivity. Aligning MGNREGS with agricultural goals ensures long-term benefits for communities while addressing immediate livelihood needs, fostering inclusive growth.

Integrating Income Support with Subsidy Rationalisation: Direct income transfers like PM-Kisan offer a reliable safety net for farmers. Integrating these schemes with the gradual reduction of input subsidies, such as fertilisers and electricity, enhances fiscal sustainability. Replacing subsidies with direct cash support eliminates inefficiencies, ensuring farmers receive targeted benefits while reducing the financial burden on the state.

Promoting Sustainability and Climate Resilience

Promoting sustainability and climate resilience in agriculture is essential for mitigating environmental challenges while ensuring food security and rural livelihoods. Effective strategies integrate innovative practices and community-led initiatives to address these pressing issues:

Adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture: Climate-smart agriculture incorporates techniques such as conservation tillage, agroforestry, and integrated nutrient management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These practices simultaneously improve resilience to climate impacts. Providing smallholders with financial incentives and training ensures the broad adoption of these methods, amplifying their effectiveness and fostering sustainable farming systems across diverse agro-ecological regions.

Reducing Post-Harvest Losses: Minimising post-harvest losses is vital for reducing food waste and improving food security. Expanding infrastructure such as cold storage facilities, processing units, and rural market access can significantly reduce losses. The Agricultural Infrastructure Fund plays a key role in funding these improvements, ensuring farmers can preserve their produce and access better market opportunities.

Empowering Community-Led Resource Management: Local institutions like water user associations and forest management committees are crucial for sustainable resource use. These groups can oversee groundwater regulation, soil health monitoring, and afforestation efforts. By aligning conservation goals with rural livelihoods, such initiatives empower communities to take an active role in fostering sustainability and resilience.

Conclusion

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The Source’s Authority and Ownership of the Article is Claimed By THE STUDY IAS BY MANIKANT SINGH