Agricultural Development Issues: Hello@edutap - Co.in

Agricultural Development
Issues
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 4
2 Agricultural Development Issues .......................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Rural-Urban Migration .................................................................................................................. 4
2.1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 4
NOTE: ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
2.1.2 CASE STUDY of Bokaro Steel City: ......................................................................................... 5
2.1.3 Issues created due to Rural to Urban migration ................................................................... 5
2.1.4 Way Forward ......................................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Fragmented Land Holdings ........................................................................................................... 6
2.2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 6
2.2.2 Issues due to Land Fragmentation ........................................................................................ 7
2.2.3 Way Forward ......................................................................................................................... 8
3 Scarcity of Capital.................................................................................................................................. 8
3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 8
3.2 Case Study of Odisha Farmers ...................................................................................................... 8
3.3 Issues due to scarcity of Capital .................................................................................................... 8
3.4 Way Forward ................................................................................................................................. 9
4 Dependency on Monsoon ..................................................................................................................... 9
4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 9
4.2 Issues due to dependency on monsoon ..................................................................................... 10
4.3 Way forward ............................................................................................................................... 10
5 Irrigation.............................................................................................................................................. 10
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 10
5.2 Issues of Irrigation in India .......................................................................................................... 11
5.3 Way Forward ............................................................................................................................... 11
6 Seeds ................................................................................................................................................... 12
6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 12
6.2 Issues of Seed Production and Distribution in India ................................................................... 13
6.2.1 Seed-related issues faced by the farmer ............................................................................ 13
6.2.2 Seed- related issues faced by Seed Industry ....................................................................... 13

6.3 WAY FORWARD ........................................................................................................................... 14
7 Sluggish Fertilizer Industry .................................................................................................................. 15
7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 15
7.2 Issues related to Fertilizer consumption and Industry ............................................................... 15
7.2.1 Issues faced by Farmers ...................................................................................................... 15
7.2.2 Issues faced by the Fertilizer Industries .............................................................................. 16
7.2.3 Environmental Issues due to fertilizer use.......................................................................... 17
7.3 Way Forward ............................................................................................................................... 17
8 Farm Mechanization ........................................................................................................................... 18
8.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 18
8.2 Issues of farm mechanization in India ........................................................................................ 18
8.3 Way Forward ............................................................................................................................... 19
9 Inadequate Storage Facilities .............................................................................................................. 19
9.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 19
9.2 Issues of Inadequate Storage Facilities ....................................................................................... 20
9.3 Way Forward ............................................................................................................................... 20
10 Agricultural Marketing .................................................................................................................... 21
10.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 21
10.2 Issues of Agriculture Marketing in India ..................................................................................... 21
10.3 Way Forward ............................................................................................................................... 22

1 Introduction
✓ While agriculture’s share in India’s economy has progressively declined to less than
15% due to the high growth rates of the industrial and services sectors, the sector’s
importance in India’s economic and social fabric goes well beyond this indicator.
- First, nearly three-quarters of India’s families depend on rural incomes.
- Second, the majority of India’s poor (some 770 million people or about 70
percent) are found in rural areas.
- And third, India’s food security depends on producing cereal crops, as well as
increasing its production of fruits, vegetables and milk to meet the demands of a
growing population with rising incomes.
- To do so, a productive, competitive, diversified and sustainable agricultural
sector will need to emerge at an accelerated pace.
✓ Slow agricultural growth is a matter of concern because the majority of India's
population relies on rural work for a living. Current agricultural practices are neither
economically nor environmentally sustainable, and yields for a variety of agricultural
commodities in India are low.
2 Agricultural Development Issues

Some of the major Agricultural Development issues are as follows:
2.1 Rural-Urban Migration
2.1.1 Introduction
✓ When a person is listed in census at a different place than his/her place of birth, she/he
is considered a migrant.
✓ The majority of farming in India takes place in rural areas. While India's rural fortunes
have improved, it has not been enough to bridge the country's rural-urban divide.
✓ According to census data, 25% of the country's population migrates, with rural people
exhibiting a higher migratory inclination than their urban counterparts.
✓ Economic migration is the primary reason for migration in India.
✓ Rural-Urban migration is a national tendency. The factors are mainly economic, social,
and demographic.
2.1.1.1 Social Factors

✓ It includes migration due to better education, the better quality of life, health facilities,
and social insecurity due to ethnic, communal, and cast tensions.

2.1.1.2 Economic factors:
✓ It involves unemployment in rural areas (Push factor) or attractive employment
opportunities in urban areas (Pull factor).
✓ According to a Lokniti survey from 2014, over 40% of farmers were unsatisfied with their
economic situation. In eastern India, the figure was higher than 60%. More than 70% of
farmers said city life was superior to village living.
2.1.1.3 Demographic factors:

✓ Rapid population growth in rural areas induces the migration of people from rural to
urban areas.
NOTE: Social tensions between tribal and non-tribal people promoted Rural-Urban
migration in North Eastern and Eastern India.
✓ Key source states for internal migration in India are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh and the key destination states
involve Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, and Karnataka.
✓ The rate of growth of urban incomes has been faster, and the gap between rural and
urban consumption has increased slightly. As a result, despite rising rural wages and
decreasing rural poverty, rural dissatisfaction with farming has only worsened.
2.1.2 CASE STUDY of Bokaro Steel City:

✓ Pull and Push forces cause rural to urban migration. Pull factors are generated by urban
centers, whereas Push factors work in rural areas.
✓ India is affected by both, but Push factors have had a stronger impact. Many industrial
cities were developed during the Second Plan, for example: Bokaro Steel City.
✓ Bokaro was previously an area of 33 villages with no settlements.
✓ By 1971, the township of Bokaro had grown to over one lakh people, with non-tribals
accounting for 95 percent of the population. This was mainly due to Pull factors.
✓ The city was designed to house four million people, and the migration has persisted to
this day due to Push causes.
✓ Due to the urbanization, especially setting up of industries, people are now engaged with
industrial work rather than agriculture.
2.1.3 Issues created due to Rural to Urban migration

✓ Elderly and Women Labor: The young generation moves to urban areas for education or
job purposes and ultimately settle down there. This has led to the work force to be shifted
from the younger stronger labor to people who are not as physically fit as required

according to the task given. Women have to look after family and children as well which
took a toll on their physical health.
✓ Traditional Farming: Educated people move to the urban areas and people left behind in
the village are not aware of the scientific methods that they can adopt for better
productivity of the crops sown. They follow the traditional methods which are not only
less productive but are also not sustainable for the environment.
✓ Demand- Supply shift: Rural area is responsible for fulfilling the demand of both rural and
urban areas. As more people are moving towards urban areas, the demand is increasing
constantly but the work force of supply if decreasing. This is hence creating a pressure on
the agricultural lands.
✓ Rural Infrastructure: Because the people are moving towards the urban areas, not much
focus is given on rural infrastructure development. This creates an obstacle during
mechanization, transport and marketing processes.
2.1.4 Way Forward

✓ A rural livelihoods programme that helps communities to become self-sufficient has
been found to be highly effective and scaleable. This programme encourages the
development of self-help organisations, develops community savings, and supports
local efforts to boost income and employment.
✓ These institutions obtain the political authority to negotiate better prices and market
access for their products by federating to become larger entities.
✓ They also gain political power over local governments to provide them with better
technical and social services. Women and underprivileged families are particularly well-
served by these self-help organisations.
2.2 Fragmented Land Holdings
2.2.1 Introduction
✓ Fragmented landholding has been an issue since India gained independence. Because of
inheritance laws, the size of the arable (agricultural) land shrinks with each generation.
✓ The land that a parent owns is inherited by his or her heirs and divided into pieces. In
terms of agricultural produce, these lands eventually become unprofitable.
✓ After 75 years of independence, the area under agriculture has reduced to 157 mha in
2015-16 and we are now left with 0.2 hectares of land per person in a rural household.
✓ Since the first agriculture census 45 years ago, the number of farms has doubled from 70
million in 1970 to 145 million in 2015 and counting. This implies a greater number of

people in an ever-shrinking land holding, leading to increased population pressure, and
rampant underemployment.
✓ The issue of small landholdings is rampant in areas with dense populations, especially
in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal where the average landholdings
are very low.
2.2.2 Issues due to Land Fragmentation

✓ Land fragmentation is an issue because it decreases agricultural productivity and
diminishes the economic opportunities available.
✓ A small piece of land usually produces just about enough for the farmer and his family.
To sell the excess, if any, the farmer has to invest in appropriate infrastructure. The return
on such an investment is usually insufficient and may even drive the farmer of a small
landholding into a loss. A lot of times, farmers suffer from inefficiencies in the
transportation system. This makes them dependent on middlemen, which eats into any
profit they make.
✓ Further, the variety of crops a farmer can produce is severely limited due to the small
piece of land. The farmland does not get appropriate time to recuperate from the ongoing
crop season, leaving little scope for harvest after each cycle. Also, one cannot practice
effective cultivation methods such as inter-cropping, livestock farming, and commercial
plantation, unless they hold a reasonably large piece of land.
✓ Today, large landholdings are only 9% of the total productive area, leaving little scope
for the marginalized farmer.
✓ On such small and fragmented areas, irrigation becomes difficult.
✓ Furthermore, much productive agricultural land is wasted on the construction of fences.
In such situations, the farmer is unable to focus on improvement.
✓ Besides the cultivation issues, there are hurdles the farmer has to face outside the field.
One of which is litigation due to fragmentation, which is a fairly common form of a
property dispute.
✓ About 25% of all cases decided by the Supreme Court are centered around land disputes.
Again, 66% of all civil cases in India are related to land disputes. Not only do these issues
further burden the already burdened judiciary system, but the expensive litigation
process drains the farmer of any earning he or she may have.
✓ Lastly, the land dispute has had many social repercussions as well. The constant disputes
and bickering can lead to the breaking down of the joint family system. Not only this, the
lack of revenue can force the farmer to take up excessive loans, leading to rural
indebtedness, which is a primary cause for farmer suicides in India.

2.2.3 Way Forward
✓ The government must address these challenges one at a time. To begin, there is an urgent
need to digitise and consolidate existing land records.
✓ Second, small farms can be combined and leased to producers and corporations.
✓ NGOs must come in to educate farmers, collaborate with them, and provide a path out
of unproductive landholdings.
✓ Farmers can also be made aware of current options such as cooperative farming and
pooling various lands together, among other things.
✓ To avoid overcrowding and underemployment, India must also invest in agriculture,
rural infrastructure, and alternate sources of income.
✓ For any government land-related scheme to work, the basic issue of insufficient land
supply must be addressed.
3 Scarcity of Capital
3.1 Introduction
✓ Farming as a business requires adequate capital. Capital is necessary to create, maintain,
and expand a business, increase efficiency, and to meet seasonal operating cash needs.
✓ Smallholders (with up to 2 hectares of land) run 85% of the total farms in India and own
more than 50% of the livestock and nearly 86% of farm investment depends on loans.
✓ Smallholders borrow nearly half of their loans from moneylenders, traders and input
dealers. Repaying debt is a far more compelling consideration than buying machinery.
3.2 Case Study of Odisha Farmers

✓ In Odisha, where 92% are smallholders, each farming family spent on average Rs 1,142 a
month on crop production, according to National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) 2012-13.
✓ Yet, due to the low productivity, low production and lack of market incentives, families
receive no commensurate return. So, smallholders have, on an average, less than 10%
share of the total private investment in farming.
3.3 Issues due to scarcity of Capital

✓ Credit continues to be a developing strategy for the agricultural sector in India. There is a
strong demand for agricultural credit and its tremendous contribution to agricultural
sector by farmers.
✓ Financial institutions frequently demand collateral in order to reduce the risk of default,
thereby limiting the entry of farmers.

✓ On the other hand, it is also the rules, regulation and lending procedures of the financial
institutions that create the gap between the farmers and the bank.
✓ Informal lenders seem to have advantages in terms of lower transaction cost in reaching
farmers and therefore, informal continue to remain as a complementary source of credit
market in India.
✓ If the farmer is not able to repay the amounts to the informal money lenders, they have
to bear heavy consequences.
✓ As most of the small farmers belong to SC or other backward classes and mostly a money
lender belongs to an upper caste, along with selling lands to return the money in extreme
cases, they also have to face the humiliation from the upper caste money lenders.
3.4 Way Forward

✓ Like all sectors, agriculture too depends upon attracting investment for rapid growth.
These demands accelerated investment from farming families, besides greater capital
efficiency. The ministry of agriculture estimates that to double farmer incomes by 2022-
23, private investment in agriculture must jump two times to almost Rs 1,40,000 crore.
✓ Private investments refer to investments made by farmers themselves, inclusive of their
own savings and borrowings from institutional and non-institutional sources.
✓ Since smallholders till mainly leased land with uncertain and informal tenure, they have
little incentive to take long-term capital loans for investments, such as micro-irrigation,
which mitigate risk. Suitably modified land-leasing laws can encourage investments in
land improvement. Likewise, investment in dairy and poultry will increase by the
incentives from integration into tight value chains.
✓ Rural credit scenario has undergone a significant change and institutional agencies such
as Central Cooperative Banks, State Cooperative Banks, Commercial Banks, Cooperative
Credit Agencies and some Government Agencies are extending loans to farmers on easy
terms.
4 Dependency on Monsoon
4.1 Introduction
✓ Southwest Monsoon in India is a four-month long affair from June till September. More
than 75 per cent of India’s annual rainfall occurs during this period itself.
✓ The fate of the Kharif crops depend on the performance of the southwest Monsoon.
Good rains during the season result in bountiful crops which further benefit the farmers
but if the rain is not sufficient, as a result, production of food-grains fluctuates year after
year.

✓ In such conditions, a year of abundant output of cereals is often followed by a year of
acute shortage.
4.2 Issues due to dependency on monsoon

✓ Weak Monsoon rains result in crop failure which affects the economy in a negative
manner due to lower production. Later on, this translates into price-rise, low industrial
output, and other issues.
4.3 Way forward

✓ Implying agricultural practices such as planting crops that require less water, setting up
irrigation systems without leakages, and developing farm-based water conservation
structures is very important. This can aid in the protection of forests and development of
horticulture.
✓ Local governments (e.g. gram panchayat) can take part in water conversation by utilizing
watershed development and monitoring groundwater usage by farmers.
✓ Rain-water harvesting helps utilities reduce peak demands during summer months as
allows the collection of large amounts of water and mitigates the effects of drought
5 Irrigation
5.1 Introduction
✓ India has many rivers whose total catchment area is estimated to be 252.8 million ha
(mha)
- Out of about 1,869 km3 of surface water resources, about 690 km3 of water is
available for different uses.
- The ultimate irrigation potential of the country has been estimated to be 139.5 mha.
- India has acquired an irrigation potential of about 84.9 mha against the ultimate
irrigation potential.
✓ Irrigation in India includes a network of major and minor canals from Indian rivers,
groundwater well based systems, tanks, and other rainwater harvesting projects for
agricultural activities. Of this groundwater system is the largest.
✓ 65% of the irrigation in India is from groundwater.
✓ Currently about 51% of the agricultural area cultivating food grains is covered by
irrigation. The rest of the area is dependent on rainfall which is most of the times
unreliable and unpredictable.
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5.2 Issues of Irrigation in India
✓ Delays in completion of projects: The biggest problem in our major and medium irrigation
sectors right from the First Five-year plan has been the tendency to start more and more
new projects resulting in want on proliferation of projects.
- There is also delay in utilization of potentials already present. In most of the projects,
there have been delay in construction of field channels and water courses, land
levelling and land shaping.
✓ Inter-state Water disputes: Irrigation is a state subject in India. Development of water
resource is, therefore, being planned by states individually taking into account their own
needs and requirement. However, all major rivers are inter-state in character.
- As a result, difference with regard to storage, priorities and use of water arise
between different states. Narrow regional outlook brings inter-state rivalries over
distribution of water supply.
✓ Regional disparities in irrigation development: The Ninth Five Year Plan Document
estimated that the water resource development in North Eastern region through major,
medium and minor schemes is only at the level of 28.6 per cent whereas in the Northern
region it has reached about 95.3 per cent. This indicates a wide regional variation in the
development of irrigation facilities.
✓ Water-logging and salinity: Introduction of irrigation has led to the problem of water
logging and salinity in some of the states.
- The working group constituted by the Ministry of Water Resources in 1991 estimated
that about 2.46 million hectares in irrigated commands suffered from water logging.
The working group also estimated that 3.30 million hectares had been affected by
salinity/alkalinity in the irrigated commands.
✓ Increasing cost of irrigation: The cost of providing irrigation have been increasing over
the years from the first five-year plant to tenth five-year plan.
✓ Losses in operating irrigation projects: While just prior to Independence (1945-46) public
irrigation schemes showed a surplus after meeting working expenses and other charges,
the position deteriorated considerably in the post-independence period.
✓ Decline in water table: There has been a steady decline in water table in the recent
period in several parts of the country, especially in the western dry region, on account
over exploitation of ground water and insufficient recharge from rain-water.
5.3 Way Forward

✓ Government has initiated micro irrigation in the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007). Since
then, keen initiatives are being taken by Central Government, State Governments, some
NGOs and some business firms to promote and propagate this new technology.
✓ Micro-irrigation has been given special importance in Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana (PMKSY) with the aim of extending irrigation cover (‘Har Khet Ko Pani’) and
improving water use efficiency (‘Per Drop More Crop’) to improve various water
development and management activities.
✓ Under the programme, financial assistance of up to 55 per cent is available for small and
marginal farmers and 45 per cent for other farmers for adoption of micro-irrigation
systems.
✓ Micro-irrigation is considered as a prudent Irrigation technology promoted nationally and
internationally to achieve higher cropping Intensity and irrigation Intensity through more
focused application of water to crops.
✓ Different types of systems are drip irrigation, sprinkler Irrigation, micro-sprinkler,
porous pipe system, rain gun etc., where drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation dominate
among all these systems.
✓ Participatory Irrigation Management can also contribute to have better irrigation
management. The term participatory irrigation management (PIM) refers to the
participation of irrigation users, i.e., farmers, in the management of irrigation systems. It
is done by creating local water regulatory bodies like Pani Panchayat or Water Users’
Associations (WUAs).
Objectives of IPM:
✓ Creating a sense of ownership of water resources and the irrigation system among the
users, so as to promote the economy in water use and preservation of the system.
✓ Improving service deliveries through better operation and maintenance of the irrigation
systems.
✓ Achieving optimum utilization of available resources, precisely as per crop needs.
✓ Striving for equity in water distribution.
✓ Increasing production per unit of water, where water is scarce and to increase
production per unit of land where water is adequate
6 Seeds
6.1 Introduction
✓ The foremost objective of agriculture is yield maximization for which quality seed
development is necessary.
-Seed is a critical and basic input for increasing crop yields and maintaining agricultural
production growth. According to agricultural experts, quality of seed accounts for 20-
25% of agricultural productivity.
- Scientists have developed many varieties of seed depending on their genetic purity,
i.e., the percentage of genomes that the breeder wanted to incorporate in the seed.
NOTE: -The efficacy of other agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, and
irrigation in enhancing agricultural production is largely determined by the quality of
seed.
6.2 Issues of Seed Production and Distribution in India

✓ In India, seed technology is still in its development phase. Farmers rarely purchase these
certified seeds for growing because they are relatively expensive. They usually use the
seeds from previous harvest as they are free of cost.
Seed-related issues affect both farmers and the seed industry. Let us look at them one by
one.
6.2.1 Seed-related issues faced by the farmer

✓ Among various challenges faced by Indian farmers, the most important are quality, price,
and availability of seeds on time.
- Due to a lack of road and transportation, small-scale farmers are unable to contact
certified seed producers and distributors.
✓ Most Indian farmers are economically weak and find it difficult to purchase seeds as they
have to invest heavily in pesticides and fertilisers. Therefore, they are mainly dependent
on traditional seeds.
- The major advantage of these traditional seeds is that the farmers need not
purchase them every year from seed companies.
6.2.2 Seed- related issues faced by Seed Industry
6.2.2.1 Distribution Problems:

i. Short Shelf Life of the Seeds: Normally, certified seeds are valid for one season only and they have to
be revalidated for use in the next season. The retailers are not equipped to store the seeds for one
whole year.
ii. Unpredictability of the Demand: It is very difficult for the dealers (private or co-operative) to exactly
predict the demand of certified seeds owing to the unpredictability of Nature, changes in the
commodity prices and other reasons.
6.2.2.2 Lack of Effective Monitoring Mechanism:

✓ There is no effective monitoring mechanism for controlling the quality of seeds at the
selling points.
- The dealers even sell those seeds whose samples have failed in the laboratory tests
by State Seed Corporations.
- The producing and marketing agencies of seed do not have any control on their
production once the product is sold. This is mainly because the monitoring of selling
of seeds is neither possible nor economical.
6.2.2.3 Lack of Infrastructure:

✓ Availability of seeds in time still remains a problem for the farmers. The problem is
compounded by poor infrastructure in distant villages, the lack of purchasing power at
the time of sowing and the uncertainty of rainfall, on which the sowing is largely
dependent.
6.2.2.4 Poor Extension Services:

✓ The various extension services offered by the agriculture department leave much to be
desired in terms of effectiveness of the programmes offered by them, for popularising
the modern agricultural practices, which includes improved seeds practices.
✓ Agricultural supervisors generally are seen active only for showing their targets that are
fulfilled, by distributing the mini kits and conducting field demonstrations rather than
emphasising on the result-oriented approach.
- The popularisation of a variety in a prolonged period has reasons other than the
slow activity of the extension network like the performance of the crop and
availability of the seed variety.
6.3 WAY FORWARD

✓ To solve this problem, the Government of India established the National Seeds
Corporation (NSC) in 1963 and the State Farmers Corporation of India (SFCI) in 1969.
✓ High Yielding Variety Programme (HYVP) was launched in 1966-67 as a major thrust plan
to increase the production of food grains in the country.
✓ Production of breeder and foundation seeds and certified seeds distribution have gone
up at an annual average rate of 3.4 per cent, 7.5 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively,
between 2004-05 and 2010-11.
✓ To adjust the imbalances in the demand and supply during the season, the firm should
continuously monitor variables like weather till the sowing season is over, so as to avoid
additional cost and efforts in cross transportation.
- In short, an efficient information system should be developed which helps to
organise production better and market it efficiently.
✓ Seed Replacement Ratio is a measure of how much of the total cropped area was sown
with certified seeds in comparison to farm saved seeds.
-
To increase the SRR, a firm has to concentrate on evolving newer hybrids which
could increase the yield and require 100 per cent replacement or should come up
with newer varieties of self-pollinated and cross-pollinated crops, that would make
the farmer to go for newer seed varieties the next year, to utilise the newer benefit
it offers, rather than using the same variety for next sowing season which they can
do without any significant change in the yield.
✓ Demonstration is one of the cost-effective tools of reaching the farmers. Demonstration
has the electrifying effect on the farmers not only for the new varieties, but also for the
existing varieties. Moreover, it brings out the true picture of the attributes of the seed
and thus increases the credibility of the particular variety and of the company.
7 Sluggish Fertilizer Industry
7.1 Introduction
✓ Fertilizer is any substance or material added to soil that promotes plant growth. India is
one of the leading producers of agricultural products such as pulses, wheat, rice,
groundnut, potatoes, onion etc., thereby leading to high demand for fertilizers in the
country.
- India is the second biggest consumer of nitrogenous fertilizer in the world next
only to China.
✓ Fertilisers have played a major role in improving crop yields, and they have helped make
developing countries – including India – more secure in their food supplies.
- After periods of famine in the years following India’s independence in 1947,
fertilisers helped to transform agriculture starting in the early 1960s – a
development that has come to be known as the Green Revolution.
✓ Agriculture is the major end-user sector for fertilizers and the demand for fertilizer is
growing significantly. India imports fertilizers such as Muriate of Potash (MOP) and other
specialty fertilizers due to limited availability in the country.
✓ At present, there are 32 manufacturing facilities that make urea, half of them privately
owned.
7.2 Issues related to Fertilizer consumption and Industry
7.2.1 Issues faced by Farmers

✓ The greatest challenge in agriculture is the over usage of fertilizers.
- In order to get maximum crop yield from fertilizer use and yet, maintaining soil
health it is imperative that farmer applies all the 3 major nutrients N, P and K in the
right mix. As a rule of thumb, agronomists recommend their use in a ratio of 4:2:1;
ideally it has to be customized to soil and crop specific situations.
- Unfortunately, by making fertilizers carrying P & K very expensive and urea – main
source of N – artificially cheap, government policies have led farmers to apply
excess of N and less of P & K. That led to increasing imbalance and the ratio at one
point had gone up to 8.5:3.1:1 (1998-99). The current ratio at 6.7:2.7:1.
(average)remains heavily imbalanced.
- In 1950, with the utilization of less NPK, the yield was more. Presently, with the
utilization of more NPK, lesser yield is being delivered.
- In Punjab, NPK proportion is 31.4:8:1
✓ Production of fertilizer being highly energy and capital intensive, in an inflationary
environment, its cost is unavoidably high. On the other hand, farmers a majority of them
83% being small & marginal, cannot afford to pay high price.
✓ Plants require 17 important minerals from the soil, but due to a lack of information,
farmers primarily apply nitrogenous fertilizer (particularly urea). They prefer urea
because it is cheap, even though they have no idea whether the soil actually lacks it or
not. If the soil is deficient in another mineral, the farmer will use too much urea in the
hopes of getting a different result.
7.2.2 Issues faced by the Fertilizer Industries

✓ The Indian fertilizers industry faces some serious challenges in the form of availability
and fluctuating prices of raw materials required to produce fertilizers. The primary cause
of fertilizer price fluctuations is related to the supply and demand factors. India also
faces a handicap due to lack of natural resources required to produce fertilizers. In case
of urea, there is not enough natural gas available in the country.
✓ The government of India continues to ignore the difficulties faced by the fertilizer
industry related to fertilizer certifications and proper standards.
- At present, the import duty on both imported raw materials and finished products
is same, whereas raw materials should attract lower custom duty than finished
products to encourage the production in India. Also, there is no mandatory
certification exists in the market.
- The high import dependence often leads to our exploitation in international
market which is cartelized by a few suppliers.
✓ In phosphate and potash, acute lack of natural resources leads to high dependence on
imports which makes Indian industry highly vulnerable. Thus, we depend on imports to
the extent of 85-90% in phosphates, 95% in sulphur and 100% in potash.
7.2.3 Environmental Issues due to fertilizer use
✓ The main environmental problem associated with fertilizer use is contamination of water
with nitrates and phosphates.
✓ The nitrogen from fertilizers and manures are eventually converted by bacteria in the soil
to nitrates.
- These nitrates can be leached into the groundwater or be washed out of the soil
surface into streams and rivers.
- High nitrate levels in drinking water are considered to be dangerous to human
health.
✓ Phosphorus cannot be readily washed out of the soil, but is bound to soil particles and
moves together with them.
- Phosphorus can therefore be washed into surface waters together with the soil that
is being eroded. The phosphorus is not considered to be dangerous, but it
stimulates the growth of algae in slow moving water.
- These algae eventually die and decompose, removing the oxygen from the water
causing fish kills. This process is called eutrophication.
✓ Recent research shows that the main sources of nitrates in groundwater are crop
residues and organic matter that decompose and produce nitrates at time when crops
cannot make use of them.
7.3 Way Forward

✓ Government resolved the dilemma of high prices by controlling maximum retail price
(MRP) at a low level and assuring to producers a price that helped them remain viable.
The difference was reimbursed as subsidy.
- The government is thinking of including fertilizers under Direct Cash Transfer (DCT)
to the farmers instead of giving it to the fertilizer company. No final decisions have
been taken it.
- To overcome the deficiency of micronutrients like zinc and boron, an additional
subsidy is being given on the fertilizers coated with zinc and boron.
✓ Soil Health Card (SHC) is a Government of India’s scheme promoted by the Department
of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. It
is being implemented through the Department of Agriculture of all the State and Union
Territory Governments.
- A SHC is meant to give each farmer soil nutrient status of his/her holding and
advice him/her on the dosage of fertilizers and also the needed soil amendments,
that s/he should apply to maintain soil health in the long run.
✓ Programmes such as “Right use of Fertilizers” conducted by ICAR aims at making the
farmers aware about the wise use of various fertilizers in their agricultural lands. This
would not only help to enhance the soil’s health, but also to yield good and healthy
qualities of crops as well.
✓ Organic manures are considered to be beneficial for maintaining the soil's health. The
country has a compost potential of 650 million tonnes for rural use and 160 lakh tonnes
for urban use, which is currently underutilized.
- The use of this potential will solve the twin problems of trash disposal and manure
provision to the land.
✓ ‘Neem Coated Urea’ policy began in 2008; when initially 20% of urea produced was to
be neem-coated, since 2015, 100% neem coated urea was mandated.
- The concept is that NCU can improve nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) by about 10%
by slowing the release of nitrogen.
8 Farm Mechanization
8.1 Introduction
✓ Farmers’ income has not been able to keep pace, such as to cater to increasing costs of
production including that of rising labour wages. Hence, there is a strong case for labour-
substituting farm/agriculture machinery.
- It is also important to note, that several activities are highly time-bound and unless
executed as per schedule, the farmer is likely to suffer loss. Agriculture
mechanization is an appropriate answer to such challenges.
✓ According to Economic Survey, Farm mechanization and crop productivity has a direct
correlation as farm mechanization saves time and labor, reduces drudgery, cut down
production cost in the long run, reduces postharvest losses and boosts crop output and
farm income. Mechanization also helps in animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries.
- Use of improved implements has potential to increase productivity up to 30 per
cent and reduce the cost of cultivation up to 20 per cent.
✓ Though, the level of farm mechanization in India stands at about 40-45% with states such
as UP, Haryana and Punjab having very high mechanization levels, but north-eastern
states having negligible mechanization.
8.2 Issues of farm mechanization in India

✓ Lack of access to farm power is one of the primary reasons for slow uptake of farm
mechanization and hence non-intensification of farm productivity, particularly among
small and marginal farmers.
✓ Credit is critical requirement for the any economic activity creating returns over the
period of the years. High cost of these machines restricts the farmer to buy them.
✓ Due to the land fragmentation, farmers are left with very small land holdings. In such
small fragmentated land holdings, farm machineries cannot be used.
✓ Marginal farmers believe higher technology is complex.
✓ Imported new farm mechanization technologies are expensive.
✓ Due to poor road facilities and rural infrastructure, field accessibility for machine
movement becomes difficult.
8.3 Way Forward

✓ The Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) is providing a suitable platform
for covering all activities related to mechanization by providing a ‘single window’
approach for implementation with accelerated and inclusive growth of agricultural
mechanization in India.
- The objectives of SMAM are:
o Increase the reach of agriculture mechanization to small and the regions of
farm power are low.
o Creating hubs for hi-tech and high value farm equipment and promoting
custom hiring centers to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due
to small landholding.
o Creating awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and
building activities
o Ensuring performance testing and certification at designated testing centers
placed all over the country.
9 Inadequate Storage Facilities
9.1 Introduction
✓ Despite India being world’s largest producer for milk and second largest producer of fruits
and vegetables, about 40 to 50 per cent of the total production valued of $440 billion
(bn) ends up wasting.
- A study pegged the number of India’s cold storage facilities at about 6,300 capacity
with a capacity of 30.11 million metric tons, which are only able to store about 11
per cent of the country’s total perishable produce.
9.2 Issues of Inadequate Storage Facilities
✓ Since a market is the primary medium for farmers to exchange their produce for money,
lack of logistics connectivity to ensure that their harvest reaches markets in time results
in lowering of the farmers’ ability to monetize their produce.
- This becomes even more critical in case of perishable fruits and vegetables.
✓ Existing cold storage capacity is confined mostly to certain crop types, that are usually
cultivated at a larger scale, and not integrated with other requirements.
- close to only 16 per cent of the target set for creating integrated pack-houses,
reefer trucks, cold storage and ripening units has been met.
- This means, there is an overall gap of about 84-99 per cent in achieving the target
on improving the state of storage and transportation of the farm produce.
✓ The inter-state disparities in warehousing availability are largely attributed to the
variations in the availability of state warehousing corporations, while the availability of
the Central Warehousing Corporation and the Food Corporation of India appear to be
uniformly distributed across States.
9.3 Way Forward

✓ According to the high-level Dalwai Committee Report, an investment of Rs 89,375
crore—a figure marginally lower than the annual post-harvest losses—is all it takes to
improve the state of storage and transportation facilities for food crops.
✓ Quoting a planning commission report, the Dalwai committee has brought to forefront
the role of Indian railways in addressing this need.
- About 1.9 per cent of the perishable fruits and vegetables are transported through
rail, while 97.4 per cent of the produce is transported through roads.
- This ratio needs to shift in favour of rail network.
✓ The Government has got a study done on “Assessment of Quantitative Harvest and Post-
Harvest Losses of Major Crops and Commodities in India” by ICAR - Central Institute of
Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana.
- On the basis of the study, the government decided to promote food processing
industry in the country to reduce wastage of agricultural produce and minimize
postharvest losses.
- With the above in view, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is
implementing various Central Sector Schemes, namely
(i) Scheme for Development of Infrastructure for Food Processing
having components of Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain,
Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure and Modernization
of Abattoirs and
(ii) Scheme for Quality Assurance, Codex Standards, Research &
Development and Other Promotional Activities.
10 Agricultural Marketing
10.1 Introduction
✓ Agricultural marketing is mainly the buying and selling of agricultural products. In earlier
days when the village economy was more or less self-sufficient the marketing of
agricultural products presented no difficulty as the farmer sold his produce to the
consumer on a cash or barter basis.
- Today's agricultural marketing has to undergo a series of exchanges or transfers
from one person to another before it reaches the consumer.
- There are three marketing functions involved in this, i.e., assembling, preparation
for consumption and distribution.
- Selling on any agricultural produce depends on some couple of factors like the
demand of the product at that time, availability of storage etc. The products may
be sold directly in the market or it may be stored locally for the time being.
- Moreover, it may be sold as it is gathered from the field or it may be cleaned, graded
and processed by the farmer or the merchant of the village.
- Sometime processing is done because consumers want it, or sometimes to
conserve the quality of that product.
- The task of distribution system is to match the supply with the existing demand by
whole selling and retailing in various points of different markets like primary,
secondary or terminal markets.
10.2 Issues of Agriculture Marketing in India

✓ Most of the Indian farmers are very poor and thus have no capacity to wait for better
price of his produce in the absence of proper credit facilities.
- Farmers often have to go for even distress sale of their output to the village
moneylenders-cum-traders at a very poor price.
✓ In the absence of proper road transportation facilities in the rural areas, Indian farmers
cannot reach nearby mandis to sell their produce at a fair price. Thus, they prefer to sell
their produce at the village markets itself.
✓ The condition of the mandis is also not at all favorable to the farmers.
- In the mandis, the farmers have to wait for disposing their produce for which there
is no storage facilities.
- Thus, the farmers will have to lake help of the middleman or dalal who take away
a major share of the profit, and finalizes the deal either in his favour or in favour of
arhatiya or wholesalers.
✓ There are huge number of unregulated markets which adopt various malpractices.
Prevalence of false weights and measures and lack of grading and standardization of
products in village markets in India are always going against the interest of ignorant, small
and poor farmers.
✓ There is absence of market intelligence or information system in India. Indian farmers
are not aware of the ruling prices of their produce prevailing in big markets. Thus, they
have to accept any un-remunerative price for their produce as offered by traders or
middlemen.
✓ There is lack of collective organization on the part of Indian farmers. A very small amount
of marketable surplus is being brought to the markets by a huge number of small farmers
leading to a high transportation cost.
✓ Indian farmers do not give importance to grading of their produce. They hesitate to
separate the qualitatively good crops from bad crops. Therefore, they fail to fetch a good
price of their quality product.
✓ In the absence of adequate institutional finance, Indian farmers have to come under the
clutches of traders and moneylenders for taking loan. After harvest they have to sell their
produce to those moneylenders at unfavorable terms.
10.3 Way Forward

The following are some of the measures to be followed for improving the existing system of
agricultural marketing in the country:
✓ Establishment of regulated markets: A regulated market is a market over which

government bodies or, less commonly, industry or labor groups, exert a level of
oversight and control.
- Market regulation is often controlled by the government and involves
determining who can enter the market and the prices they may charge.
✓ Establishment of co-operative marketing societies: A co-operative marketing society
provides market finance to farmers and ensures better returns to their produce.
- Besides marketing society can act as an agent of credit co-operative society and
help to recover loans advanced by credit societies.
✓ Extension and construction of additional storage and warehousing facilities for
agricultural produce of the farmers so that they can sell the produce when there is high
demand. This will help them to get better price for the commodities.
✓ Expansion of market yards and other allied facilities for the new and existing markets.
✓ Provision is made for extending adequate amount of credit facilities to the farmers.
✓ Timely supply of marketing information’s to the farmers
✓ Improvement and extension of road and transportation facilities for connecting the
villages with mandis
✓ Provision for standardization and grading of the produce for ensuring good quality to
the consumers and better prices for the farmers.
✓ Formulating suitable agricultural price policy by the Government for making a
provision for remunerative prices of agricultural produce of the country.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) for Practice:
Q1. Which is of the following is a ‘push’ factor for the rural- urban migration?
[A] Attractive employment opportunities
[B] Better lifestyle
[C] Unemployment in rural areas
[D] Both A and B
ANSWER: C
SOLUTION:
There are two factors on which the rural-urban migration depends. They are
(i) push factors

(ii) pull factors
• Push factors are those factors that the person observes in the rural environment which
‘pushes’ or encourages the person to leave the present conditions.
• Urban regions have ‘pull factors’ that draw people in.
As in the question ‘push’ factor has been asked, hence the correct answer is option C as
unemployment pushes the person to move from rural area.
Q2. Which of the following types of farming can be a solution for fragmented
landholdings?
[A] Cooperative Farming
[B] Livestock Farming
[C] Commercial Plantation
[D] All of the above
ANSWER: A
SOLUTION:
• Cooperative Farming: Cooperative farming refers to an organisation in which: each

member-farmer remains the owner of his land individually. But farming is done
jointly (using of machinery, stock, etc.). Profit is distributed among the member-
farmers in the ratio of land owned by them. Wages distributed among the member-
farmers according to number of days they worked.
• Livestock Farming: Livestock is commonly defined as domesticated animals raised in
an agricultural setting to produce labour and commodities such as meat, eggs, milk,
fur, leather, and wool.
• Commercial Plantation: Commercial farming is a type of farming in which crops are
grown for commercial use only, i.e. for selling purpose only. A large capital, land and
large amount of labour is required. For eg: Cultivation of rubber, etc.
As Livestock farming and Commercial Plantation requires larger landholdings, therefore

option A, i.e., Cooperative Farming is the right answer.
Q3. Which of the following agencies provide loans to the famers?
[A] Central Cooperative Banks
[B] State Cooperative Banks
[C] Cooperative Credit Agencies
[D] All of the above
ANSWER: D
• SOLUTION: Rural credit scenario has undergone a significant change and institutional
agencies such as Central Cooperative Banks, State Cooperative Banks, Commercial
Banks, Cooperative Credit Agencies and some Government Agencies are extending
loans to farmers on easy terms.
Q4. Which of the following season is also known as ‘Monsoon Season’?
[A] Kharif Season
[B] Rabi Season
[C] Zaid Season
[D] None of the above
ANSWER: A
SOLUTION:
• Monsoon Season is also known as Kharif season. The sowing of Kharif crops is done
in June- July and harvesting in October-November. The important crops of Kharif
season are: rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals),
arhar (pulses), soyabean, groundnut (oilseeds), etc.
• Winter Season is also known as Rabi season and Spring season is known as Zaid
Season.
Q5. What is “P” in PIM means?
[A] Progressive
[B] Permanent
[C] Participatory
ANSWER: C
SOLUTION: The term participatory irrigation management (PIM) refers to the

participation of irrigation users, i.e., farmers, in the management of irrigation systems. It
is done by creating local water regulatory bodies like Pani Panchayat or Water Users’
Associations (WUAs).
Objectives of IPM:
✓ Creating a sense of ownership of water resources and the irrigation system among the
users, so as to promote the economy in water use and preservation of the system.
✓ Improving service deliveries through better operation and maintenance of the irrigation
systems.
✓ Achieving optimum utilization of available resources, precisely as per crop needs.
✓ Striving for equity in water distribution.
✓ Increasing production per unit of water, where water is scarce and to increase
production per unit of land where water is adequate
Q6. Which of the following is not a way-forward to improve agricultural conditions in

India?
[A] Rural- Urban Migration
[B] Adopting micro-irrigation
[C] Creating Warehouses
[D] Developing self-help groups
ANSWER: A
SOLUTION:
Rural-Urban Migration is an Agricultural Development Issues and not a way forward to it. It
has led to many issues such as involvement of elderly and women as agricultural labors,
practicing of traditional methods of agricultural, shift in demand-supply and no focus on
rural infrastructure development.
Q7. Which fertilizer is the main source of nitrogen in India?
[A] Ammonium Phosphate
[B] Ammonium Sulphate
[C] Urea
[D] Ammonium Nitrate
ANSWER: C
SOLUTION:
Urea is the most important nitrogenous fertilizer in the market, with the highest Nitrogen
content (about 46 percent). It is a white crystalline organic chemical compound.
The main function of Urea fertilizer is to provide the plants with nitrogen to promote green
leafy growth and make the plants look lush.
Q8. What is the full form of SMAM?
[A] Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization
[B] Sub Movement on Agricultural Mechanization
[C] Sub Mission on Agricultural Marketing
[D] Sub Movement on Agricultural Marketing
ANSWER: A
✓ SOLUTION: The Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) is providing a

suitable platform for covering all activities related to mechanization by providing a ‘single
window’ approach for implementation with accelerated and inclusive growth of
agricultural mechanization in India.
- The objectives of SMAM are:
o Increase the reach of agriculture mechanization to small and the regions of
farm power are low.
o Creating hubs for hi-tech and high value farm equipment and promoting
custom hiring centers to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due
to small landholding.
o Creating awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and
building activities
o Ensuring performance testing and certification at designated testing centers
placed all over the country.
Q9. What is India’s rank in global fruits and vegetables production?
[A] First
[B] Second
[C] Third
[D] Fourth
ANSWER: B
SOLUTION:
India ranks second in fruits and vegetables production in the world, after China.
As per National Horticulture Database (Second Advance Estimates) published by National

Horticulture Board, during 2019-20, India produced 99.07 million metric tonnes of fruits
and 191.77 million metric tonnes of vegetables
Q10. Sorting of the agriculture produce into different lots according to their various
quality specifications is known as ___________
[A] Grading
[B] Harvesting
[C] Selling
ANSWER: A
SOLUTION:
✓ Sorting of the agriculture produce into different lots according to their various quality
specifications is known as grading.
✓ Indian farmers do not give importance to grading of their produce. They hesitate to
separate the qualitatively good crops from bad crops. Therefore, they fail to fetch a good
price of their quality product.

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Agricultural Development

hello@edutap.co.in 1|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

hello@edutap.co.in 2|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

hello@edutap.co.in 3|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

2 Agricultural Development Issues

2.1 Rural-Urban Migration

2.1.1.1 Social Factors

hello@edutap.co.in 4|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

2.1.1.3 Demographic factors:

2.1.2 CASE STUDY of Bokaro Steel City:

2.1.3 Issues created due to Rural to Urban migration

hello@edutap.co.in 5|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

2.1.4 Way Forward

2.2 Fragmented Land Holdings

hello@edutap.co.in 6|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

2.2.2 Issues due to Land Fragmentation

hello@edutap.co.in 7|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

3.2 Case Study of Odisha Farmers

3.3 Issues due to scarcity of Capital

hello@edutap.co.in 8|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

3.4 Way Forward

hello@edutap.co.in 9|Page http://www.edutap.co.in

4.2 Issues due to dependency on monsoon

4.3 Way forward

5.3 Way Forward

6.2 Issues of Seed Production and Distribution in India

6.2.1 Seed-related issues faced by the farmer

6.2.2 Seed- related issues faced by Seed Industry

6.2.2.1 Distribution Problems:

6.2.2.2 Lack of Effective Monitoring Mechanism:

6.2.2.3 Lack of Infrastructure:

6.2.2.4 Poor Extension Services:

6.3 WAY FORWARD

7 Sluggish Fertilizer Industry

7.2 Issues related to Fertilizer consumption and Industry

7.2.1 Issues faced by Farmers

7.2.2 Issues faced by the Fertilizer Industries

7.3 Way Forward

8.2 Issues of farm mechanization in India

8.3 Way Forward

9 Inadequate Storage Facilities

9.3 Way Forward

10.2 Issues of Agriculture Marketing in India

10.3 Way Forward

✓ Establishment of regulated markets: A regulated market is a market over which

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) for Practice:

[A] Attractive employment opportunities

[B] Better lifestyle

[C] Unemployment in rural areas

[D] Both A and B

(i) push factors

[B] Livestock Farming

[C] Commercial Plantation

[D] All of the above

• Cooperative Farming: Cooperative farming refers to an organisation in which: each

As Livestock farming and Commercial Plantation requires larger landholdings, therefore

Q3. Which of the following agencies provide loans to the famers?

[A] Central Cooperative Banks

[B] State Cooperative Banks

[C] Cooperative Credit Agencies

[D] All of the above

Q4. Which of the following season is also known as ‘Monsoon Season’?