Current Challenges

Indian agriculture is plagued by several problems; some of them are natural and some others
are manmade:
- Small and fragmented land-holdings
- Seeds
- Manures, Fertilizers and Biocides
- Irrigation
- Lack of mechanization
- Soil erosion
- Agricultural Marketing
- Inadequate storage facilities
- Inadequate transport
- Scarcity of capital
 Projected Demand for Food
grains in India
Baseyear and projected population (million) Projected growth rates in income(% per annum)
- According to the Registrar-General of Census,
Government of India (2006), the total Year Rural Urban Total Particulars 2004-11 2011-16 2016-21

population of the country is likely to increase Net national product 9.0 9.0 9.0
2004 770.2 308.9 1079.1 at factor price
from 1079 million in 2004 to 1269 million in 2011 809.7 382.8 1192.5 Per capita income
2016 and further to 1340 million in 2021. 2016 840.1 428.8 1268.9 Rural 3.46 3.52 3.58
2021 885.5 454.2 1339.7 Urban 11.81 12.01 12.19
All India 7.57 7.75 7.91
- The analysis reveals that increase in cereal
Projected demand for foodgrains in India (million tonnes)
production (mainly rice and wheat) but
decline in the percentage share of coarse Commodities 2004-05 2011-12 2016-17 2021-22

grains and pulses in total food grains

Total indirect foodgrain demand
production is witnessed since 1960s. Rice 12.3 13.8 14.8 15.9
Wheat 12.3 14.0 15.1 16.0
Coarse cereals 14.6 15.2 15.5 15.9
- The total demand for food grains has been Cereals 39.3 42.9 45.4 47.8
projected to be 253.2 Mt by the end of XIII th Pulses 2.7 3.0 3.2 3.4
Foodgrains 42.0 46.0 48.6 51.2
Plan. Total cereal demand is likely to be 233.6
Total domestic demand for foodgrain
Mt. Total pulses demand is likely to increase to Rice 91.9 101.1 106.8 113.3
19.5 Mt. Total rice and wheat demand is likely Wheat 70.0 81.1 86.9 89.5
Coarse cereals 28.0 29.4 30.1 31.0
to increase to 113.3 Mt and 89.5 Mt Cereals 190.0 211.6 223.6 233.6
respectively. Pulses 12.6 15.5 17.5 19.5
Foodgrains 202.5 227.1 241.2 253.2
 Indian Policy Reforms to meet
future demand
- By 2021-22, improvements are required in yields of rice and wheat by 28-29 per cent, and of pulses by 41 per cent. Improving
yield levels would require serious efforts to sustain and improve the total factor productivity through research and development
efforts.
- The Agriculture Export Policy, 2018 was approved by Government of India in December 2018. The new policy aims to increase
India’s agricultural exports to US$ 60 billion by 2022 and US$ 100 billion in the next few years with a stable trade policy regime.
- Prime Minister of India, launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-Kisan) and transferred Rs 2,021 crore
(US$ 284.48 million) to the bank accounts of more than 10 million beneficiaries on February 24, 2019.
- In September 2018, the Government of India announced Rs 15,053 crore (US$ 2.25 billion) procurement policy named ‘Pradhan
Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan' (PM-AASHA), under which states can decide the compensation scheme and can also
partner with private agencies to ensure fair prices for farmers in the country.
- The Government of India has launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) with an investment of Rs 50,000 crore
(US$ 7.7 billion) aimed at development of irrigation sources for providing a permanent solution from drought.
- The Government of India plans to triple the capacity of food processing sector in India from the current 10 per cent of
agriculture produce and has also committed Rs 6,000 crore (US$ 936.38 billion) as investments for mega food parks in the
country, as a part of the Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters (SAMPADA).
- The Government of India has allowed 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products and in food product e-commerce under
the automatic route.
 Future Revolution in Indian
Agriculture
• Agriculture 4.0, the coming agriculture revolution, must be a green one with science and technology. It will
need to look at both the demand side and value chain/supply side of food scarcity equation using technology
to improve and address the real needs of consumers and reengineer the value chain.
• Future agriculture will use sophisticated technologies like robots, temperature and moisture sensors, aerial
images and GPS technology.
• Agriculture 4.0 will no longer have to depend on applying water, fertilizers, pesticides across entire fields.
• Agritech startups are booming, with entrepreneurs and investors showing a voracious appetite for the sector.
• Three general trends where technology is disrupting the industry:
1) Potential differently using new techniques – eg Hydroponics, Desert agriculture, seawater farming etc.
2) Use new technologies to bring food production to consumers increasing efficiencies in the food chain –
eg Vertical and urban farming, genetic modification, 3D printing etc.
3) Incorporate cross industry technologies and applications – eg Drone technology, Data analytics, IOT,
Nanotechnology, blockchain etc.