(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Emerging Trends in Agricultural Production

[August-2021]

Emerging Trends in Agricultural Production

Trends in Agricultural Production:

India has made a remarkable progress in the field of agriculture and allied sector during the course of seven decades of planned economic development. In India, the major food crops are cereals like rice, wheat, maize, jowar, bajra etc. and pulses like gram, tur, moong beans, masur, peas etc. Total foodgrain production in the country went up from 50.8 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 305.44 million tonnes in 2020-21.
The major commercial crops of India are cotton, jute, tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, oil seeds etc.

Trends in Horticultural Production:

The diverse agro climatic conditions and wide varieties of soil in the country make it possible to grow almost all types of horticultural products like fresh fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, flowers, aromatic and medicinal crops, spices and plantation crops.
There has been an unprecedented growth of this sector during the last two decades. As per first advance estimate of the Department of Agriculture, Co-operation and Farmers Welfare, total horticultural production in India has reached at 326.58 million tonnes in 2020-21 as compared to 145.78 million tonnes in 2001-02, registering ACGR of 4.34 percent during this period.

Trends in Livestock Production:

Livestock is an important sub-sector of agriculture in India. It contributes nearly 30 percent to total agriculture and allied sector output. India has been the largest producer of milk in the world continuously for last more than two decades with over 198 million tonnes of production and per capita availability of 407 grams per day as against the world average of 299 grams.
Nearly, 19 percent of the world's total milk production is contributed by India. Total milk production in the country increased from 17 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 198.4 million tonnes in 2019-20 yielding a growth rate of 3.63 percent per annum. Poultry production in India has taken a quantum leap through the adoption of scientific farming practices and technological interventions. The egg production in the country increased from 1,832 to 1,14,419 million numbers during 1950-51 to 2019-20 witnessing 6.18 per cent ACGR during this period.

Diversification of Agriculture:

Agriculture and allied sectors consist of four major sub-sectors namely, crop sector, livestock, forestry and fisheries. The contribution of these sub-sectors in the total Value of Production (VoP) from agriculture has undergone a sea change during the last decade. Figure 3 reveals that the contribution of crop sector to GVA by agriculture which was 67.39 percent in 2010-11 declined to 58.15 percent in 2019-20. On the contrary, share of livestock sector in VoP from agriculture shot up from 19.02 percent to 28.26 percent during the same period. Similarly, the contribution of fishing and aquaculture also improved from 4.35 percent to 6.52 percent during the last decade.
Thus, in recent years, agricultural sector has been diversifying to produce more livestock products like milk, egg, meat, fish and other marine products. The crop sector includes field crops, plantation crops, horticultural crops, drugs and narcotics crops. Among the farm sector products there has been a shift toward commercial crops and horticultural crops viz., fruits, vegetables, spices etc.
Trends in Agricultural Trade Presently, India is not only self-sufficient in food grains but also a net exporter of agricultural products, occupying seventh position in the world. Though the exports of agricultural commodities picked up after 1970-71, a greater impetus is observed after 1994-95 with the launch of global trade reforms and progressive cuts in agricultural tariffs under WTO regime.
India's export of agricultural and allied products (such as rice, pulses, fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, tobacco, spices, sugar and molasses, cashew, raw cotton, fish, meat and processed food etc.) which were worth Rs. 284 crores in 1960-61, up surged to Rs. 6,013 crore in 1990-91 and further shot up to Rs 2,52,000 crores in 2019-20 reflecting a high ACGR of 12.19 percent. It is noteworthy that whereas the overall balance of trade of India has always been negative, the trade balance of agricultural goods has not only been positive but also increased nearly by 22 times during the last two decades, which reflects the significance of agriculture in generating foreign exchange for the country.
The composition of Indian agricultural exports has undergone a substantial change during the post liberalisation period.
There has been a structural shift from traditional agricultural exports like tea, sugar, molasses, tobacco, cashew kernels, oil cakes etc. towards more value added items such as processed and canned fruits, juices, vegetables, meat, fish and fish preparations and other packed products.

Conclusion:

Agriculture continues to be the most crucial sector of Indian economy. Despite a steady decline in its share in gross value added, it continues to remain the largest employment providing sector and a major source of foreign exchange earnings.
In the course of seven decades of planned economic development, Indian agriculture has made great strides. The country has been able to attain not only food security to its increasing population but also emerged as the net exporter of agricultural products, occupying seventh position in the world.
The foodgrain production in the country has gone up at a higher rate as compared to total population during the last seven decades; as a result, per capita availability of foodgrains has gone up significantly. India has made a remarkable progress in the production of horticultural and live stock products also.
After the introduction of modern agricultural technique along with the adoption of HYV seeds, extended irrigation facilities and intensive method of cultivation; yield per hectare of all crops has recorded a rising trend in the country. But, India lags far behind the developed countries of the word in the yield per hectare of field as well plantation crops.
In order to improve productivity of agriculture, adoption of modern farm practices along with the rational and efficient use of quality inputs including HYV seeds, water, fertilisers and pesticides is essential. Easy access to institutional credit at affordable rate of interest is also needed to be promoted for the purchase of modern agriculture machinery, tools, equipments and other expensive inputs. Above all, the role of timely Government intervention in agriculture marketing can also not be denied.