Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW
2018-19
ECONOMICS
PROJECT ON
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Dr.Mitali Tiwari , who gave
me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project of Economics on “NEED FOR
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND IRRIGATION TO BOOST ECONOMY OF
INDIA”, Who also helped me in completing my project and has rendered endless support, kind
and understanding spirit during my project completion. I came to know about so many new things
I am really thankful to them. The completion of this project could not have been possible without
the participation and assistance of various people thus, I would also like to thank my parents and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time frame.
I would also like to thank the Great Almighty, source of supreme knowledge for countless love
rendered on me.
ANIKET SACHAN
ROLLNO-28
ENROLLMENT ID- 170101028
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Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 2: CHALLENGES FACED BY AGRICULTURAL SECTOR .................................................................. 5
Population Pressure: ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Small and Fragmented Land Holdings: ................................................................................................................ 5
Inadequate Irrigation Facilities: ............................................................................................................................ 5
Depleted Soils: ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Storage of food grains: ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Farm Implements: ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Rural- Urban Divide ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Lack of Investment in Agriculture ........................................................................................................................ 6
Negligence of Natural resources ........................................................................................................................... 7
Sluggish Fertilizer Industry .................................................................................................................................. 7
Dependency on Monsoon ..................................................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 3: SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES FACED ................................................................................... 8
Raising agricultural productivity per unit of land: ................................................................................................ 8
Reducing rural poverty through a socially inclusive strategy that comprises both agriculture as well as non-
farm employment ........................................................................................................................................................... 8
Ensuring that agricultural growth responds to food security needs: ..................................................................... 8
Priority Areas for Support .................................................................................................................................... 8
Enhancing agricultural productivity, competitiveness, and rural growth ......................................................... 8
Improving Water Resources and Irrigation/Drainage Management: ................................................................ 9
Facilitating agricultural diversification to higher-value commodities: ............................................................ 9
Developing markets, agricultural credit and public expenditures: ................................................................... 9
Poverty alleviation and community actions ................................................................................................... 10
Sustaining the environment and future agricultural productivity ....................................................................... 10
Reducing small and fragmented land holding and making it available to all. .................................................... 10
Promotion of certified seed. ................................................................................................................................ 11
Boost to mechanization: ..................................................................................................................................... 11
Increasing storage facility:.................................................................................................................................. 12
Credit to agricultural sector ................................................................................................................................ 12
CHAPTER 4: RECENT GOVERNMENT SCHEMES TO BOOST AGRI SECTOR ................................................ 14
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................... 16
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................... 17
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Agriculture is the most important sector of Indian Economy. Indian agriculture sector accounts
for 18 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and provides employment to 50% of the
countries workforce. India is the world’s largest producer of pulses, rice, wheat, spices and spice
products. India has many areas to choose for business such as dairy, meat, poultry, fisheries and
food grains etc. According to the data provided by Department of Economics and Statics (DES)
the production of food grains for the year 2013-2014 is 264 million tons which is increased when
compared to (2012-2013) 257million tons. This is a good symptom for the Indian economy from
the agriculture sector.
India remains among main three as far as production of different agricultural things like paddy,
wheat, pulses, groundnut, rapeseeds, natural products, vegetables, sugarcane, tea, jute, cotton,
tobacco leaves and so on.
On the other hand, on advertising front, Indian agribusiness is as yet confronting the issues, for
example, low level of business sector reconciliation and integration, availability of dependable
and convenient information needed by farmers on different issues in farming.
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. ("India:
Issues and Priorities for Agriculture", World Bank, 2018.)
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CHAPTER 2: CHALLENGES FACED BY AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
Population Pressure:
India has a huge population of over one billion and it is increasing at a very fast rate. According
to 2001 census figures the overall density of population is 324 persons per sq. km. This is likely
to increase further in future. This has created great demand for land. Every bit of land has been
brought under the plough. Even the hill slopes have been cut into terraces for cultivation.
Depleted Soils:
Indian soils have been used for growing crops for thousands of years which have resulted in the
depletion of soil fertility. With deforestation the sources of maintaining natural fertility of soil
has been drying out. Lack of material resources and ignorance of scientific knowledge have
further depleted the soils of the natural fertility. Earlier only animal waste was enough to
maintain soil fertility.
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Farm Implements:
Although some mechanization of farming has taken place in some parts of the country, most of
the farmers are poor and do not have enough resources to purchase modern farm implements and
tools. This hampers the development of agriculture.
It would take extraordinarily high rates of profits for the landlord to undertake investment in
agriculture instead of investing capital in otherwise high-return activities like usury, which had
assured returns. As a result, investments in agriculture were lackluster and the sector suffered.
Despite several efforts done by the governments in order to solve the problems related to
agriculture in India, India has no coherent agriculture policy in place. There is also a broad
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agreement on the need for a coherent farm policy that addresses issues of sustainability.
India after it gained independence in the second half of the past century have ignored the
structural development of their agriculture sector. India has focused more on its industrial
development than it has thought about its agricultural development.
Dependency on Monsoon
In India, most of the agricultural areas are un-irrigated. That is why monsoon remains crucial for
the overall growth in the agricultural sector. In such a case the dependence of the rural economy
on monsoon cannot be overstated. The pattern in area sown is completely guided by the variation
in the monsoon season as a bad monsoon directly impacts the cost of cultivation and makes
sowing of large areas unprofitable for the farmers.
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CHAPTER 3: SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES FACED
Reducing rural poverty through a socially inclusive strategy that comprises both
agriculture as well as non-farm employment:
Rural development must also benefit the poor, landless, women, scheduled castes and tribes.
Moreover, there are strong regional disparities: the majority of India’s poor are in rain-fed areas
or in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains. Reaching such groups has not been easy. While progress
has been made - the rural population classified as poor fell from nearly 40% in the early 1990s to
below 30% by the mid-2000s (about a 1% fall per year) – there is a clear need for a faster
reduction. ("India: Issues and Priorities for Agriculture", World Bank, 2018.)
The sharp rise in food-grain production during India’s Green Revolution of the 1970s enabled
the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food-grains and stave off the threat f famine. However
agricultural growth in the 1990s and 2000s slowed down, averaging about 3.5% per annum. The
slow-down in agricultural growth has become a major cause for concern. Policy makers will thus
need to initiate and/or conclude policy actions and public programs to shift the sector away from
the existing policy and institutional regime that appears to be no longer viable and build a solid
foundation for a much more productive, internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural
sector.
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important needs for agricultural growth. Public extension services are struggling and offer little
new knowledge to farmers.
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get credit. Government expenditures on the sector, and are now four times larger than investment
expenditures, crowding out top priorities such as agricultural research and extension.
Reducing small and fragmented land holding and making it available to all.
There should be consolidation of holdings which means the reallocation of holdings which are
fragmented, the creation of farms which comprise only one or a few parcels in place of multitude
of patches formerly in the possession of each peasant. But unfortunately, this plan has not
succeeded much. Although legislation for consolidation of holdings has been enacted by almost
all the states, it has been implemented only in Punjab, Haryana and in some parts of Uttar
Pradesh. Consolidation of about 45 million holdings has been done till 1990-91 in Punjab,
Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. The other solution to this problem is cooperative farming in
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which the farmers pool their resources and share the profit. ("Major Agricultural Problems of
India and their Possible Solutions", 2018)
Boost to mechanization:
Most of the agricultural operations in larger parts are carried on by human hand using simple and
conventional tools and implements like wooden plough, sickle, etc. It results in huge wastage of
human labour and in low yields per capita labour force.
Agricultural implements and machinery are a crucial input for efficient and timely agricultural
operations, facilitating multiple cropping and thereby increasing production. Need for
mechanization was specially felt with the advent of Green Revolution in 1960s. Strategies and
programmes have been directed towards replacement of traditional and inefficient implements by
improved ones, enabling the farmer to own tractors, power tillers, harvesters and other machines.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest average sales of tractors during the five year period ending
2003-04 and/West Bengal recorded the highest average sales of power tillers during the same
period.
Strenuous efforts are being made to encourage the farmers to adopt technically advanced
agricultural equipments in order to carry farm operations timely and precisely and to economize
the agricultural production process.
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Increasing storage facility:
The Parse Committee estimated the post-harvest losses at 9.3 per cent of which nearly 6.6 per
cent occurred due to poor storage conditions alone. Scientific storage is, therefore, very essential
to avoid losses and to benefit the farmers and the consumers alike. ("Major Agricultural
At present there are number of agencies engaged in warehousing and storage activities. The Food
Corporation of India (F.C.I.), the Central Warehousing Corporation (C.W.C.) and State
Warehousing Corporation are among the principal agencies engaged in this task. These agencies
help in building up buffer stock, which can be used in the hour of need. The Central Government
is also implementing the scheme for establishment of national Grid of Rural Godowns since
1979-80. The Working Group on additional storage facilities in rural areas has recommended a
scheme of establishing a network of Rural Storage Centres to serve the economic interests of the
farming community.
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Among the institutional sources of agricultural credit, cooperatives have been the oldest, and for
a long time, the dominant source. Starting with the nationalization of banks, commercial banks
have gradually become an important source of agricultural credit, although the growth in their
share has not been monotonic.
It shows that the money lender is losing ground but is still the single largest contributor of
agricultural credit. 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. There has been a steady increase in the flow of institutional credit.
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CHAPTER 4: RECENT GOVERNMENT SCHEMES TO BOOST AGRI SECTOR
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Ground water irrigation scheme under Prime Minister Krishi Sinchai Yojna- Har Khet ko
Pani will be taken up in 96 deprived irrigation districts where less than 30% of the land
holdings gets assured irrigation presently. Allocated Rs 2600 crore for this purpose.
To resolve the problem of unpredictable nature of farming and prevent farmer suicides in
the country, the Government launched PM Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in early 2016. It’s a
crop insurance policy with relaxed premium rates on the principal sum insured for
farmers. Implemented with a budget of Rs 17,600 crore, this scheme will provide
financial support to farmers and cover for their losses.
The government has launched Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana in order to address the
critical importance of soil and water for improving agricultural production. The
government would support and improve the organic farming practices prevalent in India.
Following cluster approach mode of farming, at least 50 farmers would form a group
having 50 acres of land to implement organic farming. The government aims to cover
10,000 clusters and five lakh hectares of arable land under organic farming within three
years.
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
India lives in the villages. Agriculture sector is the soul of Indian economy and for the people of
India. The share of agriculture in employment was 48.9 per cent of the workforce. In other words
Agriculture is the principal source of livelihood for more than 58% of the population of this
country. As per the Economic Survey the sector share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was
17.4 in 2015-16. (Agriculture sector a must for GDP growth, Anand, 2017)
We all know that the agriculture sector is the backbone and crucial in our Indian economy which
provides the basic ingredients to mankind and providing raw material for rapid industrialisation
sector development. No doubt that the besides manufacturing sectors, Agriculture sector
provides great employment opportunities for rural people/youth on a large scale for their
livelihood and also provides an entrepreneurship. Indian farmers needs to be both innovative
and competitive in the global market. It is the task of government, policy-makers, educators,
researchers, and extension workers to ensure they have the tools, technologies, and new farming
systems that enable them to increase the productivity.
Increasing production of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals through area expansion and
productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in the identified districts of the country;
Restoring soil fertility and productivity at the individual farm level; and enhancing farm level
economy (i.e. farm profits) to restore confidence amongst the farmers.
To improve the quality of life of farmers’ especially small and marginal farmers by offering a
complete package of activities to maximize farm returns for enhancing food and livelihood
security.
From the above cited explanation we conclude that agricultural development is a must for the
economic development of a country. Even developed countries lay emphasis on agricultural
development. According to Muir, “Agricultural progress is essential to provide food for growing
non-agricultural labour force, raw materials for industrial production and saving and tax revenue
to support development of the rest of the economy, to earn foreign exchange and to provide a
growing market for domestic manufactures.”
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS:
1) Mishra, s. and Puri, v. (2007). Indian economy. 25th ed. Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing
House.
2) Agarwal, a. (2017). Indian economy: Problems of development and Planning. 42nd ed. New
Delhi: New Age International Limited.
3) Myneni, S. (2004). Indian Economics. 3rd ed. Faridabad: Allahabad Law Agency.
ONLINE SOURCES:
2) 5 Major Agricultural Challenges in India and Their Possible Solutions. (2018). Retrieved from
https://kmwagri.com/agricultural-challenges-india-possible-solutions/
3) Indian Agriculture Problems: 7 Major Problems of Indian Agriculture. (2018). Retrieved from
http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/agriculture/problems-agriculture/indian-agriculture-
problems-7-major-problems-of-indian-agriculture/12859
4) 10 Major Agricultural Problems of India and their Possible Solutions. (2018). Retrieved from
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/agriculture/10-major-agricultural-problems-of-india-and-
their-possible-solutions/20988
6) Major Agricultural Problems of India and their Possible Solutions. (2018). Retrieved from
https://krishijagran.com/agripedia/major-agricultural-problems-of-india-and-their-possible-
solutions/
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