Challenges of Indian agriculture and applicability of sustainable model
Some of the major challenges which Indian agriculture is facing can be attributed to rise in population, climatic change, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides etc. The country’s agriculture productivity curve has started to flatten while the population curve is still rising which can affect the food security of our country in near future. Climate change has now moved from the theoretical to an experiential level. The erratic behavior of monsoon clearly states the above fact. Cases of failure of crops due to flood or drought followed by suicides by the farmers are on rise. The industrial/service sector boom is also drawing people away from agriculture with migration playing havoc. India’s leap in other sectors has further diluted share of agriculture in the national economy. Contribution of agriculture to GDP has also gone down and while such a reduction would be welcomed in any developed economy, India needs to attain a higher level of agriculture productivity, and open up non-farm job options for the rural youth to justify such a development.
The green revolution initiated in 1965 with HYV seeds and use of fertilizers made India self- sufficient and has prevented an outbreak of famine ever since. But with the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides the land has degraded and lost its natural fertility. And the question to satisfy the hunger of the millions has once again come into lime light. Yet the hope is not lost. India’s agriculture sector has an impressive record of taking the country out of serious situations every time a demand is made on it. This time though, the approach will have to be different with inbuilt “sustainability” woven through environmental, social, and economic perspectives. The greatest impact on productivity will be achieved by increasingly adopting