Due to the work of Indian farmers, India has become one of the major agriculture-producing countries in the world. The work put in by farmers of India has propelled India to be one of the world’s topmost exporters in the agriculture sector. This article will share some interesting facts related to the Indian farmers and the agriculture sector in India.
Agriculture Sector – Indian Farmers and Contribution to Economy
Agriculture is one of the oldest economic activities in India.
- India is ranked 2nd in the world when it comes to farm output.
- India exports agricultural products, horticulture products, and processed foods to more than 120 countries.
- The agriculture sector provides the highest employment in India.
- Agriculture in India is labour intensive.
- Agriculture in India is heavily dependent on the monsoon and Indian farmers suffer a lot due to the vagaries of the monsoon.
- Agriculture in India is heavily dependent on chemical inputs.
- As of 2018, the contribution of agriculture to the Indian economy was around 17% to 18%. As of 2021, it has come down to around 14%. The contributions from other sectors have gone ahead.
- During independence and for many years, the contribution of agriculture to GDP was still higher, but now other sectors have overtaken agriculture in terms of contribution to GDP.
- As of 2018, Indian agriculture provided employment to around 50% of the workforce.
- 30.33% of total cultivators and 40.67% of agriculture labour are women.
Indian Farmers – Constant Problems
- Despite India reaching the top of the world in terms of farm output, the farmers of India are still facing many issues such as farmers’ suicides due to the inability of repaying their loans.
- Many farmers in India are dependent on informal sectors such as money lenders for loans.
- The size of the land holdings in the hands of the farmers has steadily reduced with each successive generation. The land keeps getting divided into smaller sizes among family members.
- Due to the reduced size of the land holdings practising agriculture on such small plots has rendered it uneconomical.
- Due to this, farmers are forced to migrate to urban areas in search of jobs and live in poor living conditions.
Indian Farmers – Farming Methods in India
Farmers of India have adopted various farming techniques such as intensive subsistence farming, primitive subsistence farming, and commercial farming.
- A small plot of land is used for cultivation in the intensive subsistence farming method.
- Large plots of land are used in commercial farming.
- Crops grown through commercial farming are jute, tea, coffee, sugarcane, cotton, etc.
- Crops grown through intensive subsistence farming are rice, pulses, oilseeds, maize, and wheat.
- Primitive subsistence farming is still practised in a few pockets of India.
- In primitive subsistence farming, the productivity of land is low as the farmers do not utilise modern inputs or fertilisers.
- Primitive subsistence farming is practised on small patches of land.
- Primitive subsistence farming uses community or family labour.
- Primitive subsistence farming is known by different names in different parts of India.
The other types of farming used by Indian farmers are plantation agriculture, dry land farming, wetland farming, terrace farming, extensive farming, etc.
Top 10 Leading Agricultural States of India
The top 10 agricultural states of India are given below. Different states rank in different positions for different agricultural products. Given below is a rough list of the top 10 agricultural states of India.
- Uttar Pradesh
- West Bengal
- Madhya Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Maharashtra
- Punjab
- Andhra Pradesh
- Assam
- Haryana
- Gujarat
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1
Are farmers in India rich?
Not all the farmers in India are rich. The majority of the farmers in India face myriads of issues. Hence, the Government of India has implemented many schemes to help the farmers of India and alleviate their suffering. Farmers in India suffer due to low production and vagaries of weather. Farmers of India have to handle the problem of flooding as well as droughts. Debts are another major problem with Indian farmers.
Q2
What is the main problem of Indian farmers?
Sub-division and fragmentation of the land holdings is one of the major problems of Indian farmers. This reduces the productivity of Indian farmers. There is also the recurring problem of floods and droughts.
Q3
Why are Indian farmers poor?
Indian farmers are poor due to low productivity, poor access to market information, middlemen who exploit farmers, inefficient supply chain, lack of cold storage facilities, an ever-increasing debt burden of farmers, etc.
Q4
Which country has the best soil?
Bangladesh has a very high percentage of arable land. 59% of the total land of Bangladesh has been marked as arable.
Q5
What is the future of farmers in India?
Due to the close support given by the Government of India, India has become one of the leading producers in the field of agriculture. India is also becoming a major exporter of agricultural products. Since the Government is striving to give a lot of support to Indian farmers, the future of farmers in India is positive.
