production

Finally, the entire government machinery geared to controlling food prices to satisfy the urban population should be dismantled.  The average size of operational holdings has almost halved since 1970.12 million tonnes (MT) in FY15. India is among 15 leading exporters of agricultural products in the world.  Despite its falling share of GDP, agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy. Ehrlich, in his 1968 bestselling book The Population Bomb, warned of the mass starvation of humans in the 1970s and 1980s in countries like India due to overpopulation.

This has resulted in mountains of foodgrains coinciding with starvation deaths, and a few regions of concentrated rural prosperity.6 per cent of the total workforce of over 481 million.There is a flip side to this great Indian agriculture story. There is one huge paradox implicit in this. A fundamental question then is can India feed 1. Even accounting for population growth during this period, the country would need probably around 225 to 230 MT to feed its people. Similarly, rice production also grew spectacularly from 34. Record food production is depressing prices. Further, India is 2nd in the global production of fruits and vegetables, and is the largest producer of mango and banana. Thus, public investment in agriculture, in real terms, had witnessed a steady decline from the Sixth Five-Year Plan onwards. In addition, there are 144 million persons employed as agricultural laborers.7 billion, which will then be equivalent to nearly that of China and the US combined.Over 65 per cent of farmland consists of marginal and small farms less than one hectare in size.  Farm outputs in India in recent years have been setting new records.The Agriculture Census shows only 58. The food subsidy bill has increased from Rs 24,500 crores in 1990-91 to Rs 1.Their prophecies were based on a rising shortage of food because of droughts, which forced India to import 10 million tonnes of grain in 1965-66 and a similar amount a year before.31 lakh crores in 2016.About 70 per cent of India lives in rural areas and all-weather roads don’t connect about 40 per cent of rural habitations.1 million hectares of land was actually irrigated in India.There is a pronounced bias in the government’s procurement policy, with Punjab, Haryana, coastal Andhra and western Uttar Pradesh accounting for the bulk (83. India has about 20 agro-climatic regions, and all 15 major climates in the world exist here.With 157.51 per cent) of procurement.31 lakh crores in FY15. The government must step up its expenditure for infrastructure and habitations to create a demand for labour. While it makes more economic sense to focus on minor irrigation schemes, major and medium irrigation projects have accounted for more than three-fourths of the planned fundsBy 2050, India’s population is expected to reach 1.28 million tonnes in 1962-63 to more than twice that in 10 years to 24. It also has the highest productivity of grapes in the world. Paul R. It has gone up from 208 MT in 2005-06 to an estimated 251 MT in 2014-15.99 million tonnes.7 billion people properly? In the four decades starting 1965-66, wheat production in Punjab and Haryana has risen nine-fold, while rice production increased by more than 30 times. Half of all children under five in South Asia are malnourished, which is more than even sub-Saharan Africa. Free power has also meant a huge pressure on depleting groundwater resources. Moreover, due to population growth, the average farm size has been decreasing. While the subsidy was started to reach lower-rung farmers, it has mostly benefited the well-off farmers.44 per cent to seven per cent in 2000-01.9 million cultivators across the country, or 24. This translates into 60 per cent of the rural population, or 42 per cent of total population. Census 2011 says there are 118. With the level of skills prevailing, only the construction sector can immediately absorb the tens of millions that will be released.54 MT and 90. In 2001-02, almost half the amount allocated to irrigation was actually spent on power generation. The value of this is Rs 1. Over 58 per cent of rural households depend on agriculture as their principal means of livelihood.  This sums up what ails our agriculture — its contribution to the GDP is fast dwindling, now about 13. Little did they know that thanks to quick adoption of a new technology by Indian farmers, the country would more than double its annual wheat production from 11.It was around the mid-1960s when the Paddock brothers, Paul and William, the "prophets of doom", predicted that in another decade, recurring famines and an acute shortage of foodgrains would push India towards disaster.The share of agriculture in total Gross Capital Formation (GCF) at 1993-94 prices has halved from 15. Since food production is no longer the issue, putting economic power into the hands of the vast rural poor becomes the issue.78 MT respectively. The land released can be consolidated into larger holdings by easy credit to facilitate accumulation of smaller holdings to create more productive farms.  If we add the number of cultivators and agricultural labourers, it would be around 263 million, or 22 per cent of the population. India is the world’s largest producer of spices, pulses, milk, tea, cashew and jute; and the second largest producer of wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables, sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds.35 million hectares, India holds the world’s second largest agricultural land area.The first focus should be on separating them from their smallholdings by offering more gainful vocations.1 per cent of the Gross Value Added (GVA) during 2014–15 at 2011–12 prices.26 million tonnes in 2007. Instead of being the buyer of last resort, the FCI has become the preferred buyer for farmers.Agricultural export is 10 per cent of our exports – it is the fourth-largest exported principal commodity. Stanford University Prof.These huge subsidies come at a cost. Lack of proper transport and inadequate post-harvesting woodworking machinery Suppliers methods, food processing and transportation of foodstuffs has meant an annual wastage of Rs 50,000 crores. It is thus a large producer of a wide variety of foods.75 lakh crores in 2001-02 to Rs 2. These two states and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh now not only produce enough to feed the country but to leave a significant surplus for export.48 million tonnes to almost 90 million tonnes in 2007. India has the world’s largest groundwater well equipped irrigation system. If a farmer has to buy a motorcycle or even a tractor, he pays globally comparative prices. It was 71. No wonder farmers with marketable surpluses are getting restive.04 lakh crores now.India is producing enough food to feed its people, now and in the foreseeable future. Rice and wheat production in the country stood at 102. With the exception of the 10th Plan, public investment has consistently declined in real terms (at 1999-2000 prices) from Rs 64, 012 crores during the Sixth Plan (1980-85) to Rs 52,107 crores during the Seventh Plan (1985-90), Rs 45,565 crores during the Eighth Plan (1992-97) and about Rs 42,226 crores during Ninth Plan (1997-2002). The Indian subcontinent boasts nearly half the world’s hungry people.7 per cent, and it still sustains almost 60 per cent of the population. Estimates by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the share of agriculture and allied sectors (including agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishery) was 16. Around 92 million households, or 490 million people, depend on marginal or small farmholdings as per the 2001 census.Total foodgrain production in India reached an all-time high of 251. Of this 38 per cent was from surface water and 62 per cent was from groundwater. Why then should he make food available to the modern and industrial sector at the world’s lowest prices?Why should Bharat have to feed India at its cost?.The total subsidy provided to agricultural consumers by way of fertilisers and free power has quadrupled from Rs 73,000 crores in 1992-93, to Rs 3