268
G. K. Shankhdhar et al.
1.4 Characteristics and Problems of Indian Agriculture
As stated above, Indian economy is pivoted on agriculture. The socioeconomic status
of the people, the national polity and the gamut of life of the people is directly
controlled by agriculture. The Indian agriculture, however, has its own characteristics
[24].
Some of the important characteristics and problems of Indian agriculture have
been described briefly in the following section:
1. Exploding population: The Indian agriculture is characterized by heavy pressure of population. About 70% of the total population of the country is directly
or indirectly dependent on agriculture. The fast growth of population industrialization and urbanization are putting enormous pressure on arable land
[24, 25].
2. Food Grains as the most basic crops: In both the Kharif (summer) and the
Rabi(winter) seasons, grain crops occupy the greater proportion of the cropped
area. Maize, rice, millets, ragi and bajra, and pulses are the dominant crops in
the kharif season, and wheat, gram and barley occupy over three-fourth of the
total cropped area in the Rabi season.
3. Jhuming Cultivation: In the rain-fed areas of the country, mixed cropping is
a common practice. The farmers mix millets, maize and pulses in the kharif
season and wheat, gram and barley in the Rabi season. In the areas of Jhuming
(shifting cultivation), ten to sixteen crops are mixed and sown in the same field.
The idea behind mixing crops is to get reasonable agricultural return. In case
the monsoon is good, the rice crop will give better production and in case of
failure of monsoon, the less water requiring crops like maize, millets, bajra and
pulses will give good harvest.
4. Lack of Technology: A substantial number of the farmers of the country, especially in the rain-fed areas, still use draught animals (bullocks, male buffaloes
and camels) for ploughing and other agricultural operations. India is a labor
based agricultural enterprise in which most of the agricultural operations, like
ploughing, leveling, sowing, weeding, spraying, sprinkling, harvesting, and
threshing are carried on mainly by human hands. The use of machinery is still
confined only to the rich fainters of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh,
plains of Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
5. Agriculture dependence on rain: As mentioned before the problem in water
supply for irrigation purposes is extremely high and 56% of whole nation
depends on rainfall and summer monsoon. This dependency over monsoon
is too optimistic in belief as summer monsoon in India is also not uniforms,
thus amounting to the farmers’ problems.
6. Less farming of nitrogen fixing crops: The nitrogen fixing crops like pulses
are getting less area under their cultivation. Consequently, the natural fertility
of the soil is depleting and the soils are losing their resilience characteristics
[26].
G. K. Shankhdhar et al.
1.4 Characteristics and Problems of Indian Agriculture
As stated above, Indian economy is pivoted on agriculture. The socioeconomic status
of the people, the national polity and the gamut of life of the people is directly
controlled by agriculture. The Indian agriculture, however, has its own characteristics
[24].
Some of the important characteristics and problems of Indian agriculture have
been described briefly in the following section:
1. Exploding population: The Indian agriculture is characterized by heavy pressure of population. About 70% of the total population of the country is directly
or indirectly dependent on agriculture. The fast growth of population industrialization and urbanization are putting enormous pressure on arable land
[24, 25].
2. Food Grains as the most basic crops: In both the Kharif (summer) and the
Rabi(winter) seasons, grain crops occupy the greater proportion of the cropped
area. Maize, rice, millets, ragi and bajra, and pulses are the dominant crops in
the kharif season, and wheat, gram and barley occupy over three-fourth of the
total cropped area in the Rabi season.
3. Jhuming Cultivation: In the rain-fed areas of the country, mixed cropping is
a common practice. The farmers mix millets, maize and pulses in the kharif
season and wheat, gram and barley in the Rabi season. In the areas of Jhuming
(shifting cultivation), ten to sixteen crops are mixed and sown in the same field.
The idea behind mixing crops is to get reasonable agricultural return. In case
the monsoon is good, the rice crop will give better production and in case of
failure of monsoon, the less water requiring crops like maize, millets, bajra and
pulses will give good harvest.
4. Lack of Technology: A substantial number of the farmers of the country, especially in the rain-fed areas, still use draught animals (bullocks, male buffaloes
and camels) for ploughing and other agricultural operations. India is a labor
based agricultural enterprise in which most of the agricultural operations, like
ploughing, leveling, sowing, weeding, spraying, sprinkling, harvesting, and
threshing are carried on mainly by human hands. The use of machinery is still
confined only to the rich fainters of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh,
plains of Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
5. Agriculture dependence on rain: As mentioned before the problem in water
supply for irrigation purposes is extremely high and 56% of whole nation
depends on rainfall and summer monsoon. This dependency over monsoon
is too optimistic in belief as summer monsoon in India is also not uniforms,
thus amounting to the farmers’ problems.
6. Less farming of nitrogen fixing crops: The nitrogen fixing crops like pulses
are getting less area under their cultivation. Consequently, the natural fertility
of the soil is depleting and the soils are losing their resilience characteristics
[26].