Emerging Trends in Agricultural Production

Introduction

India has made remarkable progress in the field of agriculture and the allied sector during the course of seven decades of planned economic development. In India, the major food crops are cereals like rice, wheat, maize, jowar, bajra etc. and pulses like gram, tur, moong beans, masur, peas etc. Presently, India is not only self-sufficient in food grains but also a net exporter of agricultural products, occupying the seventh position in the world.

Trends in Agricultural Production

• Agriculture is considered as the backbone of the Indian economy. It plays a vital role in national income, output, employment generation and foreign exchange earnings.
• India has made remarkable progress in the field of agriculture and the allied sector during the course of seven decades of planned economic development.
• As per the latest United Nations projected population data the per capita per day availability of foodgrains in India has gone up from 395 grams in 1951 to 512.5 grams in 2020.

Trends in Horticultural Production:

• As per estimates of the Department of Agriculture, Co-operation andFarmers Welfare, total horticultural production in India has reached at 326.58 million tonnes in 2020-21 as compared to 145.78 million tonnes in 2001-02, registering ACGR of 4.34 percent.
• India has emerged as the second-largest fruit and vegetable producer in the world after China.
• The production of horticulture crops in the country has continuously outpaced the production of foodgrains.
• Since 2012-13 Vegetables constitute more than 59 percent of total horticulture production in India.
• Fresh fruitsaccount for nearly 31 percent of total horticulture production in the country.
• India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products.

Trends in Livestock Production:

• Livestock contributes nearly 30 percent to total agriculture and allied sector output.
• India has been the largest producer of milk in the world continuously for last more than two decades. Nearly, 19 percent of the world's total milk production is contributed by India.
• India has emerged as the third-largest producer of eggs in the world after the United states. The largest producer is China.
• India has emerged as second largest fish producing country accounting for 7.58 percent of global production.The sector has been one of the major sources of foreign exchange earnings, with India being one of the leading seafood exporting nations in the world.
• With a view to bringing about blue revolution through sustainable development of the fisheries sector, Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana was launched on 10th September 2020.
• The scheme sets an ambitious target to enhance the fish production to 22 million tons by 2024-2025 and generate about 15 lakhs direct gainful employment opportunities.

Trends in Agricultural Trade:

• India is not only self-sufficient in food grains but also a net exporter of agricultural products, occupying the seventh position in the world.
• The overall balance of trade of India has been negative, but the trade balance of agricultural goods has been positive but also has increased nearly by 22 times during the last two decades.
• Its overall share in total world exports has always been less than 1.7 percent.
• The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH): is a centrally sponsored scheme that was launched on 1st April, 2014 for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector. The MIDH provides financial, technical and administrative support to State Governments for the development of the horticulture sector.

Conclusion

• Agriculture continues to be the most crucial sector of the Indian economy. Despite a steady decline in its share in gross value added, it continues to remain the largest employment providing sector and a major source of foreign exchange earnings.
• India lags far behind the developed countries of the word in the yield per hectare of the field as well plantation crops. Easy access to institutional credit at an affordable rate of interest is also needed to be promoted for the purchase of modern agriculture machinery, tools, equipment and other expensive inputs.