Unit 2: Issues in Indian Agricultural Sector since Independence

1. Production, productivity and cropping patterns

Production vs. Productivity

• Production: This refers to the total output of a crop (e.g., 100 million tonnes of wheat). India's total food grain production has increased magnificently, from ~51 million tonnes in 1950-51 to over 300 million tonnes today.
• Productivity: This refers to the output per unit of input (e.g., tonnes of wheat *per hectare*). This was the main problem at independence. While production has risen, India's *productivity* for most crops (except wheat) still lags behind global averages.

Cropping Patterns

Definition: A cropping pattern is the proportion of total cultivated land that is occupied by different crops at a particular time.

• At Independence: The pattern was dominated by food crops (cereals like rice, wheat, millets) over cash crops (like cotton, sugarcane, jute). This was a feature of a subsistence economy.
• After Green Revolution: The pattern shifted heavily *towards* rice and wheat, as these were the crops that benefited from HYV seeds and price support (MSP). This came at the expense of more nutritious crops like pulses and millets.

2. Agricultural credit & marketing

These are two of the most significant challenges for farmers.

Agricultural Credit

Farmers need credit (loans) for two main reasons:

1. Short-Term (Crop Loans): To buy seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides.
2. Long-Term: To buy machinery (tractors), dig wells, or purchase land.

The main issue has been the *source* of credit:

Agricultural Marketing

Definition: Involves all activities from the farm to the consumer, including harvesting, grading, storing, transporting, and selling the produce.

Traditional Problems:

• Distress Sale: Farmers are forced to sell their crop immediately after harvest (when prices are lowest) because they have no storage and need immediate cash.
• Role of Middlemen (Arhatiyas): A long chain of middlemen between the farmer and the final consumer, with each taking a cut, reducing the farmer's share of the final price.
• Lack of Storage: Inadequate warehousing (especially cold storage) leads to massive post-harvest losses, particularly for fruits and vegetables.

3. Land reforms

Immediately after independence, "land to the tiller" was a major slogan. Land reforms aimed to break the exploitative colonial agrarian structure and ensure social justice.

Main Components of Land Reforms:

1. Abolition of Intermediaries:
   • What: This meant abolishing the Zamindari system. Zamindars were non-cultivating landlords who collected rent for the British.
   • Result: Mostly successful. It brought ~20 million tenant farmers into a direct relationship with the state.
2. Tenancy Reforms:
   • What: Aimed to protect *tenants* (who cultivated land they didn't own). It had three parts: (1) Regulation of rent, (2) Security of tenure, and (3) Conferring ownership rights to tenants.
   • Result: Moderately successful. It was often evaded by landlords who "resumed" cultivation themselves (often by evicting tenants).
3. Land Ceilings:
   • What: This policy set a maximum limit ("ceiling") on the amount of land one family could own. Any surplus land was to be taken by the government and redistributed to landless laborers.
   • Result: Largely a failure. Landlords used loopholes, "benami" (fake) transfers, and legal challenges to hold onto their land. Very little surplus land was actually redistributed.
4. Consolidation of Holdings:
   • What: Aimed to solve the problem of *fragmentation* (where a farmer owns many small plots scattered in different places). This policy consolidated these plots into one single, viable farm.
   • Result: Successful, especially in Punjab and Haryana, which was a pre-condition for the Green Revolution.

4. New Agricultural Policy- Green Revolution

The Green Revolution refers to the dramatic increase in food grain production (especially wheat and rice) in the late 1960s and 1970s. It was a response to the severe food shortages and dependence on food aid (like PL-480 from the USA) in the mid-1960s.

The "Package" of Technology:

The Green Revolution was not just one thing; it was a package of inputs that had to be used together:

1. High-Yielding Variety (HYV) Seeds: These were new, "miracle" seeds (developed by Norman Borlaug) that could produce much more grain.
2. Chemical Fertilizers: The HYV seeds were highly responsive to fertilizers (N, P, K).
3. Assured Irrigation: The new seeds and fertilizers required timely and controlled water supply, which meant investing in tubewells, pumps, and canals.
4. Pesticides and Herbicides: To protect the new, non-native plant varieties.

Successes and Failures: