1.

Poor Educational STopic: Over dependence on Agriculture

Problems faced:
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50% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture

Disguised un employment in agriculture
Lack of industrialization
Sustainable Agriculture
The invention of agriculture is one of the great revolution of
human history. It includes the food production and domestication
which led to significant changes in human society, population
increase and biological changes.
overdependence of agriculture in the National Economy:
Indian is an agricultural country, where 70 per cent population is
dependent on agriculture. This forms the main source of income.
The contribution of agriculture in the national income in India is
more, hence, it is said that agriculture in India is a backbone of
Indian Economy. Still the entire consumption of Agriculture is
done in households only & doesnt leads into a rise in GDP. As if
are to compare India with other economies like China is
manufacturing economy, its GDP is 7% which is still not great
because once it had GDP of 14% also. While India is still at 4%
because alsoofa reason that Indian agriculture doesnt contribute
to GDP.
Agriculture as a source of livelihood, causing poverty.
In India about 65 to 70 per cent population dependent on
agriculture, the population remains almost constant for number
of years. On the other hand in the developed countries less than
10 per population dependent on agriculture. Still all the
agricultural goods are mostly consumed by the households. This
is not even a source of income. And does not even count in GDP.
And so Agriculture is indirectly responsible for Poverty as well.
More explained under disguised unemployment due to
agriculture.
Importance of agriculture in Industrial development:
Many industries dependent on agriculture, raw material from
agriculture is supplied to many industries e.g. sugar industries,
Cotton Industries, Paper Industries, tobacco industries, Chilies,
turmeric etc. Many industries supply the inputs to the agricultural

industry e.g. fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, implements and

machineries like tractors etc. And this is the reason why the
money which has to be or should be used in other devolpoing
areas is spent on Agriculture which leads to nowhere or just helps
some industries in a not so huge change observed in GDP or for
the welfare of labours.
Role of agriculture in the field of international trade:

Many agricultural products like tea, sugar, oilseeds, tobacco,

spices contribute the major share in export. In addition to this,
there are exporting fruits some vegetables and flowers to the
other countries. Now days India exporting basmati rice to foreign
countries. The proportion of agri. goods is to the tune of 50%. In
addition to this goods manufactured from agriculture products
contribute 20 percent. Thus, agriculture contributes 70% in
export.
In addition to the above the role played by agriculture in Indian is
as under.
Many agriculture produce like food grains, fruits are transported by
roadways and railways. Thus, it engages of many people in this
field.& creates of Loss of Labour.
If the agricultural production is good, cultivators will earn more
income. They will be in position to purchase manufactured products
and other inputs required in agriculture. In short, we can say that
the prosperity of the country will depend upon the prosperity of
agriculture but it is not happening most of the time how it is
planned. Because it is the poor labour and households who are still
under the poverty and if they are still under this huge problem of
poverty then no matter how much production is good or etc, India
will not be developed and will lead to a drain of money or budget on
the name of Agriculture welfare funds.
In a Country like India where Agriculture is a backbone.itis the
50% of workforce which is engaged in agricultural activities.
Although agriculture contributes only 21% of Indias GDP, its
importance in the countrys economic, social, and political fabric
goes well beyond this indicator. The rural areas are still home to
some 72 percent of the Indias 1.1 billion people, a large number
of whom are poor. Most of the rural poor depend on rain-fed
agriculture and fragile forests for their livelihoods.

The Government of India places high priority on reducing poverty

by raising agricultural productivity. However, bold action from
policymakers will be required to shift away from the existing
subsidy-based regime that is no longer sustainable, to build a
solid foundation for a highly productive, internationally
competitive, and diversified agricultural sector.

Disguised unemployement in Agriculture:

Economists call unemployment prevailing in Indian farms as
disguised unemployment. What is disguised unemployment?
Suppose a farmer has four acres of land and he actually needs
only two workers and himself to carry out various operations on
his farm in a year, but if he employs five workers and his family
members such as his wife and children, this situation is known as
disguised unemployment. And such that it is taking place in
todays Indian Agricultural system.if high food prices are good or
bad for poverty, It depends on whether the poor are selling or
buying. poor also work for wages and agricultural prices affect
labor markets.
For example: the decrease in the price of rice affects poor urban
households is the labor market. The drop in rice prices reduces
demand for labor in rice production sharply, by almost 12 percent
in the case of a 50 percent decline, and reduces overall demand
for labor in the agricultural sector. Displaced rural laborers spill
over into urban unskilled labor markets. The incomes of
illiterate workers in urban areas, typically the least skilled,
decline.
Adverse agricultural price shocks can have negative effects on
poor urban households through labor market transmission, which
can offset the gains they might realize as net consumers of
agricultural products.

Lack of Industrialization:
Indian agriculture has no proper industry made or set for their
functioning. Thus they are problems like no proper arrangements
as for example Industrialization in agriculture refers to the
increasing consolidation of farms and to vertical coordination
(contracting and integration) among the stages of the food and
fiber system. The emerging system is expected to be highly
competitive in global markets, more efficient, more responsive to
consumer demands, less dependent on government assistance,
and able to more rapidly adopt new technologies (Council on

Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics).Which is not being

taken care of in India properly.
Industrialization of agriculture should be focused on the
consumer. It implies that changes in agriculture are occurring so
that the industry can better meet the demands ofconsumers.
Todays consumers have a diverse set of tastes and preferences
in the foods they choose, and they have come to expect a level
of variety and excellence in the foods being offered in the
marketplace. In order to meet consumer demands, the food
supply chain is becoming more vertically integrated so that
information about consumer preferences is driven back all the
way to the initial producer. The steps in the production and
marketing process are becoming more tightly linked so that
products can be tailored to consumer specifications right from
the very beginning.

Subsistence agriculture:
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus
on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families. The typical
subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to feed
and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made principally
with an eye toward what the family will need during the coming year, and
secondarily toward market prices. And so Market prices or what countrys
economy needed was ignored. And here feeding themselves is the main priority.
For example Shifting agriculture:
In this type of agriculture, a patch of forest land is cleared by a combination of
felling and burning, and crops are grown. After 2-3 years the fertility of the soil
begins to decline, the land is abandoned and the farmer moves to clear a fresh
piece of land elsewhere in the forest and the process continues. While the land is
left fallow the forest regrows in the cleared area and soil fertility and biomass is
restored. After a decade or more, the farmer may return to the first piece of land.
This form of agriculture is sustainable at low population densities, but higher
population loads require more frequent clearing which prevents soil fertility from
recovering, opens up more of the forest canopy, and encourages scrub at the
expense of large trees, eventually resulting in deforestation and heavy erosion
and leads to global warming.
Thus also affecting environment as well as economy in a negative manner.

Manufacturing Sector in Agriculture:

Agriculture is the dominant sector of Indian economy, which

determines the growth and sustainability. About 65 per cent of
the population still relies on agriculture for employment and
livelihood. India is the first in the world in the production of milk,
pulses, jute and jute-like fibres; second in rice, wheat, sugarcane,
groundnut, vegetables, fruits and cotton production; and is a
leading producer of spices and plantation crops as well as
livestock, fisheries and poultry.
In the past few years, Indian agriculture has done remarkably
well in terms of output growth. The 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12)
witnessed an average annual growth of 3.6 per cent in the gross
domestic product (GDP) from agriculture and allied sector. The
growth target for agriculture in the 12th Five Year Plan is
estimated to be 4 per cent. Indian agriculture is benefitting huge
from rising external demand and the sector's wider participation
in the global economy.
In order to boost investments in the sector, the Government of
India has allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI)
under automatic route in storage and warehousing including cold
storages. The government has also allowed 100 per cent FDI
under the automatic route for the development of seeds.
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under the Ministry of
Agriculture is the nodal organization responsible for development
of the agriculture sector in India. The organization is responsible
for formulation and implementation of national policies and
programmes aimed at achieving rapid agricultural growth
through optimum utilization of land, water, soil and plant
resources of the country.

Steps to be Taken and redistribution of the workforce as

Solution:
While agricultures share in Indias economy has progressively
declined to less than 15% due to the high growth rates of the
industrial and services sectors, the sectors importance in Indias
economic and social fabric goes well beyond this indicator. First,
nearly three-quarters of Indias families depend on rural incomes.
Second, the majority of Indias poor (some 770 million people or
about 70 percent) are found in rural areas. And third, Indias food
security depends on producing cereal crops, as well as increasing
its production of fruits, vegetables and milk to meet the demands

of a growing population with rising incomes. To do so, a

productive, competitive, diversified and sustainable agricultural
sector will need to emerge at an accelerated pace.
In addition to strategies for preserving natural resources and
changing production practices, sustainable agriculture requires a
commitment to changing public policies, economic institutions,
and social values. Strategies for change must take into account
the complex, reciprocal and ever-changing relationship between
agricultural production and the broader society.working toward
socially just and safe employment that provides adequate wages,
working conditions, health benefits, and chances for economic
stability. The needs of migrant labor for year-around employment
and adequate housing are a particularly crucial problem needing
immediate attention. To be more sustainable over the long-term,
labor must be acknowledged and supported by government
policies, recognized as important constituents of land grant
universities, and carefully considered when assessing the
impacts of new technologies and practices.