India with its sizable agricultural sector has to face a number of problems.

Low production and low productivity are at the core of agricultural problem In India. The productivity of agriculture is relatively low in India compared to other countries with comparable natural environment. There have been some improvements in recent years. But conditions in agriculture have not changed much. It will be useful to analyze the factors responsible for the backwardness of agriculture. The factors are classified into

1. Demographic factors 2. General factors 3. Institutional factors and 4. Technologies factors

The most important demographic factor responsible for low yield in agriculture is the increasing pressure of population on land. With population growth rates being what they are, an increasing addition to the labour force could be expected to be absorbed in the industrial sector of the economy. But the rate of growth in the industrial sector has been far from adequate.

Consequently, the increasing population has fallen back on land for its livelihood, with the result that the population pressure has created a number of problems like fragmentation and subdivision of holdings; the supply of improved practices and services has always fallen short of requirements. It has created conditions of unemployment and disguised unemployment. All these evils, taken together have been responsible for low productivity in agriculture.

a)

Excess or surplus labor in Agriculture

The main cause for the low agricultural labor productivity is the overcrowding in agriculture. There are many people who depend on agriculture. As population increases, the pressure on land also increases, because natural increase is not absorbed by the industrial sector

The farmers of India generally are poor, ignorant, superstitious, conservative, and illiterate and bound by outmoded customs and institutions such as the caste system and the joint family system. Superstition and belief in fact are the curses, which keep the farmers fully satisfied with their primitive system of cultivation. Except for a small group of farmers, who adopted quickly modern techniques of production, vast majority of farmers are not motivated by considerations of economic progress

Indian agriculture has suffered because of the inadequacy of non-farm services such as provision of finance, marketing etc. All these facilities are inadequate in India. Marketing system is defective and costly.

Modern warehousing is inadequate and indigenous. Storing methods are defective and costly.
Modern credit facilities are still poorly developed for the farmers. Farmers still depend on moneylenders for their day-to-day requirements

a)

Size of holdings
The average size of holdings in India is very low. About 80 percent of the land holdings are less than 2 acres. Not only agriculture holdings are small but they are fragmented too. In certain parts of the country, plots of land have become so small that it is impossible to move even ordinary plough. Since the average agricultural holdings are too small, no scientific cultivation with improved implements, seeds etc. are possible. Small size of holdings lead to great waste of time, labour and cattle power, difficulty in proper utilization of irrigation facilities, quarrels and consequent litigation among farmers, wastage of crops in the absence of fencing etc.

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land tenure system in India has been depressing and disincentive ridden. It has built in features to support stagnation. The main features have been the presence of intermediaries; exploitative owner-tenant relationship; small and fragmented holdings; and the heavy and ever increasing pressure of population on land.

a) Poor inputs and techniques

The method and techniques of cultivation have been old and inefficient. It results in high cost and low productivity. These methods have not undergone any change for centuries. The investment in agriculture in the form of manures and fertilizers, improved seeds, irrigation, tools and implements and other types of assets has been miserably low.

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of the basic causes for the weakness of Indian agriculture has been that most of the farmers throughout the country have to depend upon rainfall and very few of them can avail the facilities of artificial irrigation.

It is said that the farmers in India are born in debt, live in debt, die in debt and bequeath debt. The causes of their indebtedness are many such as hereditary debt, litigation, want of supplementary incomes and wasteful social expenditure.

The cultivator is poor and the vicious circle of poverty does not allow him to improve his economic conditions. NSSO in its 59th round of survey (January December 2003) covered indebtness of farmers. The reports say that 48.6 % percent of households were indebted. Of the total number of indebt farmers, 61 % had operational holding less than 1 Ha. Of the total outstanding amount, 41.6 % was taken for purpose other than farm related activities. 57.7 % of the outstanding amount was sourced from institutional channels and balance 42.3 % from money lenders, traders, relatives and friends. The expert group estimate that in 2003 non Institutional channels accounted for Rs 48,000 crore of farmers debt out of which Rs 18,000 crore was availed of at an interest rate of 30 % per annum or more.

 Benefit

of research and development has not reached all the farmers. Extension is confined to a few individuals and the modern pattern of farming is yet to take roots in the countryside.

1.Irrigation potential

It has been increased through public funding & assisting farmers to create potential on their own farms. The total irrigation potential in the country has increased from 81.1 million hectares in 1991-92 to 102.8 million hectares in 2006-07. only 73.5 % irrigation potential has been created out of which 87.2 million hectares(84.9 %) is actually utilized. The scope of expanding irrigation through large & medium scale project has yet to be fully exploited.

2.Diversification of agriculture

Diversification of agriculture to horticulture & other areas is also high on the govt agenda. Besides raising farmer's income ,this results in better utilization of resources, creation of employment & growth.

National Horticulture Mission & Mission for Horticulture in the north east & other hilly areas have been set up to
promote horticulture in a mission mode.

3.Exploiting production potential :

To achieve expected level of productivity, farmer must be guided by experts in respect of soil & water analysis for adopting the best diversified cropping system ,meticulous adoption of technology (when & how), judicious use of seeds,fertilisers,pesticides,water,labour & credit. supply of inputs must be of standard quality, reasonable priced & timely available. There is need to establish farm inputs & equipment regulatory & development authority.

4.Rural infrastructure for farm growth:

there is a positive correlation between infrastructure development & aggregate agricultural productivity.

rural infrastructure as irrigation water shed development, rural electrification ,roads,markets,credit institution rural literacy ,agriculture research & extension etc together plays key role in determining output in India.

5.Tecnology application:

Technology enables the branch to go where the customer is present. It helps in reducing operating cost of providing banking services in rural areas & to low income groups. National agriculture policy lays emphasis on the rapid development of agriculture in India. DAC (dept of agricultural & cooperation )has developed four portals & 40 websites i.e. DACNET,AGMARKNET,DAC & AgRIS.

6. Capital formation in agriculture:

Productivity in agriculture is also dependent on capital

formation both from public & private sectors.

Gross capital formation in agriculture relative to GDP in this sector has shown an improvement from 9.6% in 2000-01 to 12.5% in 2006-07.but it should be raised to 14 % to achieve a growth of 4% in this sector.

7. Crop Insurance
Productivity in agriculture also depends on various

external factors like monsoons ,pests ,diseases ,drought & other natural calamities .So crops need to be covered under insurance to provide financial support to farmers.

For this we have NATIONAL AGRICULTURE INSURANCE SCHEME.

8. BETTER QUALITY SEEDS:

The seed should have the characteristic like better grain

quality, resistance to pests & diseases & suitability to the agro-climatic conditions & quality of high rate of germination & high yielding.

So we have National Seed Policy 2002 provides the framework for growth of the seed sector.