Account for low agricultural productivity in India and suggest suitable remedies.

Explain the causes of the backwardness of Indian agriculture and its remedies.

Ans. India is an agriculture based country. Here about 70 percent of the population depends on agriculture. Still, sadly Indian agriculture is in a backward state. Compared to other countries, it has low productivity due to the following reasons:

(a) General reasons 

(b) Institutional reasons

(c) Technical reasons

(a) General reasons - The following reasons come under general reasons:

1. Excessive burden of population on agriculture - 

Agriculture is the main profession of most people in India. Here 70 percent of the people depend on agriculture. The land area is limited but the population growth rate is quite rapid. The burden of the growing population falls solely on agriculture, because there is a lack of other industries here for employment. Due to the excessive burden of population on agriculture, fields have been divided into very small fragments, which has decreased the yield. Also, due to the excessive burden of population on agriculture, the amount of land per capita has decreased and disguised unemployment is found in agriculture.

2. Discouraging rural environment - 

The main reason for the backwardness of Indian agriculture is the discouraging rural environment here. This environment is an obstacle in the path of agriculture. Indian farmers are uneducated, ignorant and orthodox and are stuck in caste system and family traditions etc. These farmers do not have the courage to experiment with new agricultural systems and are afraid to use fertilizers. They spend most of their savings on rituals, which is why the state of Indian agriculture is backward.

3. Indebtedness of farmers - 

Indian farmers are burdened with debt, because they are poor. Due to poverty, they are unable to use good quality seeds, fertilizers and modern machines in agriculture. Once they get trapped in the clutches of moneylenders, it becomes impossible for them to get rid of the moneylenders. It is said in this regard that Indian farmers are born in debt and die in debt. Thus, poverty and indebtedness of farmers is a major cause of the backwardness of agriculture.

4. Imperfect agricultural marketing - 

The agricultural market system in India is quite flawed. The Indian farmer does not get a fair price for his food because he is exploited in various ways and there is also a lack of organization of agricultural commodities. In this regard, the statement of Nanavati and Azhariya is that "It is a well known fact that the Indian farmer is not successful in getting the full price of his produce that he produces in the fields."

(b) Institutional reasons - The following reasons come under this: 

1. Size of land holdings -

The size of land holdings in Indian agriculture is very small. There are many such small plots where a pair of oxen cannot be properly maneuvered. Not only that, Indian agricultural plots are scattered in different regions. Due to the subdivision and fragmentation of agricultural land holdings, scientific agriculture is not possible. Hence the productivity of agriculture is very low.

2. Structure of land tenure - 

India's land tenure system is quite flawed. Due to the defective land tenure system, neither the government, nor the landlords, nor the farmers showed any interest. In this situation, the advancement of agriculture was impossible. Although the landlordism has ended, the situation is still not satisfactory, because the tenant is not the owner of the land and he has to pay heavy rents instead of the fields. As a result, the farmer does not take any special interest in increasing agricultural productivity. 

Thus, due to the flawed implementation of land reforms, agricultural production remains very low.

(c) Technical reasons - The following are the technical reasons:

1. Backward production technology - 

One reason for low production in India is the use of backward technology. Here agriculture is done using old systems and tools and machines. Also, crop rotation is not done here, nor are new varieties of seeds and fertilizers used. 

But in developed countries, agriculture is done using advanced varieties of seeds, fertilizers and modern machines. Hence, the productivity of Indian agriculture is much lower compared to other countries.

2. Lack of adequate irrigation facilities -

Indian agriculture depends on the monsoon. The behavior of the monsoon is irregular and uncertain. Therefore, irrigation is very necessary for agriculture.

In the absence of irrigation, improvement in good quality seeds, fertilizers and agricultural implements will not be beneficial. But sadly, even today only 28 percent of the area has irrigation facilities in India. The remaining all cultivable land is unirrigated. Thus, due to the lack of adequate irrigation facilities, the productivity of Indian agriculture is low and Indian agriculture is in a backward state.

Thus, from the above analysis, it is clear that there are many reasons for the low productivity of Indian agriculture: 

Measures to increase productivity in Indian agriculture:

There are many reasons for the backwardness of Indian agriculture. Agriculture can only develop by eliminating these causes. For the development of agriculture or to increase agricultural productivity, adequate capital facilities should be provided because capital plays an important role in the development of agriculture. Along with this, adequate irrigation facilities should be provided and farmers should own the land and consolidation of land holdings should be done. To develop agriculture in India or increase productivity, land will have to be protected from erosion, medicines will have to be used to protect crops from insects, improved methods of farming will have to be adopted and other development measures will have to be implemented. Adequate emphasis has been placed on agricultural development in the Five Year Plans and it is gratifying that the country is self-sufficient in agriculture today. But still, due to traditional and natural disasters, agriculture is considered a gamble today. 

We can solve this through the following measures:

First of all, consolidation of land holdings will have to be done. As a result, scientific agriculture will be possible and productivity will increase.

Secondly, the burden of population on fields will have to be reduced. This will solve the problem of sub-division and fragmentation and farming can be done properly. 

Thirdly, arrangements will also have to be made for improved seeds and fertilizers. For this, under the three plans, irrigation has been arranged on 98.8 lakh hectares of land through large scale irrigation schemes. 

Fourthly, agricultural insurance will have to be arranged so that farmers can be protected from future uncertainties.

Fifthly, the condition of the agricultural market will have to be improved so that farmers can get fair prices. For this, more focus is being placed on government and regulated markets in the plan.

Sixth, proper arrangements for agricultural credit will also have to be made. In this direction itself, 14 commercial banks were nationalized in 1969.

Seventh, arrangements will have to be made to prevent soil erosion. That is why in the second and third plan, 18 crores and 17 crores were spent on it respectively. 

Eighth, proper management of irrigation will have to be done. With all these measures, the backwardness of Indian agriculture can be eliminated.