Agricultural Inputs

Agricultural Inputs
• The backbone of agricultural development is to facilitate access
of farmers to modern agricultural inputs.
• These agricultural inputs range from
• improved seeds
• fertilizers
• crop protection chemicals
• machinery
• irrigation
• credit
• knowledge
Irrigation
• There are mainly three sources of irrigation, viz., Wells and tube wells,
Canal, and Tank.
• Well and tube well Irrigation: Well irrigation is popular in areas
where sufficient sweet ground water is available.
• These areas include a large part of the Great Northern Plain, the deltaic
regions of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Cauvery,
parts of the Narmada and the Tapi valleys
• However, due to rocky structure, uneven surface, and lack of under-
ground water, the greater part of the Peninsular India is not suitable for
well irrigation.
• Large dry tracts of Rajasthan, the adjoining parts of Punjab, Haryana,
and Gujarat and some parts of Uttar Pradesh have brackish ground
water which is not fit for irrigation and human consumption and hence
unsuitable for well irrigation.
• Groundwater accounts for 43% of the water used for irriga- tion globally
• Canal Irrigation:
• The percentage of canal irrigation area to total irrigated area in the
country is about 25%.
• The main concentration of canal irrigation is in northern plains due to
perennial waters of Himalayas.
• The rocky and uneven terrain of peninsular India makes canal digging
difficult and costly affair.
• However, limited canal irrigation is done in the coastal and the delta
regions in South.
• Tank Irrigation:
• A tank consists of water storage built across a stream.
• Tank irrigation is popular in the peninsular India especially in Tamil
Nadu and Andhra Pradesh where canal and well irrigation are
practically difficult due to hard and rocky terrain.
• The share of tank irrigation is around 3%.
• Importance of Irrigation:
• First, there is a positive correlation between irrigation infrastructure
and yield. A study found that the per-hectare yield of foodgrains on
irrigated land was two to six times higher than the yields on un-
irrigated land. The states which have higher proportion of foodgrain
area under irrigation have the higher productivity.
• Second, the main channel through which irrigation impacts on land
productivity is via its effect on cropping intensity (number of cropping
seasons)
• Third, the high yield variety (HYV) of seeds and chemical fertilizers
require a substantial amount of water at regular intervals of time.
Indeed, that is the reason why Green Revolution in the beginning years
remained restricted to the states which had higher irrigation
infrastructure.
• Fourth, irrigation delivers various direct and indirect benefits to the
masses. People in the irrigated area can benefit directly by increased
and more stable incomes from increased cropping intensities, improved
yields, new farm enterprise/technology mixes, diversification of
• Problems of Irrigation in India
• Underutilization of Irrigation Potential: India has ultimate irrigation
potential of 139.9 mh, out of which irrigation potential created is 113 mh
(81%) and 87 mh of irrigation potential is utilized (77%).
• The underutilization of irrigation potential created is due to
• the slow pace of the Command Area Development Programme,
• depletion of professional staff in state irrigation agencies, and
• paucity of unplanned funds available for irrigation departments.
• Inefficiencies in Irrigation: As per the international norms, a country is
classified as water stressed and water scarce if per capita water availability
goes below 1,700 and 1,000 cubic metres (m3), respectively.
• With 1,544 m3 per capita water availability, India is already a water-stressed
country and moving toward water scarcity.
• As compared to countries like China, Brazil, and the
United States, India uses two to four times water to
produce one unit of major food crops. These variations
imply that if India attains water use efficiency of those
countries, it can save at least half of water presently
used for irrigation purposes.
• Most of the horticulture crops and livestock products are
more water intensive as compared to food grains
(except rice).
• Further preference to have fresh fruits and vegetables in
all the seasons is resulting in increase in their
cultivation in off season requiring much higher use of
water.
• The amount of water required to produce a unit of
animal origin products (chicken, mutton, and eggs) is
• Unequal Regional Spread of Irrigation: Northern States which are located in the
great Indian planes, viz., Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have generated huge
irrigation potential.
• Western States like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Gujarat have proportion of irrigation
area even lesser than the national average of 49.8%.
• Similarly, Eastern States (like Assam, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh) and Southern
States (like Karnataka) too suffer from scant irrigated area.
• Overexploitation of Water Resources: Over-dependence on groundwater beyond
sustainable level use has resulted in a significant decline in the groundwater table.
India is the world’s largest user of groundwater and, since the 1980s, its groundwater
levels have been dropping.
• Government Policies on Irrigation
• During 1950–1951, irrigation schemes were categorized into major, medium, and
minor.
• Since 1978, the new classification redefined based on culturable command area (CCA)
• major schemes > 10,000ha,
• medium irrigation schemes 2,000 ha and 10,000 ha, and
• minor schemes < 2,000 ha.
• In 1974–1975, the Government launched Command Area Development Programme to
bridge/narrow the gap between irrigation potential created and actually utilized in
major and medium irrigation schemes.
• The program was restructured and renamed as Command Area Development and
Water Management Programme (CADWMP) since April 1, 2004
• In 1995– 1996, Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) was created with
NABARD, and under this, state governments were provided loans to finance their rural
infrastructure projects including irrigation, soil conservation, and water management.
• In 1996–1997, Accelerated Irrigation Ben- efit Programme (AIBP) was initiated by GOI,
and under this, the central government provided financial assistance to the states in
terms of loans for early completion of selected large irrigation and multi-purpose
projects.
• In January 2006, a centrally sponsored scheme on Micro Irrigation (MI) was launched
for promoting water-use efficiency by adopting drip and sprinkler irrigation. In June
2010, the scheme was rechristened as the National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI).
• During July 1, 2015, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) was launched as a
national mission to improve the effectiveness in irrigation and ensure better utilization
of the water resources in the country. The scheme is implemented by Ministries of
Agriculture, Water Resources, and Rural Development.
Seeds
• They are critical to successful crop production and inevitably, farm
productivity and profitability.
• Quality of seed accounts for 20–25% of productivity.
• Areas of concern
• Affordability: But for high yield variety (HYV) seeds, farmer has to
depend on the market for each crop. In India majority of the farmers
are marginal or small who cannot afford high cost of hybrid seeds
affecting the viability of farming.
• Availability: India has skewed availability of certified quality seeds.
Except wheat and rice, the availability of quality seeds is not sufficient.
• Research and technology for seed development: Inadequate
research and genetic engineering has been a constraint in the
development of seeds/seed technologies in major crops during the
past few decades in India.
• Policy Measures
• First, FDI is permitted up to 100% under the automatic
route in development and production of seeds and planting
material subject to certain conditions.
• Second, The Department of Agriculture and Co-operation is
implementing a Central Sector Scheme as “Development
and Strengthening of Infrastructure Facilities for Production
and Distribution of Quality Seeds” since 2005–2006 for the
whole country.
• Third, the Pardarshi Kisan Seva Yojana (PKSY) was launched
in September 2014 and rolled out in April 2015 in Uttar
Pradesh for the distribution of hybrid seeds through Direct
Benefit Transfer (DBT). The aim of the scheme was to target
the intended beneficiaries and prevent diversion of
subsidized seeds, corruption, and manipulation.
Fertilizers
• The application of fertilizers on agriculture lands increased after the
introduction of HYV program in the country way back in 1966.
• Fertilizer is the single most important input underlying the growth in food and
other crops during last four decades, and it holds key to future growth in
agricultural output in the country.
• It has been estimated that an increase in fertilizer consumption of 40–60 kg/ha
can yield an additional 30–45 million tons of food grains.
• Problems in Fertilizer Usage
• Discrepancies in the use of fertilizers: There are discrepancies in the use of
fertilizers on the basis of chemical ratios. The current consumption ratio of
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) is 6.7:2.4:1 against their desirable
ratio of 4:2:1.
• The imbalanced nutrient use coupled with neglection of organic matter has
resulted in multi-nutrient deficiencies in Indian soils.
• the fertility of land is falling rapidly under intensive agriculture and
demonstrating the signs of fatigue, especially in the Indo-Gangetic plains.
• Low fertilizer consumption: In India, fertilizer consumption is
highly skewed. India’s average fertilizer consumption of 131
kg/ha is even less than that of world average of 141 kg/ha.
• Huge dependence on imports: Since sufficient potassic
mineral deposits are not present in the country for producing
potassic fertilizers, India imports 100% of its potassic
requirement.
• Impact on health and environment: Excessive use of
fertilizers may pollute the underground water with nitrate and it
is so much hazardous to humans or livestock. Many studies in the
medical world are associated with high levels of chemical
fertilizers (sodium nitrate) in groundwater with the prevalence of
cancer and kidney-related problems.
• Important Government Schemes
• NBS scheme: The Government launched NBS scheme w.e.f. April 1, 2010.
• The main aim of the policy was to improve agricultural productivity, ensure the
balanced use of N, P, and K fertilizers, growth of indigenous fertilizer industry and
to contain the fertilizer subsidy bill.
• The policy allowed the manufacturers of P and K fertilizers to fix their maximum
retail prices at reasonable levels.
• The subsidy provided would be based on per kilogram of the nutrient.
• The policy also provided for an additional subsidy to be paid to indigenous
manufacturers of fertilizers.
• The city compost scheme: The city compost scheme was launched by
Government of India (GOI) in 2016. The scheme aims to convert all organic wastes
generated in cities into compost or biogas and market the compost with the help of
fertilizer companies to benefit farmers.
• DBT in Fertilizer sector: The GOI has introduced DBT system for fertilizer subsidy
from October 2016.
• Under the proposed fertilizer DBT system, 100% subsidy on various fertilizer grades
shall be released to the fertilizer companies on the basis of actual sales made by
Pesticides
• The production of pesticides started in India in 1952 with the establishment of
a plant for the production of Benzene Hexa Chloride (BHC) near Calcutta.
• The per hectare consumption of pesticides in India is among the lowest in the
world
• Production and productivity have increased tremendously because of pesticide
usage during the post-Green Revolution period in India.
• Drawbacks of Pesticides
• First, there is a high occurrence of generalized symptoms because of
pesticide exposure. There are numerous class-I pesticides which are extremely
toxic and have been banned worldwide but still widely prevalent in India.
• Second, pesticides can contaminate soil, water, turf, and other vegetation.
• Third, groundwater pollution due to pesticides is a worldwide problem. Apart
from nitrate contamination, the presence of fluoride, iron, arsenic, and heavy
metals has also touched wor- rying levels in India. Punjab which was once
called food basket of India has turned into disease basket. The water quality
index of 80% of the samples in Malwa region of Punjab was found to be unfit
for drinking.
• Government Policies
• The Insecticides Act, 1968 regulates import, manufacture, sale,
transportation, distribution, and use of insecticides with a view to
prevent risk to humans or animals.
• The Integrated Pest Management Scheme was launched by GOI in
1985. It is an eco-friendly approach which aims at keeping pest
population at below economic threshold levels by employing all
available alternate pest control methods and techniques such as
cultural, mechanical, and biological with emphasis on the use of bio-
pesticides and pesticides of plant-origin like Neem formulations. The
use of chemical pesticides is advised as a measure of last resort
when pest population in the crop crosses economic threshold levels.
• To monitor the quality of pesticides, the Central Insecticides
Laboratory has been established at Faridabad. Besides a number of
regional level and state level laboratories have also been
established.