Agricultural Development in India

The story of Indian agricultural development is one of a slow, painful transformation from a subsistence economy, battered by colonial neglect and partition, into a system that could feed a vast and growing population. Before Independence, farming was largely for survival, not for the market. The first half of the twentieth century was dismal, marked by severe droughts and famines that exposed the fragility of the system.

Partition dealt a heavy blow. About one-third of the irrigated land of undivided India went to Pakistan, sharply reducing the proportion of irrigated area in the newly independent nation. The immediate post-Independence goal was simple: increase foodgrain production. The government pursued three strategies: switching land from cash crops to food crops, intensifying cropping on already cultivated land (growing more crops per year on the same field), and bringing cultivable and fallow land under the plough to expand the total cultivated area.

This initial push worked for a while, but by the late 1950s, agricultural production stagnated. To break the deadlock, the government launched the Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and the Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP). These programmes focused resources on select high-potential areas. However, two consecutive droughts in the mid-1960s plunged the country into a severe food crisis, forcing large-scale imports of foodgrains from other nations.

The Green Revolution and Its Spread

The turning point came with the availability of new, high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds — wheat from Mexico and rice from the Philippines — by the mid-1960s. India seized this opportunity and introduced a package technology in irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat. This package combined HYV seeds with chemical fertilisers. The critical prerequisite for its success was an assured supply of soil moisture through irrigation.

The Green Revolution did more than just boost food output. It gave a powerful fillip to the development of a whole range of agro-inputs, agro-processing industries, and small-scale industries. Crucially, it made the country self-reliant in foodgrain production.

However, the Green Revolution was initially confined to irrigated areas, primarily in the north-west and parts of the south. This created sharp regional disparities in agricultural development that persisted until the 1970s, after which the technology gradually spread to the eastern and central parts of the country.

Policy Shifts: Rainfed Areas and Liberalisation

Recognising the neglect of rainfed (dryland) agriculture, the Planning Commission focused its attention on these areas in the 1980s. In 1988, it initiated agro-climatic planning to induce regionally balanced agricultural development. This approach emphasised the need for diversification — moving beyond just grain production to harness resources for dairy farming, poultry, horticulture, livestock rearing, and aquaculture.

The initiation of the policy of liberalisation and a free market economy in the 1990s fundamentally influenced the course of Indian agriculture, opening it up to new market forces and challenges.

Growth of Agricultural Output and Technology

Over the last 50 years, there has been a significant increase in both agricultural output and the technology used to produce it.

• Production and yield of many crops, especially rice and wheat, have increased at an impressive rate. The production of sugarcane, oilseeds, and cotton has also increased appreciably.
• Expansion of irrigation has played a crucial role. It provided the basis for introducing modern agricultural technology — HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and farm machinery. The net irrigated area in the country has also increased.
• Modern agricultural technology has diffused very fast. Consumption of chemical fertilisers has increased by 15 times since the mid-1960s. Because HYV seeds are highly susceptible to pests and diseases, the use of pesticides has also increased significantly since the 1960s.

Recent Initiatives

Two key government initiatives reflect the current direction of agricultural policy:

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) …