Q.What are the causes for low productivity in agriculture in India? Suggest some measures to improve it.

Productivity (output per hectare / per worker) in Indian agriculture is low because of natural, socio-economic, institutional and technological weaknesses; it can be raised by land reforms, irrigation, modern inputs, credit, better marketing and mechanisation.

This is a two-part 10-mark question from the AP Intermediate 2nd-year Economics agriculture unit: first the causes, then the measures.

A. Causes of low productivity

General / natural causes

1. Pressure of population on land — too many people depend on a limited area of farmland, lowering output per worker.
2. Dependence on the monsoon — a large part of farming is rain-fed, so output falls in years of poor or uneven rainfall.
3. Soil erosion and loss of fertility due to over-cultivation and poor conservation.

Socio-economic causes

4. Small and fragmented holdings that make modern methods and machinery uneconomical.

5. Defective land tenure / land ownership systems and insecurity of tenancy, which reduce the incentive to invest.

6. Rural illiteracy and conservatism, which slow the adoption of new techniques.

Institutional and technological causes

7. Inadequate and costly credit, forcing dependence on moneylenders.

8. Poor irrigation facilities leaving much land dependent on rain.

9. Old and traditional methods of cultivation with low use of improved seeds, fertilisers and machinery.

10. Defective marketing and lack of storage, so farmers get low and uncertain prices.

B. Measures to improve productivity

1. Land reforms — abolition of intermediaries, security of tenancy and consolidation of holdings.
2. Assured irrigation through canals, tanks, wells and micro-irrigation to reduce monsoon dependence.
3. Use of high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, fertilisers and pesticides (the Green Revolution package).
4. Cheap and timely institutional credit through cooperatives, banks and Kisan Credit Cards.
5. Improved marketing, warehousing and minimum support prices so farmers earn remunerative prices. …