One-third of our national income comes from agriculture. Our economy is based on agriculture. The development of agriculture has a lot to do with the economic well-being of our country. Our agriculture remained undeveloped for a long time. We did not produce enough food for the citizens of our country.
Our country had to buy grains from other countries, but things are changing now. India produces more grains than it needs. Some cereal grains are sent to other countries for their requirement.
Innovations in the agriculture sectors
Great improvements have been done in agriculture through Five Year Plans. Now the country has sufficient food grains. It can directly export surplus food grains and agricultural products to other countries. Currently, India ranks first in the world in the production of tea and groundnut.
It ranks second globally in the cultivation of rice, sugarcane, jute and oilseeds. Until the recent past, before independence, our agriculture was dependent on rain.
As a result, our agricultural production was very small. In case the monsoons were good, we had good crops, and in case the monsoons were not good, the crops failed, and there was a famine in some parts of the country.
Green Revolution
After independence, our government made plans to develop its agriculture.
Dams were built across many of the major rivers, and canals were dug to provide water for irrigating the country. Farmers were supplied with tube wells and pumping sets to irrigate fields where canal water could not reach. The use of better seeds, fertilizers and new techniques in agriculture brought about a revolution called the Green Revolution. Our agricultural production has increased manifold, but the progress is still sufficient. Our population is growing at a rapid rate. We make friends with millions of new mouths every year. We need to check this rapidly growing population. Farmers depended mainly on rainwater for irrigation. There were very few canals and tube wells. Use of tractors like Sonalika Tractor and others were in touch to improve the quality of soil and in the production of crops.
Five-Year Plans
As part of the five-year plans, our government has built dams on many rivers. These dams include Chakra-Nangal Project, Damodar Valley Project, Hirakud Dam, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Krishna Sagar Dam and Mettur Dam. Water is stored in large lakes and reservoirs to generate electricity for our industry and agriculture. Canals take water from barriers to distant lands for irrigation. Our land was losing its fertility, having been continuously cultivated for years. Cattle dung, the best form of manure, is in use as fuel.
Use of manure
The use of manure and fertilizers helps restore soil fertility. Many new fertilizer factories are in touch of the government. Some chemical fertilizers are imported from other countries. The government supplies enough fertilizer to farmers. The use of these “chemical fertilizers increased the amount of our agricultural production. Our farmers used primitive methods of farming.
With the help of an AC Tractor Price, farmers shift or carry their crops to the market for selling. For years, they sowed seeds that they produced themselves. These seeds were of poor quality, and the yield was low.
HYV Seeds
Now farmers are with high-yielding varieties from government farms. These improved, and better seeds have greatly raised our agricultural production. The area of cultivated land is decreasing year by year. More land is in need to build houses, factories, roads and other buildings. Therefore, the area of cultivated land is decreasing. More barren waste and killing land should be reclaimed and ploughed to solve this shortage Insects and diseases cause great damage to crops Crops must be protected from pests and insects to achieve sufficient yield Government to farmers supplies pesticides and insecticides at subsidised rates.
Use of Pesticides
The use of pesticides and insecticides has increased the quantity and quality of agricultural production.
The soil was losing its fertility by sowing the same crops year after year. Crop rotation is a good method to get a better yield from the land. Changing the crop structure makes the soil fertile and produces better crops. Farmers began to rotate crops.
Our farmers use old methods and old tools in their farming. Our farmers have been using wooden ploughs for centuries. She couldn’t plough the soil deep enough. Iron ploughs are now in use. These ploughs can work the soil deeper and prepare the field for sowing in less time. Banks and cooperative societies provide loans to farmers at low-interest rates. Farmers used these loans to buy new tools, fertilizers, improved seeds and agricultural machinery. Many farmers now use tractors to plough, sow and harvest crops.
They bought new tools for farming. Farming became easier and more convenient.
The emergence of Agricultural study
This gave agricultural production in our country forward. Now the government is trying to educate farmers. They give young farming students all kinds of knowledge related to agricultural sciences. These colleges and universities organize orientation courses for farmers.
These courses train people in modern farming techniques and methods. Doordarshan and Aakashvani also educate farmers about new techniques in agriculture.
Programmes launched by the government
They launched special programmers like Krishl Darshan and Kheti KiBaten exclusively for farmers. The government is trying to help farmers in many ways. It set up agencies like the Food Corporation of India to buy farm produce directly from farmers at government rates so that middlemen don’t have to rip off farmers. We, therefore, make every effort to develop our agriculture and support agricultural production, and we should not rest here. We should continue our efforts to expand our agriculture further.