Future of Agriculture in India, Jobs and Opportunities

India is such a country where most people earn their living through agriculture. As per the report in the year 2018, people employed in the agriculture sector are 50%. The Green revolution was an attempt that created success in agriculture of India with its high yield variety of seeds. It is also true that this movement has increased the productivity of the land in India. But, that success of agriculture in India has become a history. Presently if you have a look at the graph of Indian agriculture, productivity has become absolutely stagnant. As a result, the farmer’s income has declined in a considerable way. Other unfavorable conditions in the farming process include contamination of groundwater, water table depletion, pollution of the earth’s surface, the negative effect of greenhouse gases.

The present situation of the agriculture sector in India

The agriculture sector in India is not in a favorable condition. Rather, the farmers and the workers associated with the agriculture department are in a state of distress. The maximum effect of the Indian agriculture system falls mostly on the marginal farmers. Thus, the government needs to take immediate action on such a miserable situation in Indian agriculture.

Assurance by government

The Indian government has come to know about the unfavorable situation of Indian agriculture. Also, he has replied with assurance to the Indian farmers. The government also said that by 2024 the income of the farmers will be double. But, this is a very ambitious target. According to the finance ministry, there will be various hurdles that one needs to cross in order to gain success in the Indian farming approach as well as food security. In order to achieve the height where the government wishes the Indian agriculture to be, everyone needs to face the hurdles in the way.

The effect of the rainbow revolution

According to the survey in the year 2013, the average yield of cereals in India is quite less as compared to the yields in other countries. And all those countries also include low-income nations. When the average yield of cereals is compared with China, it is found out that the yield is low by 39% in India. Thus, this is one of the major barriers to the agriculture of India. The countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh as well as Vietnam have better production in agriculture as compared to India. Punjab and Haryana are two important areas where the production of rice is higher as compared to other states within India. Thus, the overall result of the farming process is declining productivity.

As a remedy, the experts and researches of agriculture have introduced a step. It is known as the rainbow revolution. In this agricultural productivity strategy, there will be a shift right from the wheat rice cycle to other pulses and cereals. This process has been a great benefit to farmers. The MSP or the minimum support price comes with wheat and rice along with the input subsidy, the farmers have come to gain a huge input subsidy. Thus, the growth of these crops in the Northwest region of India has improved the lower productivity as well as the yield of agriculture.

What are the measures to be taken to improve the agricultural sector?

The recent downfall of income in the agricultural sector has de-motivated thousands of farmers in this sector. Also, the agriculture departments of government offices are suffering a lot. Thus, it is very important to take up steps so that there is a uniform gain in the yield as well as improvement of farmer’s income. Following are some of the strategies which are necessary for the development of this sector:

• The considerable supply chain must be introduced to link the domestic as well as international market
• Research on agriculture, as well as improvement of policies in this sector, is essential
•  Initiation of profit-making in farming with well experienced agricultural strategists
• The agricultural sector must be treated as a business. Also, the farmers should be regarded as the entrepreneurs of that business
• The plan must be made to extend the irrigation area for the growth in the sector
• Educating the framers to bridge the knowledge gap
• Making some improvement in the incentive structure of the farmers
• There must be a proper promotion of the areas like animal husbandry as well as fisheries.
• Credit-lending must be quite affordable
• The micro-level initiative must be propelled for effective growth in agriculture
• Must have refocused on the land reforms that is losing its importance in the present days
• Watershed development is another step for improving the yield of the agriculture sector
• The rainwater harvesting must be initiated to make the future of agriculture strong
• Water shield development must be promoted
• Another step must be water harvesting to improve agricultural production

Along with these, sustainable agriculture also helps the Agriculture industry in volumes. Sustainable agriculture is farming done with a goal to meet society’s food and textile needs in the present without compromising the ability of future. Sustainable agriculture also helps to achieve and maintain a sustainable food supply. This helps in the overall growth of the agriculture industry.

Smart agriculture also promotes the growth of the agriculture industry through upgraded agriculture technology. Smart agriculture is sustainable agriculture that uses technologies such as Big Data, cloud-based services, GPS, and IoT. Technologies such as livestock biometrics, agricultural robots, infrastructural health sensors, and Machine-to-Machine are increasingly being accepted by the agriculture sector to save labor costs, and maximize quality, productivity, sustainability, and profitability. Smart agriculture involves data collection and analysis, high-precision crop control, and automation of farming techniques. Implementation of smart agriculture with diverse crops will result in the growth of the farming industry as it can boost farming productivity by huge quantity. But fewer, educated farmers can effectively use this smart farming and to create awareness among the uneducated farmers is also important.

The agricultural industry will prosper with the effective use of agriculture technology. Organic farming with precision agriculture helps to tackle the stagnated agricultural growth and improve Agricultural productivity by a huge margin.

Precision agriculture (PA) – one of the modern agriculture technology is a farming management concept based on observing, measuring and responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops.

Precision agriculture uses inputs such as nutrients, pesticides, seeds or water in a strategic way to improve productivity and resource efficiency. The agricultural industry with the help of this precision farming will prosper as farming through this method will cut the costs and help small-scale farmers, and exert minimal environmental impact.

Plant genetic resources – the genetic material of plants, which is of value as a resource for present and future generations of people. For the agricultural industry or sector to survive, plant genetic resources have to be conserved and passed on for future generations.

Organic farming – a Farming system aimed at cultivating the land and raising crops with maintaining the fertility of the soil with good health by use of organic wastes such as crop, animal and farm wastes, aquatic wastes and other biological materials along with beneficial microbes (bio-fertilizers). Organic wastes also help in releasing nutrients to crops for increased sustainable production in an Eco-friendly pollution-free environment. Organic farming carried out with diverse crops results in farming productivity and will scale up farmers’ income as well.

The negative environmental consequence in agriculture

The weather condition also has a negative effect on Indian agricultural productivity. Weathering of the soil from the top of the land is one of the negativity that holds the success of the agricultural sector back. Other negative environmental consequence includes the emission of greenhouse gases. The depletion of the water table is another negative environmental consequence in the agricultural world. The farmers did not receive enough incentive in spite of working day and night. However, there has been a minor enhancement of MSP. But, after the analysis of the experts, it was realized that the minimum support prices so quoted was not enough.

The annual growth rate of the agricultural sector in the year 2000-2006 with the share of GDP

What are the challenges in the Indian agricultural sector?

One can easily observe the ups and downs in the production as well as the growth of agriculture in the Indian economy. But, it is equally important to realize the challenges. Following are the list of challenges which the agricultural sector of Indian is suffering from:

• The poor facility of water management and irrigation
• The downfall in the productivity
• The effect of government intervention which resulted in a violation of market
• No proper organization in insurance as well as credit
• Deterioration in the agricultural research
• Lack of marketing strategy
• Weathering of topsoil due to cutting down of trees
• The very slow rate of growth in agro-processing unit
• The downfall in the private and public investment

The barrier in agricultural development in India

Different types of barriers work together to become an obstacle in agricultural development in India. The two major resources such as water as well as cultivable land were not enough for agriculture in India. Fragmentation is also a reason for the decrease in the cultivable land as the population increases in the nation. As compared to other agricultural-based countries, India has quite less quantity of water. The export of virtual water which further is embedded in crops is one of the reasons for low productivity in Indian agriculture. In the year 2010, it was reported that the water embedded in agricultural export was around 25 cu km. As a result, if it is calculated every year it will be 1%.

Step to overcome the agricultural barrier

In order to overcome the land and water scarcity in India, the strategy of micro-irrigation should be adopted. This must be initiated to make full and wise utilization of the scarce water present in the environment. In this connection, a study has been conducted in 13 states and 64 districts in India. This is done by the authority named the National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture on micro-irrigation. It has been found out that though the use of fertilizers, as well as water, was reduced, even then the production of the crops has increased. For example, gram is increased by 20%, wheat by 45% and soybean by 40%.

Investment by public and private sector in the Indian economy

Indian agriculture has lack of finance due to its low productivity. Thus, it requires the investment help to meet the expenses of research & development, irrigation, electricity as well as rural infrastructure. The private, as well as the public sector, has extended its help in a considerable way. The below mention graph will give a vivid idea about it.
Following are some of the ways to increase the funds

1. New marketing and supply chain model
It is very important for the Agri sector to have revamped when it is concerned about the level of the supply chain. The areas are irrigation facility, input delivery, cold storage, diversification of farmers, credit irrigation, etc. Some of the other places where it must stand upright are efficient processing, competitive retailing, warehousing, better marketing techniques, etc.

2. Agri insurance and credit
There must be policies where the Agri credit, as well as insurance, increased. It is a true fact that the farmers’ debt is increasing day by day. The reason behind it is the scarcity of the organized credit. The pathetic point in the agricultural unit is the fact that due to lack of credit, the framers are not in a position to get the improved seeds, modern technology in farming as well as fertilizers that can help in getting better farming land.

What changes must be made in the Indian agriculture sector?

It is very important to have proper food security in our country’s economy. This is the reason why the government must take certain steps:

• It is very important to get the agricultural sector restructured in India
  Incorporation of the steps like collective farming as well as corporate farming must be taken
• The price of Agri products is increasing due to a mismatch in demand and supply. The step must be taken to get it optimized
• Some products price must be increased so that the profitability of the agricultural sector can increase. As a result, the farmers can also get benefitted
• It has been found out that the land for farming is limited. Since it cannot be increased, there lies a constraint always. But, there is a way to fill in this gap. The increase in agricultural productivity is one of the ways connected to this.
• As the population increases, the demand for food will rise. As a result, there will be an increase in the price of food
• With the increase in employment opportunities in the rural sector, The burden on the agricultural sector will decrease. As a result, the government will be in a position to go ahead with the fine-tuning of the policies.

India losing its agricultural recovery growth phases

According to the government reports, the highest growth in Indian agriculture took place within the year 2004-2014. But, soon after that, the growth in agriculture has become zero. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with the farmers to discuss the problems of farmers within the agricultural despair. Also, there was a promise from the end of the prime minister where he promised to double the income of the farmers by the year 2024.

A data has been presented from the end of the government where it was observed that in the financial year 2017-18 the growth in the productivity of agriculture was 2.1 percent. Whereas a year before, the growth rate was 4.9 percent. Thus, it is not at all a good sign. The monsoon was normal. But, in some years the rainfall was below average.

A committee was formed with the objective of doubling the farmer’s income. The economists working under Modi has reported on suppressing the crucial facts. The research has been conducted where 100 experts were involved. All of them have the opinion that the agriculture sector in India is suffering from a great crisis. But the period between 2004-2014 has seen the highest growth phase of the agriculture sector. Thus, it is also known as the revamp phase, the growth rate was however not very uniform.

Companies dealing with agricultural products in India

There are several companies that are going through agricultural activities in India. Following are some of the names with the detail:

1. RCF – This is the company where the primary product is fertilizer. The sale of the fertilizer in this organization is around Rs 8455 crore. Its profitability is stated as Rs 211.58 crore.
2. MONSANTO- Here the particular product on which the company concentrates is none other than pesticides/agrochemicals. The sales figure for this is Rs 391.25 crore. The profitability so achieved by the company is Rs 73.54. The total market price so established is Rs 1570.
3. Jain Irrigation- Primary product in which the company deals is known as a drip irrigation system. The sales figure was 2188 crore. The profitability is 122 crore. The market price in this regard is Rs 650.
4. DCM SHRIRAM- This Company does not deal with one or two products. Rather, the product range is diversified. The sales figure in this regard is Rs 3596 crore. The company has a profit margin of Rs 101.8 crore.
5. M&M- The primary product that is involved over here is the tractor. Yes, this is the agricultural product on which the total business of this company runs. The total sales have a figure of Rs 13093 crore. Also, the profitability in this regard is Rs 836 crore.
6. Tata Chemicals- Agri based organization has the main product as the inorganic chemicals. The sales figure in this regard is Rs 8574 crore. Also, the profitability in this regard is Rs 452 crore. The overall market price is stated as Rs 221.
7. United Phosphorous- The specialty of the particular Agri based company is none other than chemicals. The sales figure remains as Rs 2437. Also, profitability is Rs 147.74.
8. Avanta- This is the organization that deals with several types of products. Some of the products associated with it are tissue culture, biotechnology as well as seeds. The sales figure for this is Rs 129 crore. The profit in this company is only Rs 8.5 crore
9. Rallis- This is the company in India that is based on agrochemicals as well as pesticides. The profitability as acquired by the company is 71.88 crores. But the sales price of the company is Rs 852 crore. The market price is 76,85 crore.
10. Chambal- The main focus of this company is fertilizer. The sale price in this regard is Rs 4643 crore. The profit in this regard is not less than Rs 101.8 crore.

Due to these agri based companies and many more, the employment opportunities have increased. The framers may not be in a state to provide a good return due to the lack of increasing productivity. There is a good chance to have better productivity if the government takes up some steps. The credit for the farmers must be increased. This can easily boost the productivity of several crops.

Careers and job opportunities in the field of agriculture

Despite several ups and downs in the Indian agricultural sector, there are still scopes for individuals to take up agriculture as their career. Let us discuss some of the positions and their opportunities in various dimensions of the agricultural sector. The following are the positions where you can get a better career.

1. Agricultural engineering
One of the reasons for the lack of uniform productivity in the agricultural sector is due to the primitive and traditional way of farming. Most of the farmers are still not aware of modern technology. With the help of agricultural engineering designing as well as the building of framing, the equipment can take place. The 5 main areas are focused here.

Those are:

• Soil conservation
• Rural electricity
• Farm equipment
• Drainage and irrigation

An agriculture engineer has the primary task to ensure the process, as well as all the agricultural equipment, are working properly.

The career opportunities for agriculture engineer

There are wider scopes for an individual completing the course of agriculture engineering. Those include

• Structuring of the farms
• Designing in agriculture layout
• Research and development
• Surveyor
• Providing consultancy services to various government and private organizations

2. Horticulture
Many people are quite fascinated with gardening and flowering. This comes under the horticulture. Some people also have a dream to make a garden filled with all types of exotic plants. If you are one among them, you can easily have a wonderful career in connection with that.

A career in the field of horticulture

If you can get a proper degree from a reputed institute following are the ways you can get development in your career:

• You can get involved in landscaping (includes maintaining and designing residential or commercial gardens with flowering trees).
• Get a career of Viticulturist ( here cultivation of grapes takes place)
• You can also choose a career as a Pomologist ( involves the cultivation of fruits)
• Floriculturist ( dealing with flowering trees and flowers)

3. Dairy technology
This is the particular field that is concerned with the production of milk as well as processing the same. This also includes collection as well as storage of milk. It is important to find out whether the production of milk is suitable for consumption.

A career in the field of milk technology

An individual has to complete his/ her b- tech in dairy technology. There are many dairy companies where you can pursue your career. Some of the positions where you can work are:

• Be a supervisor having the charge of dairy production
• You can also work to make a strategic alliance
• One can build up his/ her career as an entrepreneur and deal with several dairy products.

4. Poultry farming
This is also a type of farming where the birds, ducks, and chicken are procured for the distribution of eggs and meat to the mass which is also called the consumers. The individual involved in this trade has to manage a wide range of activities such as feed supply, shed management, boosting the nutritional standard, etc.

A career in the field of poultry farming

There are various positions where an individual can get a good career. Those are:

• Poultry farm manager
• Breeder
• Production technologists
• Poultry house designer
• Processing technologists

Conclusion

To conclude, agriculture in India suffered a lot due to different reasons. Sometimes the scarcity of land played an active role in it. The lack of proper irrigation facilities is another drawback of Indian agriculture. Due to the construction of multi-storied buildings and flats, the trees are been cut down, As a result, weathering of the topsoil takes place. The lack of credit to the farmers has been another negative element in the agricultural rich country. But, even after all these evil, the future of agriculture with regards to job opportunities and career is not low. There are many colleges and universities that conduct several diplomae and degree courses. The passed out students are directly absorbed by the agro-based companies. They are offered several prestigious positions.