Agriculture is the primary occupation of about 55% of India’s workforce and contributes ~16-18% of GDP. India ranks 2nd in global agricultural output.
Types of Farming
| Type |
Characteristics |
Regions |
| Subsistence |
Small plots; traditional methods; family consumption |
Scattered across all regions |
| Intensive |
High inputs per unit area; multiple crops/year |
Indo-Gangetic plains, deltaic regions |
| Commercial |
Market-oriented; cash crops |
Plantations (tea, coffee, rubber), cotton belt |
| Plantation |
Large estates; single crop; capital-intensive |
NE India (tea), Karnataka/Kerala (coffee) |
| Shifting (Jhum) |
Forest clearing; cultivation 2-3 years then abandonment |
NE hill states (Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal) |
Cropping Seasons
| Season |
Sowing |
Harvest |
Major Crops |
States |
| Kharif |
June-July (monsoon) |
Sep-Oct |
Rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, jute, groundnut, sugarcane |
All India (rainfed) |
| Rabi |
Oct-Dec (post-monsoon) |
March-April |
Wheat, barley, gram, mustard, peas, linseed |
Punjab, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan |
| Zaid |
April-June (summer) |
June-July |
Watermelon, cucumber, fruits, fodder |
Gangetic plains (irrigated) |
Cropping Patterns
- Rice-wheat rotation: Dominant in Punjab, Haryana, UP (Green Revolution belt)
- Rice-rice: Eastern India (WB, Odisha, AP, TN) — high rainfall/irrigated
- Cotton-wheat: Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana
- Groundnut-rice: Gujarat, Tamil Nadu
- Jute-rice: West Bengal, Assam
Green Revolution
| Phase |
Period |
Focus |
Impacts |
| First |
1967-1985 |
Wheat & rice (High Yielding Varieties); Punjab, Haryana, UP |
Self-sufficiency; regional concentration |
| Second |
1980s-90s |
Rice in Eastern India; oilseeds, pulses |
Expanded coverage |
| Third |
2000s+ |
Horticulture, organic, sustainable agriculture |
Focus on nutrition and environment |
Key Components
- High Yielding Variety seeds (Norman Borlaug’s wheat varieties; IR8 rice)
- Chemical fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium)
- Irrigation expansion (tube wells, canals)
- Pesticides and herbicides
- Government policies: MSP (Minimum Support Price), PDS, subsidies
- Agricultural credit and extension services
Issues
- Regional disparities (Punjab-Haryana vs. Eastern India)
- Groundwater depletion (Punjab water table declining 0.5-1m per year)
- Soil degradation (salinity, alkalinity, nutrient exhaustion)
- Input-intensive farming: environmental and health costs
- Smallholder distress: 86% farmers are small and marginal (<2 hectares)
Current Challenges
| Challenge |
Description |
| Climate change |
Erratic monsoons; heat stress on crops; extreme weather |
| Water scarcity |
Per capita water availability declining; 80% used for agriculture |
| Land fragmentation |
Average landholding size: 1.08 hectares (2015-16); declining further |
| Market access |
APMC issues; less than 10% farmers access MSP; e-NAM limited |
| Post-harvest losses |
10-15% of produce wasted in storage and transport |
| Rural-urban migration |
Farm labor shortage; women left behind to manage farms |
Government Initiatives
- PM-KISAN: ₹6,000/year cash transfer to small farmers (since 2019)
- PM Fasal Bima Yojana: Crop insurance (2016)
- Soil Health Card: Free soil testing (2015)
- e-NAM: Online agricultural trading platform (2016)
- Agriculture Infrastructure Fund: ₹1 lakh crore for post-harvest infrastructure (2020)
