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The issues which face India for food production in the next 20 years can be broadly
categorized into three main areas: (1) international forces (biotechnology and its
regulation, intellectual property laws, the force and financial power of transnational
corporations and their agendas), (2) environmental issues (water scarcity and drought,
pollution and urbanization, mono-cropping and soil health, herbicide and insecticide use
and runoff) and (3) infrastructural (food distribution, market access) all of which are
being exacerbated by population growth and increased production needs.
My impressions from the 3 week visit to south India lead me to believe that the future of
Indian agriculture resides very much in the hands of private companies and not in that of
the public. India has been one of the more protectionist countries in opening up their
economy, and in being so has managed to protect their middle-class fairly effectively.
However more and more it seems that foreign interests are lodging into the agricultural
market, through biotechnology and agribusiness. Meanwhile public funding for
agricultural research continues to decline (both locally and internationally) and so the
agendas for future production are veering in the direction of private research funding. It
seems that this era of government decentralization and liberalization coupled with
unregulated multi-national corporations entering the market will lead India into a few
decades of being the ‘guinea pig’ for various new technologies and private enterprise. In
the end this will do nothing to further the lives of the small farmers, collectively, though a
few, individually, will manage to benefit from these technologies in some small way.
As a spin off of this, production of staples will continue to grow despite current adequate
supplies, but infrastructure (a public good) will not improve in step and there will still be
storage and continued distribution problems. Production of legumes and other
nutritionally valuable crops will continue to decline as there is little economic return and
high risks to farmers, with little research in the pipeline to improve its production. Long
term implications for the health of the poor, who can’t afford meat or dairy, will manifest
itself as increased incidence of protein energy malnutrition, infant and child mortality.
High value crops like vegetables will continue to improve, and begin to be exported in
greater quantities. These nutritionally important foods will also miss the mouths of the
poorest.
Short term versus long term successes must be separated in looking at the future of Indian
agriculture. In the short term it seems likely that there is much to be gained among those
investing in agriculture in a land with a large labor supply, a hands-off government and a
dire need for improved technologies. In the long term, however, it remains to be seen
who will be the real beneficiaries of short term growth, and how much of that ‘growth’
can be sustained in the long term.
Dana Terpening INTAG 602
January 27, 2005 Post trip assignment
Drylands are the fulcrum around which the Indian economy revolves. Despite the
impressive irrigation potential created over the years, India continues to depend on
drylands for meeting the ever growing challenge of production for the continuously
developing human and livestock population. Multi-cropping systems have been used by
farmers for centuries. There are several benefits of cropping systems; such as overall
crop production, reducing economic risks and protecting the fertility of the soil. Proper
water, nutrients, and sunlight. I will be focusing on the important issues about multi-
cropping systems in dryland India. I will look at the past progress, future problems and
the intercropping of sunflower and pigeonpea, soybean and maize, pigeonpea and
groundnut, and coffee and pepper to name a few. Performance of cotton varieties in
sustainable. Soil is the major resource upon which sustainable cropping depends. Soil
management is thus a key element in the management of cropping systems, both for
Due to its vast and diverse farm land, its large numbers of people skilled in
agriculture, and its drive and vision for the future, I feel that India will prove to be a
major player in the world economy in the next twenty years. The most prominent change
I foresee is a shift from the small, 1-2 hectare farms in low-population villages to larger
land area, more mechanized, product-producing farms run by multiple people, either
within families or villages, but possibly extending beyond and hiring others if extra labor
is required.
There are several reasons why I take this view; and I focus on it because I
consider it to a be the focal indicator of almost all the other changes I saw occurring in
allowing the consumer to streamline his or her workload by only stopping at one or two
shops during routine errands, rather than more frequent visits to a local farmer’s market.
With food totaling approximately half of the household income, families may spend the
extra time to get cheap, high-quality produce at the markets, but the value of time over
money may become more important as incomes and job markets shifts, causing people to
Most farmers have very low production, making transportation, processing, and
storage of products difficult. Because the people do not have the capital to buy more land
and the equipment to deal with larger harvests, this currently poses a problem for rapid
advancement in these areas. However, with population growth, and its migration to
urban areas, food scarcity may become a problem if Indian farmers do not increase their
industries helping farmers produce the product. For instance, contract farming would
allow more stability to farmers’ incomes, which could prove important in a region with a
heavy dependence on rain. Processing plants could expand the potential uses and value
for a number of crops. Because of these changes, I expect farmer conglomeration and
farm size expansion, allowing the streamlining of goods to occur, which may be
beneficial to the progressive person, but detrimental to poor and uneducated people who
The population of India is already over one billion people. Approximately 16 percent of
the world’s population lives in India. Furthermore, a significant amount of India’s
citizens are extremely impoverished, living on less than a dollar a day. As India’s
population continues to grow more stress will be put on the food system. It appears that
the main problems concerning the food system are related to distribution. Certain regions
of India produce surpluses of agricultural products. Meanwhile, there are starving
Indians in neighboring states. Often the surplus products are exported. Sometimes the
products are exported because they command a higher price in the international market,
while other times they are exported because the infrastructure prevents interregional
trade. The government and numerous NGO’s recognize that meeting the food needs of
India’s growing population will be one of the biggest challenges facing India and they
have been addressing the issue.
It should be noted that India is poised to meet the challenge of the increased food needs
of the growing population. Biotechnology has the potential to increase yields by
reducing losses due to pests and disease. In addition, investments in irrigation systems
have helped to reduce crop losses due to inadequate rainfall. Further advance in
productivity and efficiency are also likely to occur with increase mechanization and
adoption of appropriate technology.
Trade liberalization will also influence the future of agriculture in India. As trade
barriers are reduced many sectors will have difficulty competing with their foreign
counterparts. In addition, mandates such as those imposed by the Agreement on
Agriculture restrict the government’s ability to subsidize farmers. On the other hand,
some sectors will benefit from increased demand for exports. Furthermore, trade disputes
such as the recent EU sugar case and the US prawn dispute will continue to disrupt
trading patterns.
Katherine Skovira
kas225@cornell.edu
January 27, 2005
INTAG 602
Indian Agriculture: Implications in 20 Years
The main issues facing India today are daunting, including educational,
agricultural and political issues. India’s close neighbor, China, has a fast-growing
population and a booming industry― not to mention that its overabundance of cheap
labor― and politics between the two are losing coherence. India’s need for educating the
general public, and pulling up women to the same educational and occupational standards
agricultural system. In the next 20 years, not only will India’s huge population require
even greater relief efforts for its starving poor, it will also compete with China for access
to fuel and commodity supplies as their huge populations seek ever higher standards of
living (Economist.com, Clash, 11/4/04). By this time one can hope for smoother
advocacy following the water and sanitation issues resulting from the tsunami of
December 2004. The disastrous implications in the areas of sanitation, food and drinking
water supplies, and feasible employment in the agricultural south of India and the borders
on the Indian Ocean merely amplify problems requiring not only immediate efforts to
channel resources to the needy but also long-standing goals to better organize workers to
struggling members. The importance of education not only to farmers but also to the next
generation of people demands equal opportunity for education across gender lines. A big
issue today is the inability of women to gain an education equal to that of their husbands
simply due to marriage responsibilities. One of the greatest tragedies I heard about over
the trip was a young Indian woman who told me why her goal of gaining a PhD is
hindered by her duty to her parents to marry by the time she is 24 to ensure continuation
of her family line and allow her younger sisters to marry after her. By limiting such a
huge segment of the population from attaining their greatest potential and helping to
alleviate the problems within agriculture and the government as a whole, India is
preventing itself from positive development. I realize that I have laid out many issues
Keith Poe
The largest issue for agriculture in India will be population growth. Already having a
billion plus people, the population growth over the next generation will inevitably create
a greater strain on the overall economy, specifically the agriculture sector. Also, having
such a large percentage of the population living under the poverty line, it would seem
imperative to do something about this. A solution is to use better seed varieties which
would increase yields and generate more income for the farmer. One would almost need
to create another Green Revolution, with genetically modified seeds and better farming
techniques being a key player in the process. Despite any potential political fallout
regarding the use of these seeds, I think it is the only way for the greater efficiencies to be
reached. This may need a greater involvement by the government to create incentives
and a positive policy environment for private firms to do research and marketing of their
Farmer extension also needs to be a bigger priority. This could be either through
government offices or the public sector, but I think a major effort has to be made to
educate farmers with regards to the higher efficiencies needed if they are to survive
Kenya Konno
After 30 years the green revolution, agriculture in India almost achieved the self
sufficiency. In fact, I could see enough food in many street and markets in this trip.
However, I also saw and anticipate some issues and challenges of Indian agriculture as
followings;
Health problem will be a big issue in Indian agriculture in near future. Water quality
will be one issue. It is because people rely on wells to get drinking water in rural areas
but also having used considerable amount of chemical fertilizer and pesticides after the
green revolution. In some area such as Rajasthan, people use water resource to dyeing
clothes with chemical stains. The water is limited but the population is increasing. The
water quality problems will become more and more serious. Pesticides residue may be
another issue. When we went to the farmers market in the trip, some farmers were
talking that they are using pesticides every day, even the day before harvest. More
introductions of BT crops with pest resistance or promotion of Integrated Pest
Management would be discussed as solutions.
Keri McGeehan
1/28/05
To whom it may concern,
One of the most important details I learned throughout my stay in India, was that
agriculture is the means of livelihood for about two--thirds of the work force in the
country, and has always been India’s most important economic sector.
Because of India’s growing population and the countries need for self sufficiency
in food production many approaches had to take place. Such approaches were additional
land area had to be cultivated, new means of irrigation facilities, better seed varieties,
better faming techniques, water management, farmer education and plant protection.
The most memorable field trip while in India was to a government sponsored
market which provided price supports for farmers. These markets supplied transportation
for the farmers and their produce from their villages to the market place for selling in the
morning. The price was fixed as a whole sale price to eliminate the middle man
From pure observation I find urban India to be relying heavily on imports from
abroad, increasingly becoming aware of the conveniences of frozen and pre- packaged
foods in the international food bazaars. The domestic farmer will never be able to
compete with the quantity provided and price of the imported foods that now stock the
shelves. Most local farmers are being forced out of the agrarian society they were raised
migration and the incentives that need to be placed to keep farmers in food production for
India today. There are other issues, such as chain superstores and global markets, that
will also continue to affect the changing face of agriculture in India, as well as other parts
of the world.
1. 27. 2005
INTAG 602
Kyota Iizuka
Linston W. Terry
IARD 602 – 27 January 2005
India and Agriculture 2005 to 2025
crops they grow, mainly rice. India, only behind China, produces and
consumes more rice than any other nation in the world. Rice is life in India.
However, with a rising population, India may not have enough food, rice or
problems from surfacing over the next two decades. These problems include
India, land is, arguably, more important than rice. Currently, when a father
dies, his sons inherit equal share of the plot. This system will result in
technologies that allows India to plan for and tackle the problems described
above. This technology will include the exploration of systems for rice
Directorate for Rice Research have India’s problems in mind, and have
The green revolution and improvement in agronomical practices allowed India to become
self-sufficient in food production for a population that was at a high risk of facing famine
industries and the combine pressure of the internal and external factors discuss previously
will make India an importing country of food unless a second green revolution is push
biotechnology.
Agriculture is still the main stay for 680 millions of rural population in India. It
contributes 30% of the total income of the country employing 77% of the total work force
countries and fast growing economies as they transition from agricultural based to
The Indian situation is particularly interest due to the immense pressure that huge
particular is affected by these internal and external factors that will ultimately shaped
agricultural policies and practices. Indian agriculture will face the challenge of producing
more food on less arable land and resources at the same time increasing the nutritional
status of a large proportion of the population that lives under the poverty line were most
of nutrients are supply by staple crops such as rice which is nutritionally limited.
Another issue of importance is the inequalities face in particular by women and land-less
farmers who play a significant role in agriculture production, which limits them in terms
to access to loans, inputs and opportunities to overcome poverty. Globalization and
liberation of markets are the main external challenges facing India’s farmers that must
become more competitive in order to face the challenges presented by China and other
contributor to the emission of greenhouse effect gases that will have to take into
Luke Felkey
The Future of Indian Agriculture
The future of Indian agriculture as seen from the bus window looked bright. In
the cities I noticed burgeoning populations. I was astounded by the amount of food and
water that are required to feed these people. If I get the chance to go back I will examine
more the lands immediately surrounding the cities because this land must be more
productive that any other in the country because of the demands placed on them by these
booming cities.
India, because of its developing transport and linkages has a great opportunity in
its expanse over different climatic zones. While some countries in their entirety could
face drought and thus famine India can hedge against these problems. However, I
noticed great social inequality and I would suspect that if there was a major crisis in the
South, that the North would supply its surplus production.
Two other great movements in India will, I believe, greatly increase the
productive capabilities and equity of the Indian economy. Primarily, we saw in Goa a
movement toward government subsidization of the fishing industry. There were great
improvements in the lives of these people. Because of the government funding they were
maintaining the traditional family style fishing where father, son, and grandson worked
side by side. I have questions to how long this life style can continue without these
farmers looking to add value to their products. Also, we saw the government in action in
conjunction with ICRISAT at Kathopally watershed. I was amazed by the goals that they
had to restore the water table. Although there were benefits mostly to those who lived in
the proximity of the river, it was apparent that the village would benefit as the water table
rose.
I also noticed attempts to eliminate the middle man and make both farmer and
consumers the main benefactors of the system. The private fruit and vegetable auction
and the government farmer’s market are two methods that are being implemented to
eliminate the middleman. I visited a market at 6:00 am in Hyderabad that was soely run
by middle men who bought stalls and collected produce from farmers. I could see that
this was the system of the past. The government officials who oversaw this facility of
middle men remarked that the planned construction of the vegetable auction in
Hyderabad would affect them. However, I know that these new auctions will not take
hold immediately. Most of the transactions were happening at the middle men market.
The amount of produced bought and sold at this market dwarfed what was sold in the
other two markets combined.
Indian agriculture can be very well described by the term “diversity”, not only because of
the overwhelming number of species cultivated but also due to the variability in cropping
systems and geographic and climatic conditions. These characteristics in combination
with the internal pressure of an extremely large population make the agriculture sector of
India very unique.
Tremendous changes have taken place in the last 50 years in terms of food production.
During independence time, the agriculture production was not enough to fulfill internal
needs, so food supplies were primarily imported. In the late 1960’s and 1970’s, when
Green Revolution took place, the situation changed dramatically. The high yielding
varieties of cereal crops and the increase in application of fertilizers and chemicals
originated a self-sufficient agriculture sector in India. Nowadays, food supply is enough
to feed the current population of approximately 1 billion people and the Indian
Government can maintain food stocks that are distributed through the public system
(PDS) to reach the poorest social sector. Not only agriculture has made improvements but
also investments in the technology and service sectors have increased with the
consequence of poverty ratios decreasing from 51% in 1977 to 26% in 2000. However,
agricultural production in India faces many challenges in the near future.
Most of Indian agriculture is practiced at the small-scale farmer level. This is a limitation
both for the internal and external market. Internally, since farmers do not have access to
technology or cannot make investments on their farms, they do not have opportunities to
differentiate their products, increase production or obtain better prices on the market.
Externally, quality and stability of production can become a limiting factor to compete
with countries such as China, especially if subsidies are eliminated. Additionally, if
people with some level of education continue to move from agricultural activities to
industry-related jobs or migrate to cities, as it is happening today, the sector will be even
further depleted. Efficient water use and storage will be one of the most important aspects
of agriculture in the near future. Due to seasonality of rainfall and tropical temperature
regime, water management systems need to be implemented together with a good policy
to control water movement between Indian states. Farmer education, development of
water management technologies and government policies will play an essential role in
overcoming the limitation of this resource.
Even though food production is sufficient nowadays to cover the minimum feeding
requirements of Indian population, distribution is a major problem. The food is produced
but it does not reach the poorest people due to both infrastructure limitations and
economic reasons. Approximately 200 million people are under the poverty line and do
not own land, so feeding them is a responsibility that the government has to take until
economic growth and social policies can make a difference for the livelihood of those
people.
In general, India has a well developed technology sector with important research
capacities and diverse natural resources. It has reached the goal of being a self-sufficient
food producing country, so now it needs to improve other aspects. Infrastructure,
particularly road systems, has to be developed to assure better communication and
distribution of food. Water management systems should be implemented to avoid the
dependency on rainfall seasonality and make arid regions more productive and efficient
on agriculture. Extension work and social policies are responsibilities that the
government has to assume to help farmers increase their income and improve their living
conditions. We observed good examples of these initiatives during the trip, but efforts
should continue and multiply on that direction to be able to improve the livelihood of a
very large Indian population that will keep growing in the near future.
Patricia Jeon
IARD-602
January 27, 2005
Within any organization, marketing and advertising are integral to the success of
its products and higher profits. In the same way, the Indian government and NGOs need
to begin major marketing for the sectors of its agricultural economy that need to be
improved. At the same time, the government needs to give incentives for participation,
such as partial subsidies given to the fishermen. These two things must be done together,
not neglecting one or the other. During our trip, we saw a quick video on the unique
background of Indian coffee. A similar campaign on a larger scale will hopefully
increase the demand for coffee in the global market, therefore increasing prices and
incomes of the coffee producers.
Moving beyond the global market scheme, an integral part of Indian agriculture in
the next 20 years will be in its extension efforts. In the past, the public sector had
concentrated in extension efforts, but the future of extension depends more on NGO’s
and private sector. More importantly though, the partnerships between these sectors will
be necessary to make sure that all people benefit from extension efforts. For example,
while the private sector is great at finding efficient and cost-efficient solutions, it has a
difficult time spreading many of its resources and benefits to all recipients. Therefore, by
combining efforts with NGOs and the public sector, the best possible solution will
become available so that India’s agricultural sector will experience more distributed
growth.
The Sleeping Giant of Indian Agriculture
Pete Shelton
A paper on the issues, challenges and future directions I see for Indian agriculture
in the next 20 years.
Sarah Davidson
IARD 402
Post Trip Assignment
The movement of rural populations into the already congested and overpopulated
cities will likely have a dramatic effect on agriculture in India. In the short- term I would
anticipate labor shortages for carrying the labor load of the current agricultural systems.
According to the director of ICRISAT, this is likely to be followed by mass
consolidations of farms and an increase in mechanization.
As people move to cities in search of urban employment, most people will not be
involved in producing the food that they eat, opening up a great potential for the role of
post harvest food processing and fortification. With the populations concentrated in
cities, distribution issues will be less of a concern than they currently are. Thus,
strategies to improve crops such as the case of Golden Rice, will be less relevant since
the whole point of Golden Rice is to provide a means of growing a vitamin A source
food. In a non-rural setting there are simpler strategies, such as post harvest fortification,
that will be more effective.
The numbers of "landless poor" I would predict to skyrocket since the population
is still growing exponentially and, as discussed above, an urban migration is anticipated.
This will mean that more people will be spending more of their income on food, since
they will not be producing it themselves. This could have an effect on the market prices.
I expect to see a lot of transgenic crops being planted in India in the five or so
years. ICRISAT has several pest resistant pulses in field testing, and transgenic eggplant
is expected to be commercially available with in the next year or so. It is also likely that
transgenic rice will be commercialized in the near future. With a move toward large
consolidated farms, there will likely be less concern over how small farmers can manage
the costs of transgenic seeds, and on the other hand, the introduction of expensive
transgenic seed, may contribute negatively to the squeezing out of small farmers and
large farm consolidation.
I do hope that with the urban migration, more organization will have the foresight
to set up employment cooperatives such as that of Liijat.
Vanessa Ballenas
INTAG 602 post trip assignment
India is in the midst of developing agriculturally, economically and
technologically. With the help and influence of other countries around the world India is
catching up. However despite all their effort there are a number of challenges that are just
recently being assessed since they have been proven to be crucial to agricultural success.
Water, a molecule that is essential to the survival of all life, particularly
agriculture is a compound that is in short supply in the arid subcontinent of India. There
are only a few select months during the year that India gets delivered with steady
precipitation. In the past a significant amount of water was lost because no one at the
time had devised a way to preserve it for the dry months. As a result agriculture suffered.
Due to the minimal amount of water, farmers were forced to have monocultures, which
made their successful croplands more susceptible to disease and agricultural loss. Since
diversity in crops has been limited, people have been forced to consume what has been
available, even though these crops may not have contained the nutrients needed to ensure
one’s health.
At this point in time techniques have been devised and implemented in order to
slowly alleviate this problem. In rural areas, watersheds (with the help of sedimentation)
have been established to capture rain during the wet season, so it can be stored and
distributed to the croplands during the dry season. Certain plants have been found to
replenish the soil with nutrients while needing very little water. These plants are
strategically placed into the ground as a preparation to the planting of the croplands. As a
result of this system, not only are farmers more successful overall, but they are also able
to plant more than one type of flora at a time.
Better vegetation has in turn had a positive effect on Indian livestock. In India,
people rely on cows and water buffalo for their dairy products. However, the collection of
milk has a direct relationship with the grass they graze upon. When necessary vegetation
is limited, the volume of milk produced decreases considerably. This results in less
money for farmers who sell the milk and less availability of this essential product to the
public.
Besides water, biotechnology is another issue within agriculture. India uses
biotechnology to prevent crop losses and to decrease the use of pesticides. However,
despite some of the successes that have come along with technology, there have been a
number of setbacks. One current concern is the increased resistance of pests to genetic
modified plants. Initially GMOs worked ideally until pests became resistant to the
specialized gene. In order to combat this unfortunate situation scientists are developing
other practices concerning genetically modified plants, such as using more than one gene
thereby making it more difficult for pests to become resistant. Another aspect being
developed is the system of integrated pest management. These new developments provide
hope for success in agriculture in the near future.
In conclusion, new techniques and technology have helped India considerably and
will continue to do so in the future.