Date : 14/08/2023

Relevance – GS Paper 3 – Agriculture

Keywords – G20, Sustainable agriculture, Cultivation methods, SDGs

Context –

During its G20 presidency, the Indian government advocated for the advancement of technology-driven sustainable agriculture, encompassing methods such as natural, regenerative, and organic approaches.

Agriculture in India –

• The role of agriculture and its related activities is of utmost importance in India's economy.
• The country holds a significant position on the global stage in the field of agriculture, serving as a key contributor to the livelihoods of approximately 55% of its populace.
• India boasts several noteworthy achievements, including possessing the world's largest population of buffaloes, leading in the cultivation of major crops such as wheat, rice, and cotton, and holding the top spot as the largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices worldwide.
• Additionally, India ranks second in terms of fruit and vegetable production, tea cultivation, farmed fish output, cotton cultivation, sugarcane cultivation, wheat production, rice cultivation, and sugar production.
• Notably, India's agricultural sector also holds the distinction of having the world's second-largest expanse of agricultural land, playing a pivotal role in providing employment opportunities for roughly half of the nation's population.

Limitations and Challenges

• Supply and Affordability: Despite achieving food security with a production of 330 million metric tons of food grains, India falls short in meeting the demand for coarse cereals, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables. Moreover, a significant portion of the population cannot afford these essential food items, leading to a notable prevalence of malnourishment. This is evidenced by a substantial percentage of children suffering from malnutrition, with child wasting affecting around 19.3% of the population.
• Crop Productivity: India's crop productivity significantly lags behind that of advanced and emerging economies due to several factors. These include fragmented landholdings, limited farm mechanization, and insufficient public and private investments in the agricultural sector.
• Irrigation: Despite being the second-largest irrigated country globally, trailing only China, India faces a situation where only a third of its cultivated land receives irrigation. Given the monsoon-based climate, irrigation is a critical component for successful agriculture.
• Traditional Cultivation Methods: While certain regions have embraced agricultural mechanization, a substantial portion of the country still relies on manual labor and basic tools like wooden ploughs and sickles for farming operations.
• Pressing Challenges: The agricultural landscape in India grapples with pressing issues such as depleting natural resources, a rapidly growing population, increasingly severe weather events, and the amplified impact of climate change. These challenges have a disproportionately large effect on smallholder farmers who dominate the Indian and regional agricultural scene.
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): India's progress in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goals one, two, and three that are closely tied to agriculture, has not yet reached the desired levels.

Requirements for India's Agriculture

In order to achieve its objectives of enhancing agricultural profitability, expanding its global export share, and fostering sustainable development, India must address the following key areas:

1. Bridging Productivity Gap: India needs to narrow the disparity between the potential and attainable productivity levels in various grain crops and vegetables. This involves adopting improved farming practices, leveraging technology, and enhancing the efficiency of agricultural processes.
2. Cost Reduction: Reducing the production costs associated with farming is essential. This can be achieved through the adoption of efficient practices, optimizing resource use, and minimizing wastage.
3. Nutrient-Rich Crops: Promoting the cultivation and consumption of nutritionally-rich crops like millets is crucial for addressing nutritional deficiencies in the population. Diversifying crops can contribute to improved dietary habits and better health outcomes.
4. Emphasis on Produce Quality: Focusing on the quality of agricultural output is imperative. Implementing quality control measures throughout the production process can enhance marketability, consumer satisfaction, and overall agricultural value.
5. Seed Availability: Ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality seeds is of paramount importance. Seeds are a fundamental input in agriculture, and their availability and performance can significantly influence crop yields and overall productivity.
6. Seed Technology Advancements: Harnessing advancements in seed technology can lead to the increased availability and quality of seeds that perform optimally under various environmental conditions. Improved seed varieties can contribute to better crop yields and resilience.
7. Technology Integration: In order to meet food and nutrition security goals while ensuring sustainable practices, India should make effective use of all available technologies, including both modern innovations and traditional agricultural knowledge. This comprehensive approach can help optimize productivity and resource use.

By addressing these key areas, India can enhance its agricultural sector's efficiency, productivity, and sustainability, while concurrently bolstering food security and improving the well-being of its population.

Suggestions

• Millet Cultivation: Millets, renowned for their nutritional value, resilience, and rapid growth cycle, are recognized as a sustainable agricultural option. India holds the global forefront in millet production. By generating high-quality, certified seeds of improved millet variants, particularly minor millets, India stands poised to tap into the worldwide seed market.
• Seed Advancement: As molecular technologies, rapid breeding techniques, and gene-editing tools propel crop variety development, the realm of applied seed technologies gains prominence. These applied technologies ensure optimal performance even amid unfavorable, unpredictable, and challenging conditions. Consequently, modern seed technology should amalgamate genetic progress with practical applications.
• Quality-Enhanced Seeds: The thrust of contemporary seed technology should be on delivering superior seeds of enhanced varieties. These seeds should exhibit heightened productivity, efficient use of resources, and resilience against an array of environmental challenges, both biological and abiotic.
• Public and Private Collaboration: Collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors hold significant potential. By harmonizing research and development endeavors, these sectors can collectively engineer eco-friendly seeds of superior performance, all the while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Access to Seed Technologies

The sphere of technological advancements encompasses various facets:

• Genetic Enhancement in Variety Development: This entails altering the genetic composition of plant varieties while adhering to regulatory mandates.
• Priming and Physiological Improvement Protocols: These techniques elevate seed readiness for growth.
• Coating and Pelleting Methods: These methods encompass film coating and pelleting, either with or without active agents.
• Seed Treatments: This involves the application of biological agents or chemical pesticides with varying modes of action.
• Bio-stimulants and Nutrient Incorporation: These measures amplify germination rates and hasten seedling establishment.
• Incorporation of AI-Responsive Elements: This refers to embedding AI-powered sensors or substances within seeds to influence plant responses.
• Production of Quality Planting Materials in Horticulture: This pertains to crafting clean and environmentally friendly materials for horticultural crops.
• Availability: A majority of these technologies are already in commercial use worldwide, with some having been introduced in India.
• Emerging Innovations: Practices such as priming and enhancement are gaining recognition as vital components. They ensure optimal seed performance across diverse growth conditions, especially in regions affected by varying moisture, temperature, and other environmental stressors, as well as susceptibility to diseases and pest-related challenges.

Way Forward

• ‘Clean Green Mission’: A robust regulatory framework encompassing quality seedlings and planting materials becomes imperative within the newly proposed "Clean Green Mission" set forth by the Indian government, aligning with its G20 commitment to foster "Green Development."
• ‘Next Gen’ Innovations: The upcoming wave of "Next Gen" technologies could potentially introduce AI-driven responses from seeds based on specific external conditions like moisture and temperature. These innovations might also involve integrating molecules or metabolites that serve as metabolic cues within biological pathways. The application of these advancements would necessitate appropriate guidelines for their implementation.
• Hence, the emergence of novel seed technologies, fortified by scientific validation and facilitated by effective regulatory mechanisms, presents substantial benefits for promoting sustainable agriculture, all without incurring significant additional costs.

Source – Indian Express