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Policies or Measures to Solve Agricultural Problems during 1950-1990

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Agriculture can be defined as “The art and science of growing plants and other crops and raising animals for food, other human needs, or economic gain”. It came from two Latin words, ‘Ager’, meaning field, farm, land, and ‘Culture’, meaning cultivation. Thus, agriculture is the art or the practice of cultivating soil, producing plants, and raising livestock.

The agricultural practices began thousands of years ago, and it has been a literal part of the Indian economy, both before and after independence. The land tenure system at the time of independence was characterized by middlemen (such as zamindars) who only collected rent from the actual soil tillers. Due to the agriculture sector’s low output, India was compelled to import food from the United States of America. The First Five-Year Plan put a strong emphasis on the growth of agriculture. Thus, it necessitates several measures that can solve agricultural problems.

Institutional Reforms or Land Reforms

Land Reforms mean change in the ownership of landholdings. Several underdeveloped and developing nations have implemented land reform strategies to achieve equitable land allocation and a sustainable farming system. 

  • In a nation like India, where the majority of the population still relies on agriculture, there was a critical need for land reforms. 
  • To realise the goal of agricultural equity, there is a need to bring land reforms.

(I) Abolition of Intermediaries:

The Indian government made several actions to eliminate middlemen and convert tillers into landowners. This action was taken with the hope that having land ownership would encourage the actual tillers to bring improvement and increase land output. The tenants do not have any incentive from which they can make improvements on the land. It is so because the land owners are the ones who get benefits from the higher output. Giving ownership of land will enable the tiller to make a profit from the increased output. 

The removal of intermediaries put 200 lakh tenants in touch with the government directly. Tenants were given ownership rights, which gave them incentives to produce more and help in the expansion of agriculture.

The abolition of intermediaries did not, however, fully achieve the equity goal for the following reasons:

  • Former zamindars remained to own significant areas of land in some locations by exploiting legislative loopholes.
  • In certain cases, zamindars pretended to be self-cultivators while evicting tenants.
  • The lowest agricultural labourers did not benefit from land reforms even after obtaining land ownership.

(II) Land Ceiling:

Land ceiling means fixing specified limits of the land, which could be owned by an individual.

  1. A ceiling on holding size has been imposed to encourage equality in the distribution of land.
  2. The ceiling on holdings refers to the maximum size of cultivable land that a person or family may own.
  3. The government has reclaimed the extra land and allocated it to small landowners or workers who lack access to the property.
  4. The large landlords; however, challenged the land ceiling legislation. They postponed its implementation and took advantage of the delay to register the land in the names of close family members, which enabled them to avoid the law.

(III) Rent Regulation: 

Rents have been regulated to stop farmers from engaging in inappropriate and illegal extortion. These often do not exceed one-third of the crop’s value.

(IV) Consolidation of Holdings: 

Initiatives have been started for the consolidation of holdings to reduce fragmentation. It is common practice to give land to the farmer in one location to replace his scattered holdings here and there. The expense of cultivation is avoided. By 2004, land holdings had been consolidated over more than 1,663 lakh hectares.

(V) Co-operative Farming:

It is promoted to increase the bargaining power of small farmers. Collectively, they may save money on input purchases and make more money on selling products at higher prices.

Technological Measures

India adopted the new agricultural approach during the Third Plan in the 1960s. Modern technology and agricultural techniques eventually took the place of the old agricultural methods used in India. With the use of modern inputs like fertilizers, financing, and marketing facilities, this strategy aimed to increase agricultural production and productivity in a few key areas of the country.

Green Revolution

  • Approximately 75% of the nation’s population was reliant on agriculture at the time of independence.
  • India’s agriculture is critically dependent on the monsoon, and when it fails, farmers suffer several problems.
  • Additionally, the agricultural sector’s performance was extremely low due to the usage of out-of-date technologies and a lack of necessary infrastructure.

Green Revolution means a large increase in the production of food grains because of the use of HYV (High Yielding Variety) or miracle seeds, especially for food grains like rice and wheat. The title of Father of the Green Revolution was given to an American agricultural scientist, Dr Norman E. Borlaug. For breeding higher-yielding varieties, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. However, in India, it was majorly found by M.S. Swaminathan.

HYV Seeds: Main Reason for Agricultural Revolution

The miracle of new wonder seeds, which increased agricultural yield per acre to extraordinary heights, played a major role in the agricultural revolution.

  • These seeds can be placed in locations with suitable drainage and water delivery systems.
  • As compared to other conventional seeds, these seeds require substantial dosages of chemical fertilizers (four to ten times more fertilizer) to maximise production.
  • So, for farmers to gain from HYV seeds, they needed to have:
    (i) Efficient irrigation infrastructure
    (ii) Monetary resources for the purchase of pesticides and fertilisers.

Indian Economy underwent the success of the Green Revolution in 2 phases:

  1. The usage of HYV seeds was limited to more affluent states (like Punjab, and Tamil Nadu) in the first phase (during the mid-60s to mid-70s). Furthermore, only the wheat-growing regions benefited from the adoption of HYV seeds.
  2. The HYV technology expanded to many states in the second phase (during the mid-70s to mid-80s), helping a wider range of crops.

Important Effects of the Green Revolution

India was able to become self-sufficient in food grains due to the introduction of Green Revolution technologies. India was no longer dependent on the United States or any other country for its food needs.

1. Achieving Marketable Surplus: 

The Green Revolution yielded a Marketable Surplus. Marketable or Marketed Surplus refers to that part of agricultural produce that is sold in the market by the farmers after meeting their own consumption requirements. The increase in agricultural production has an impact on the economy only when a significant amount of it is sold in the market. Fortunately, the farmers sold a significant amount of the rice and wheat they produced during the time of the green revolution.

2. Buffer Stock of Food Grains:

The government was able to acquire enough food grains because of the green revolution to create a stock that might be utilised in times of food crisis.

3. Benefit to Low-income Groups:

Farmers’ pricing decreased in comparison to other consumer goods since they sold a major share of food grains at the market. This decrease in relative pricing was advantageous to low-income groups because they spend a big portion of their income on food.

Risks involved in Green Revolution

Even though the country has greatly benefited from the green revolution, the technology used did not come without risks.

1. Pest Attack Risk: The HYV crops were more vulnerable to pest attacks. Small farmers that used this technique faced the risk of losing everything to a pest attack. However, this risk was reduced to a great extent by rendering services by the research institutes which was established by the Government.

2. Risk of Increasing Income Gaps: Since only large farmers could afford the expensive inputs required under the green revolution, there was a risk that this would increase the income gaps between small and large farmers.

However, due to the government’s proactive measures, these fears were not realised. Small farmers were given loans from the government at cheap interest rates so they could also acquire the necessary inputs. As a result of the small farmers’ ability to access the necessary inputs, their output eventually matched that of large farms. As a result, both small and wealthy farmers benefited from the green revolution.



Last Updated : 06 Apr, 2023
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