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Topic name: Growth and Grain: India’s rising profile in International Agricultural Trade

Publications, Research paper

ABSTRACT :

Agriculture being the backbone of the Indian economy plays a major role when it comes to deciding the socio-economic growth of India. India which is a land of diversity has different cultures & climatic conditions. The research system of the Indian agricultural system is one of the largest research systems worldwide. In this paper, I have tried to put an effort to describe how our Indian Agricultural system has developed ever since the colonial era till today. This paper summarizes how our Indian agricultural system has developed since the 19th century till now. We talk & discuss a lot about the Indian agricultural system but many of us might not be aware of how our present Indian agriculture system has reached so far, making India as one of the leading exporters of agricultural goods.  So, by the means of this paper an attempt has been made to summarize the history of the Indian Agricultural system.    

KEYWORDS : Rural employment, International trade, Revolution, History of Indian agriculture, agricultural advancements

INTRODUCTION :

According to a recent survey conducted by UNFPA, India’s population is estimated to have reached 1.44 Billion. India overtook China in terms of population which used to be one of the most populous countries in the world. The Indian agriculture sector plays an important role in the global economy and is the third largest economy worldwide preceded by US & China. 70% of Indian rural households are dependent on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood and 82% of farmers are small & marginal. India is the leading producer of rice, wheat, spices, fruits, poultry, milk, jute, cotton & sugarcane.  

Various innovations and efforts related to production, pre & post harvest management of crops, creation of infrastructure is vital for Indian agriculture. However, India still has many growing concerns which include lack of proper market infrastructure, price fluctuation, exploitation by middlemen & traders. So, to overcome these problems the Indian government has introduced many agricultural policies which are Minimum Export Policy, Agriculture Export Policy & many more.  But in this research our main focus will be on Agriculture Export Policy which is an initiative to promote India’s agriculture trade globally and its implications. The main aim of the Indian government by increasing & promoting exports of India’s agricultural produce is to make India a global agricultural power and also increase the income generated by the farmers focusing on “Farmers’ Centric Approach”.    

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY :

This paper uses Descriptive in nature. The sources used to conduct research and gain information include Secondary sources of collecting data like blogs, articles, websites & journals. This paper includes data related to India’s scope in the international market and its growth aspects.   

LITERATURE REVIEW :

The Agriculture Export Policy which was introduced by the Indian government in December 2018 aims to promote India’s position in terms of Agriculture exports in the global market along with focusing on growth & increasing the income of Indian farmers improving their condition by helping them get better prices for their products in the market. India which is a dynamic nation with a population of 1.3 Billion is a leading producer of agricultural products worldwide along with being a big market of consumers as the taste,choices, preferences,income of people keeps on fluctuating on a regular basis. An essential element of “Make in India” has to be “Bake in India”. Along with growing population globally due to which there is shortage in food supply leading to malnutrition & death because of starvation. But, India is focusing on sustainable growth & development. USA is the country to which India exports its products the most followed by countries like UAE, China & many more. The agricultural exports of India plays a major role in maintaining the international trade relations of India with other countries along with helping India to maintain its Foreign Exchange Reserves & reduce its trade deficit. This will also help India to reduce the trade barriers so that India could gain better access to international trade.

In India, around 45% of the population is engaged in farming as their primary source of livelihood so, promotion of agriculture exports from India will help to generate employment & employment opportunities in India. These initiatives will not only help India to promote its exports in the international market but it will also develop the infrastructure of India like investing in transportation facilities, cold storage facilities, modern infrastructure & many more. 

HISTORY OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE 

In India, the history of agriculture dates back to around 11,000 years ago and with the passage of time & advancement in technology India is the leading producer and supplier of wheat & grains worldwide. Indian products are supplied globally through a series of trading networks. During the period of 5th to late 15th century irrigation facilities developed and by this time the production of Indian crops began affecting the economies of the other countries. 

  • HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE SYSTEM:
  1. The Neolithic Revolution
  2. Indus Valley Civilization
  3. The Iron Age
  4. The Early Common Era
  5. The Late Middle Age
  6. The Mughal Era
  7. The Colonial British Era
  8. The Republic of India
  1. The Neolithic Revolution (8000-4000 BCE) which is also called the First Agricultural Revolution was the initiation of agricultural advancements in india. During this time period, the farmers started: 
  • plantation of crops in row
  • storing grains
  • began to cultivate wheat, barley, cotton
  • fruits such as mango & muskmelon used to grow
  • cattle rearing became a common activity
  • North India became a major producer of peas, sesame & dates
  • production of Hemp (Bhaang) began by Indians
  1. Indus Valley Civilisation (around 4500 BCE) which was the beginning of development of irrigation facilities. It was during this period when planned and innovative facilities of drainage & sewers were made use of. These irrigation facilities included water irrigation systems, reservoirs, canal irrigation & irrigation facilities. Various artificial reservoirs were made at Girnar during 3000 BCE. It was during this period when Deccan Plateau & areas of Bihar and Orissa contributed majorly in agriculture by cultivating millets & pulses along with engaging in cattle farming. People in the eastern part of India started cultivation of rice & pulses on Large scale along with cattle rearing. 
  1. The Iron Age (1500 BCE – 200 CE) was the time period when the production of Jute was done on a large scale & was mainly used to make ropes and cords. During this time period people began to worship trees and animals as they were considered as the main source of existence on earth. People discovered the medicinal importance of plants which came to be known as Ayurveda. The discovery of ayurveda is rooted from this time. It was during this period when farmers used various agricultural technologies & advancements for cultivation of crops. Farmers started using cow dung in the form of fertilizers & they began differentiating between different soil types and weather conditions & how these 

conditions affect the agricultural produce.

  1. The Early Common Era (200-1200 CE) was that period when cultivation of crops such as black pepper, rice, millets, cotton, jackfruit, coconut, palm etc. was initiated in India by Tamilians. Plowing, manuring, crop production were commonly practiced & a dam named as Kallanai was built near river Kaveri. During this period the production of crystallized sugar was discovered in India and the process of which was further passed on from India to China. Many Buddhist monks also visited India to learn this technique of sugar refining. During this period various spices were traded to the Mediterranean. 

The Chola empire was part of this era during this period a group of people started acquiring individual plots and developed their individual irrigation system which solved the problem of dry land and channeled a network of water irrigation systems.

  1. The Late Middle Age (1200 CE-1526 CE) was the era when construction of water works was the main focus which led to the economic growth of the country. Gujarat & North was the major producer of rice and Central India was the major producer of wheat. Sugar Mills were constructed during this period. 
  1. The Mughal Era (1526-1757 CE) was the time when the population of India grew significantly. Crops like wheat, barley, cotton, rice were grown on a large scale. Cultivation of new crops such as maize & tobacco began in India. 

It was during this era when a monetary tax system known as Zabt was introduced in India by the mughal ruler Akbar. The farmers of India were very advanced in comparison to those across Europe.

  1. The Colonial British Era (1757-1947 CE) was the era when the production of commercial crops such as cotton, wheat, and rice began to get supplied across the world. The supply of  irrigation facilities in India were given by the British regime but that wasn’t up to the mark and also not sufficient. The price of agricultural commodities rose by three times. As per the reports, given by Thanjavur Tamil University we get to know there were around 800 villages around Chennai during 1762-1766 which were involved in agricultural activities.
  1. The Republic of India (after 1947) was the time after independence of India when the government began focusing on the improvement of crop supply in India to fulfill the demand. Various campaigns were launched to improve crop production supply in India which were further followed by a 5 year plan of India. Land development, electrification, use of chemical fertilizers soon came under the government supervision.    

During the First Agricultural Revolution which took place in around 10,000 B.C. also known as Neolithic Revolution made change in human lifestyle as they no longer hunted & gathered their food instead they did farming as well as herding of animals.

Various revolutions that came up in the Republic of India:

  1. The Green Revolution was initiated by Nirman Borlaug in the 1960s and was mainly led by M.S. Swaminathan who is known to be the ‘Father of the Green Revolution in India’. This revolution led to the boost in production of food grain to a large extent in India due to introduction of HYV seeds for cultivation of crops in India. This revolution was a great success not only in India but also in Mexico. The spread of this revolution made India one of the world’s leading agricultural nations. This revolution led to a bumper production of wheat, rice, jowar & maize. The Bengal famine was the main reason the green revolution was launched as the Bengal famine led to the death of around 4 Million people due to hunger & starvation. It was during this period when the Indian agricultural system was converted into an industrial system with many modern techniques of cultivating crops like HYV seeds, irrigation facilities, pesticides, fertilizers. This revolution was mainly funded by the US & Indian government along with Ford & Rockefeller Foundation. This revolution led to various positive impacts which included bumper increase in crop production, reduction of imports to India, employment to rural people & a rapid growth in industrial advancements. This revolution mainly made those places of agriculture better which were already doing good in terms of crop production some of them were Punja, Haryana, Western parts of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu.
  1. Yellow Revolution was a movement which began in 1986-1987 with the aim to boost production of edible oils in India domestically to become self-reliant. Sam Pitroda is known as the Father of Yellow Revolution.                                                                          During the starting of this revolution the oil production in India was roughly 12 Million but by the end of ten years it grew up to 24 Million which is a drastic growth as it just doubled. It became possible as during this revolution India adopted many advanced technologies along with using hybrid oil seeds for oil production. The revolution began from the agricultural lands of Punjab where the

sunflower fields floated, marking the beginning of the Yellow Revolution. In furtherance of this, the Indian government in present came up with a mission known as National Mission on Oil Palm & Edible Oil (NMEO-OP) which aims to take up production of oil in India to 28 Lakh tonnes by 2029-2030. Under this scheme, the government will provide The Viability Price to farmers who will produce palm oil. This program will improve the self-reliance of India on Oil seeds & will also help in improving the economy. The main oilseeds which were in focus during this revolution were namely:

(a) Groundn

(b) Mustard

(c) Soybean

(e) Sunflower

(f) Niger

(g) Linseed

(h) Castor  

(i) Safflower

  1. White Revolution began in 1970 in India which gave an impressive growth to the dairy sector. The movement was led by Dr. Verghese Kurien and to embark on the success of this movement every year 26 November is celebrated as National Milk Day as it is the birth anniversary of Dr. Kurien. One of the largest initiatives of India was launched in 1970 under this revolution which was named as ‘National Dairy Development Board’. This movement in India refers to successful implementation of Operation flood in India which was launched on 13 January, 1970. This  played an important role in the socio-economic growth of the country. Due to this revolution there was a growth in milk production of the country which enabled India in raising its per capita production of milk. 
  2. Protein Revolution which was launched by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the year 2014 and was in function till the year 2020. This revolution was the second part of the Green Revolution which mainly used technology for production. The main aim of the Protein Revolution was to increase the production of foodgrains. This revolution encouraged farmers to adopt scientific agricultural techniques so that India could reduce its dependency on other countries for supply of foodgrains to India. Under this revolution the government also set up a Price Stabilization Fund with an investment of Rs. 500 Crore which aimed to help farmers deal with the price instability of their crops. A television channel was also launched by the government named Kisan TV which provides real time information to farmers on various techniques of farming, water conservation, organic farming and various other innovative techniques related to agriculture & farming. Government also provided a soil card to the farmers to educate them about soil health & the budget kept for this purpose was Rs.100 Crore. The government also funded the storage spaces for raising the capacity for grains storage by investing Rs. 5,000 Crore.   

In light of promoting Agri-export in India various other initiatives are also taken by Indian government which includes:

  • OPERATION GREEN- This aims to reduce volatility in prices so that farmers can get good prices of their produce to stabilize the supply of essential products like fruits & vegetables.
  • MARKET ACCESS INITIATIVE- This initiative helps Indian agricultural exporters to gain access to new markets by involving them in various activities like trade fairs, market research etc. 
  • NATIONAL HORTICULTURE MISSION- This focuses on various horticulture exports which are of high-value. The products of various horticulture practices which are sustainable in nature like organic farming, efficient water-use.
  • NATIONAL AGRICULTURE MARKET-  The government has launched an electronic PAN-India portal for the purpose of selling their products directly to the buyers reducing the involvement of intermediaries so that the producers get the better prices of their products. 
  • PROMOTION OF ORGANIC FARMING- Indian Government has been promoting organic methods of farming which are environment friendly & increase the potential of exports.
  • India has signed Free Trade Agreements with various nations that there are less trade barriers on Indian exports abroad.         

Various challenges are faced by a nation like India to grow its agricultural potential in global market:

  • Infrastructure
  • Quality & Standards
  • Need of Subsidy centric Schemes
  • Environment & Sustainability Concerns
  • Competitiveness
  • Climate Change
  • Market Diversification
  • Access to credit
  • Government Policies
  • Skills building

METHOD:

Steps to ensure agricultural stability in India:

  1. India should focus on the welfare of the farmers
  2. India should improve its quality standards of the products.
  3. India should develop its infrastructure more 
  4. India should improve the credit taking facility for the farmers & provide them with various incentive schemes
  5. India should make farmers aware on using more and more technological techniques to producer their crops
  6. India should practice more environment friendly & sustainable methods of farming like Organic Farming.
  7. India should work more on developing its international trade relations so that it becomes easy to do international business across borders

So, basically coordinated efforts are required at individual as well as on national & international level if we want India to grow & prosper in the agricultural sector.     

SUGGESTION :

The agriculture Policy should be dynamic to remain stable for a long time. Still there are various improvements required for India to maintain & grow its position in the market. Improvements should be made in terms of infrastructure, rules, regulation, standards of quality check & many more. There should be coordinated efforts made by the government officials, private sector & agricultural stakeholders to maintain India’s position in the global market. India should focus on long-term goals for betterment of the country which may include farmers’ welfare & agricultural advancements’. India should practice more & more sustainable manner of farming by ensuring its responsibility towards the environment & society. 

CONCLUSION : 

The history of the growth & development in India’s agricultural sector has been an interesting topic.In recent times, when India has developed so much it rules not only in the agricultural sector but also in every sector. Due to various innovations in technology the farmers can be aware of the recent advancements in the agricultural sector. Till now, the government has come up with many reforms in welfare of the country & its farmers. There are various programs run by the government to educate the farmers about the modern farming systems & how they can get better prices of their agricultural produce. 

When we look back in the pages of history & compare it with the present scenario there has been a huge development in the Agricultural sector of India. Our country plays a significant role in the agricultural trade market. The Agricultural Export Policy which came up in the year 2018 plays a major role in the present scenario, it not only focuses on the growth of the country but also on the betterment of the Indian farmers.       

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

  • ClearIAS Team, Agriculture Export Policy – ClearIAS, ClearIAS (2023),  (last visited May 19, 2024)
  • LinkedIn, Linkedin.com (2024), 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/history-agriculture-india-janani-santhamoorthy/ (last visited May 20, 2024).

Name- Shubhangi Jain
College – Amity University, Gurugram (Manesar)