Problems of Indian Agriculture

(i) Dependence on Erratic Monsoon- Irrigation covers only about 33 percent of the cultivated area in India. The crop production in rest of the cultivated land directly depends on rainfall. Poor performance of south-west Monsoon also adversely affects the supply of canal water for irrigation.

(ii) Low productivity- The yield of the crops in the country is low in comparison to the international level. Per hectare output of most of the crops such as rice, wheat, cotton and oilseeds in India is much lower than that of U.S.A., Russia and Japan. The vast rainfed areas of the country, particularly drylands which mostly grow coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds have very low yields.

(iii) Small Farm size and Fragmentation of Landholdings- More than 60 percent of the ownership holdings have a size smaller than one (ha). Furthermore, about 40 percent of the farmers have operational holding size smaller than 0.5 hectare (ha). In India, the land holdings are mostly fragmented.

(iv) Lack of commercialization- A large number of farmers produce crops for self-consumption. These farmers do not have enough land resources to produce more than their requirement.

(v) Vast under -Employment- There is a massive under-employment in the agricultural sector in India, particularly in the un-irrigated tracts. In these areas, there is a seasonal unemployment ranging from 4 to 8 months. Even in the cropping season work is not available throughout, as agricultural operations are not labour intensive.