The agricultural sector in India is facing a crisis. Productivity growth has been declining and agriculture's contribution to GDP is decreasing over time. Several factors are contributing to the crisis, including exploitation by middlemen, climate change impacts, falling prices, rising production costs, crop losses, lack of available land, and environmental degradation from overuse of chemicals. To address the crisis, the document recommends increasing government investment and subsidies in agriculture, restricting imports, improving credit access for farmers, and revising procurement prices to ensure remunerative incomes for farmers.

1. Topic:
CRISES IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR
ARYA SANKAR G
NATURAL SCIENCE
Reg.No:18114375005

2. INDEX
Sl No. Content Page No.
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. CONTENT DEVELOPMENT 2 - 4
3. CONCLUSION 5
4. REFERENCE 6

3. INTRODUCTION
Agriculture in India is undergoing a structural change leading to a crisis situation. The
rate of growth of agricultural output is gradually declining in the recent years. The relative
contribution of agriculture to the GDP has been declining over time steadily. The
performance of agriculture by crop categories also clearly indicates the slowing down process
of agriculture in India. The onset of declaration in agriculture began from early nineties and it
became sharp from the late nineties. The trends in the area, input use, capital stock and
technology also reflect the agricultural downfall and the farmer’s response accordingly. It is
alarming that India is moving towards a point of no return, from being a self-reliant nation of
food surplus to a net importer of food. All these kinds indicate that the agricultural sector in
India is facing a crisis today.
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4. CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
There is a need for analysing the reasons for the crisis to see whether there is any
connection with globalization and, if so, what measures could be adopted to face this
challenge.
EXPLOITATION BY MIDDLE MAN
One of the crises faced by farmers is exploitation by middlemen. Unavailabilities of
marketing facilities and storage facilities, financial problems etc make the ways of
interference of middleman.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Crop production can go down due to climate change or adverse weather conditions,
eg: drought, flood, wind etc. It also reversibly affects the growth and maturity duration of
crops.
FALL IN PRICE
New ways of cultivation need less land but need much more money. So to provide
minimum support price before sowing season must be a help to the farmers. During crop
season have a tendency to fall in price.
COST OF PRODUCTION
Cost of production is rising very fast, physical capital, farm tools and machinery,
fertilizers, pesticides are essential for increasing production. To provide subsidy or loan of
low interest will give higher income to farmers.
CROP LOSS
Adverse weather conditions or during the periods of calamity makes the condition of
crop loss. To provide incentives to the farmers for raising them from debts.
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5. LACK OF SPACE
India is a very populous country. As food for this growing population need billion
tones of crops. Acquire our need by farming on more land, but it is no scope for increasing
cultivable land. Now more cultivable lands are changed to residential and industrial areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION AND HEALTH ISSUES
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used indiscriminately to get better yield. The
balance of eco system is upset as a result.
Klorid Health Organization has reported that the health problems due to pesticide are
steadily increasing. Thus we can check health problems caused by accumulation of harmful
chemicals in our body.
TOWARDS A SOLUTION
The agricultural crisis is affecting a majority of the people in India. The farmers who
produce food materials for the country are in deep distress. The marginalized people like
Dalits and tribal’s, who depend on agriculture are getting unemployed and struggling for their
livelihood. The ordinary people, especially the poor, have lost their food security. The crisis
in agriculture is a crisis of the country as a whole and so needs urgent attention. Some of the
suggestions are being listed here.
 Quantitative restrictions should be imposed on import of agricultural products. Since
the import policy was the major reason for the crash in prices of many agricultural
products, there should be restrictions on the quantity and customs duty of such
products. Necessary import duty and quantitative restrictions should be imposed on
imported goods to protect our farmers who should be given priority to the discipline
of the WTO.
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6.  Subsidy and concessions given to agriculture but removed in the post-reform period
should be restored. This is a must to make agriculture remunerative.
 Bank loans should be easily made available to the farmers, especially since the input
cost of agriculture has gone up.
 The government should augment its investment and expenditure in the farm sectors.
One reason for the agricultural stagnation is low government expenditure. Investment
in agriculture and its allied sectors, including irrigation, transport, communication and
farm research, should be drastically increased, and the government should aim at
integrated development of the rural areas. Effecting implementation of Natural Rural
Employment Guarantee scheme can also become a means of revival of the rural
economy.
 There is a need of periodic revision of the procurement prices for farm produce
making these remunerative. This will help the farmers to meet the increasing expenses
for farm inputs and ensure at least remunerative income. According to the
Swaminathan commission, unless agriculture is made a profitable enterprise, its
present crisis cannot be solved. The commission has suggested 50 percent more of the
total production cost as supportive price for food grains.
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7. CONCLUSION
Agricultural crisis in argued that the root cause of the crisis was that agriculture is no
more a profitable economic activity when compared to the other enterprises. It means that the
income derived from these activities is not sufficient enough to meet the expenditure of the
cultivators. And therefore, unless agriculture is made a profitable enterprise, the present crisis
cannot be solved. The related factors responsible for the crisis include: dependence on rainfall
and climate, liberal import of agricultural products, reduction in agricultural subsidies, lack of
easy credit to agriculture and dependence on money lenders, decline in government
investment in the agricultural sector and conversion of agricultural land for alternative uses.
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8. REFERENCE
 Text book of VIII Std by SCERT Kerala
 www.agriculturaldectors,org
 En.wikipedia.org
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