Agriculture is the backbone of Indian Economy. In spite of having Higher Production Still Our agriculture system is technology deficit which is stopping us to attain a sustainable Agriculture System with Higher Productivity. Adopting Innovative Technology and linking it with the Agrarian Society will help us to bring the Transformation In Indian Agriculture.

1. Transforming Agrarian Economy:- Innovative
solutions through science and technology
Speaker: Dewali Roy
Dept. of Soil Science & Agril. Chemistry
Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari,
Cooch Behar, West Bengal

2. Agriculture in India
• Ranking second in the world farm output, the
agricultural sector is the backbone of Indian Economy
contributing majority to the country’s GDP.
• 58% of rural Indians depend on agriculture for their
livelihood and this sector contributes around 17-18% to
the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
• Department of agriculture, cooperation and farmers
welfare suggest record aggregate food grain production
in 2017-18 which is 277.49 tones

3. Agriculture GDP in India
GDP from Agriculture in
India decreased to
3461.02 INR Billion in the
third quarter of 2018 from
4197.47 INR Billion in the
second quarter of
2018(Indian economy)

4. Reasons behind low GDP growth of
Agriculture
 Land Holdings-
o Semi-medium and medium operational
holdings(less than 10ha)-13.22 %.
o Large holding (10 ha and above)-
0.57%.(Agricultural census, 2015-16)
 Water Availability-
o 4% of world water with 17.1% of world
population.
 Post harvest Managements-
o No adequate market and export policies
o Indian farmers incur Rs 92,651 cr. per year in
post harvest losses( Ministry of Agricultural &
Family Welfare, 2018)
 Getting credit/insurance- Risk factor

5.  Policymakers- 2/3rd depends on rural
employment for a living
 Neither economical nor
environmentally sustainable
agricultural practices.
 Migration towards urban
 Most of farmers have no ideas of crop
rotation, profit- making
crops, scientific agriculture
 New equipments of International
agriculture sectors- still out of reach
 No awareness on genetically
modified seeds, availability of specific
fertilizers etc..

6.  In 2014, the National Crime Records Bureau of India reported 5,650 farmer suicides. The
highest number of farmer suicides were recorded in 2004 when 18,241 farmers committed
suicide. The farmers suicide rate in India has ranged between 1.4 and 1.8% of 100,000 total
population, over a 10-year period through 2005. India is an agrarian country with around 70%
of its people depending directly or indirectly upon agriculture. Farmer suicides account for
11.2% of all suicides in India.

7.  According to world bank annual food grain
requirement of India would rise to 450 MT by 2030.
 Need to grow globally by 70 % by 2050 to feed the
growing population(FAO)

8. The technology deficit needs to be filled on fast track basis to
match productivity ratios with the rest of the world.
In the wake of concerns that intensive farming adversely impacts
environmental balance, India will need to adopt sustainable farming
practices that includes-
Efficient irrigation methods
with a simultaneous focus on
groundwater regeneration.
Monitoring soil degradation,
and adopting energy efficient
production methods.
Adopting advanced technology has
helped small countries, including the
Netherlands and Israel.

9. Technologies to boost Agriculture
production
Resource conserving technologies
High yielding technologies
Post harvest technologies
Climate resilient technologies
Technologies for drudgery reduction

10. Urgent need to embrace
technologies
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology
High-tech protected cultivation Modern irrigation methods

11. Biotechnology
Benefits:
 High yielding
 More robust to biotic and a biotic
stresses.
 Virus- and bacteria-resistant
 Stabilize and increase food supplies;
important against the background of
increasing food demand, climate change
and land and water scarcity.
Example:
Golden rice, rich in
ßcarotene. Great solution for
India as nearly 5,000
children go blind every year
because of this deficiency.

12. Nanotechnology
 Promotes soil fertility
and balanced crop nutrition.
 Weed control.
 Enhancing seed emergence using carbon Nano-tubes.
 Traits against environmental stresses and diseases.
 Preparation of new formulations like pesticides, insecticides and
insect repellents.
 Huge potential in revolutionizing the food packaging.

13. Nano size silver particles
 Antimicrobial agents
 Economical
 Controls various plant pathogens
 Safer way compared to commercially used
fungicides.

14. Protected Cultivation
 At least 9.2 Mha should be converted under vegetable production for
increasing the national productivity.
 Area under protected cultivation is only 40,000 ha which is not being
utilized sufficiently.
 Increase the productivity over 3-5 folds with high water & nutrient
use efficiency.(Agro technology, 2017)
Protected Unprotected

15. Modern irrigation methods
 Huge portion of water get wasted in
conveyance loss & application loss
 36% area is irrigated area under net
sown area.
 Need more adoption of drip & sprinkler
irrigation system

16. Farm
Mechanization
 The overall farm mechanization of India is 40% of which 50-90%
contributed by electrical & mechanical sources.
 Inadequate farm power & machinery major constraints.
 The average farm machinary productivity needs to be rise by 2.5
KW/ha to maximize profitability(CIAE,2017).

17. Modernize Technology Transfer
Tools
Focus on key interventions at different
stages of the crop
Sowing
Crop protection
Harvesting
Post-harvest management
Marketing

18. Digital Technologies in Transforming Indian Agriculture
( E- technology)-
India is the world’s largest information
technology (IT) sourcing destination, accounting
for approximately 67% of the US$124– 130 billion
market.
Direct applications of digital technology
include remote sensing (via satellites),
geographic information systems, crop and soil
health monitoring, and livestock and farm
management, among other applications.
The application of digital technology in
agriculture has been instrumental in promoting
data generation as well as the advanced
analytics that allow farmers to make smart
decisions about farming and to benefit from an
economical use of inputs and labour.

19. National Agricultural
Market (e-NAM)- the
optimal utilization of
resources, effective market
linkages for improved
service delivery a
technology driven unified
market platform-have a
brighter future in India.
Prime minister
has announced
for doubling
farmers income
by 2022 at 75th
independence
day
Bharat net
Project,
Digital Gaon
Scheme
Start up Agri
India.
Agri-innovative
India Ltd(19th
oct, 2011)- for
profit company
owned by DARE,
MoA&F,GOI

20. An emerging Network of digital technologies in Indian
agriculture: The rise of start-ups and young entrepreneurial
firms-
Agro-tech
start-up
ecosystem.
ITC’s e-Choupal-
comprehensive digital
knowledge hub for
farmers, which has 6,100
installations covering over
35,000 villages and serving
over 4 million farmers.16
Launched in 2000.
M&M’s Trringo, a
mobile based app
enabling farmers
to rent tractors-
The ‘uberization’
of tractors and
farm machines.
Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS)-
mKRISHI platform;
With easier access
to mobile phones,
farmers can connect
with traders and
other farmers.
Ekgaon
Technologies-
Ekgaon One Village
One World Network
(900,000 women
and 300,000
farmers spread
across villages in
India).

21. Agnext- developed drones among
other digital technologies, creating
an integrated hyper local farm data
collection and crop analytics
platform.
Ecozen- solar-powered products for
irrigation and cold storage, catering to
smallholder farms and regions with
limited or no electricity.
Barrix Agro
Sciences- eco-
friendly crop
protection methods
Skymet
Weather
EM3 Agri
Service- EM3’s
Samadhan
techno kheti
centres
Stellapps
Technologies:
Providing dairy
farm
optimization
and monitoring
services

22. Under exploited emerging
innovative technology-
•Fishing it out(Eruvaka technology).
•The discovery- product made up of bio
char, soil additive.
•Greens fed on rainbow waste
hydroponics & aquaponics,fish & plant
in one recirculating system.
•Sun to generate fresh water
•Agriculture by air craft.

23. Technological Needs and Future
Agriculture
Future growth needs to be more rapid & more widely
distributed and better targeted
 Tractors on autopilot
 Swath control and variable rate technology
 Your tractor is calling
 Sensing how your crop is feeling
 Your cow is calling too
 Irrigate via smart phone
 Field documentation
 Ultrasounds and more for livestock
 Smile for the camera

24. Government of India and Israel are aiming to strengthen partnership in the
farm sector. The main idea is to revolutionize Indian farm sector with the use
of Israeli water efficiency improving technology.
India and Israel are set to jointly develop new crop varieties and share post
harvest technologies following the success of the 10-year-old Indo-Israeli
Agriculture Project (IIAP).
The implementing partners for the project are the National Horticulture Mission
(NHM) under the agriculture ministry, MASHAV, Israel’s agency for international
development cooperation, and Indian state governments which help set up
centers of excellence as per their local needs.

25. The Netherlands can be a natural partner in the development of a sustainable Indian
agriculture sector.
 Union of Agriculture Minister further said a major success of the Indo-Dutch collaboration
has been the commissioning of the Centre of Excellence (CoEs) for vegetables at Baramati
in Maharashtra.
 Crop residue management and cooperation in the field of bovine breeding; dairy
development, animal health and porcine development are also being looked into.
setting up Food valleys and invest in cold chain as well as food processing industries and
undertake capacity building programs in India.
They achieved our frontrunner position in
agriculture through a constant process of
innovation. In the so-called Dutch
Integrated Approach, the private sector.

26. ICT for Agriculture Extension Initiative in India
TNAU AGRITECH Portal, AGRISNET, DACNET,
e-krishi, ASHA, Indian Development
Gateway (In DG Portal), ITC-e-Choupal, EID
Parry India grilline, Indiancommodities.com,
Mahindra Kisan Mitra, IFFCO Agri-Portal,
Agro watch Portal, iKissan, Village
Knowledge Centres (VKCs) -M.S.
Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF),
Village Resource Centres (VRCs) ,Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
Community Information Centres (CICs),
Common Service Centres (CSCs), Farmers
Call Centre (Kishan Call Centre).

27.  Backbone of technology - Krishi Vighyan Kendras (KVKs)
 Technology transfer hubs - Gram Panchayats
 Potential tools - Internet and mobile phones
Knowledge on:
 New developments
 Improved methods of cultivation /technologies
 Weather data and agro climatic conditions
 Latest information on prices of agriculture produce

28. Major limitation behind technology revolution in Indian agriculture
In the context of start-ups, the common barriers to
commercialization and the scaling up of technology are related to -
Finance ,which is in turn related to operational finance.
Funding/ capital deficiencies, and cash of low management
Gaps in technology infrastructure.
Issues concerned with cyber security.
Limited access to farmer networks for effective piloting of the
products is seen to impede the commercialization plans of start-ups.
The budget for 2016–17 announced by the central government confirms
its commitment to modernize agriculture systems in India through setting
up a dedicated micro-irrigation fund & new mini labs in the Krishi
Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) agricultural extension centre, ensuring 100%
coverage of all 648 KVKs in the country for soil sample testing, and
expanding the coverage of the e-NAM from 250 markets to 585 markets.

29. A successful future growth strategy for agriculture will need to perceive
agriculture as a business enterprise involving constant innovation and catering
to dynamic market demand.
There is a need to design the pathway to successful commercialization and to scal
it up by utilizing the right incentives and policy support.
The challenge before India lies in balancing high growth with inclusive growth;
leveraging technology to achieve these twin goals will be a fascinating journey to
track.
A developed agriculture system is based on three key pillars: knowledge
In frastructure and a robust delivery mechanism. Supporting the research and
development ecosystem in agriculture directly contributes to creating knowledge and
preparing for the future.