Agricultural Crisis and Farmers-Friendly Reforms in India

Agricultural Crisis and Farmers-Friendly Reforms in India
Author: G. Satyanarayana
Publisher:
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2018-09
Genre:
ISBN: 9788177084689

According to the Fifth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, 45.7 percent of India's workforce in 2014-15 was employed in agriculture. Around 13 to 14 percent of India's national income originates from the agricultural sector. Agricultural sector, thus, occupies a key position in the Indian economy, at least in terms of employment. Regrettably, agricultural sector in India has been witnessing loss of dynamism in recent years. The sector, as a whole, has showed poor performance lately. Signs of agrarian distress are visible in parts of the country. The spate of suicides by farmers in some areas is the most disconcerting manifestation of this distress. Marginal and small farmers have borne the brunt of the adverse circumstances in agriculture. Agricultural crisis has increased overtime due to a number of reasons but mainly owing to widening disparities between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, resulting in burgeoning gap between the incomes generated per worker from the two sectors. Concerned by the slow growth in the agriculture and allied sectors, the Government of India has launched a series of programmes/schemes in recent years to rejuvenate agriculture and improve farm incomes. These, inter alia, have included the following: Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana Doubling Farmers Income by 2022-23 Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) Farm Loan Waivers Under National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), farmers can sell their produce on the internet. e-NAM is envisaged as a pan-India electronic trading portal which seeks to network the existing agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) and other market yards to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. e-NAM is a virtual market but it has a physical market (mandi) at the back end. India's future agricultural development will require much faster crop diversification in view of changes in consumption pattern. There is growing preference for milk and milk products, meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables. Areas like horticulture and floriculture also hold promise as they have higher export potential. Accelerating the rate of growth of agricultural production must be seen as central to a more inclusive growth. It is imperative that the problems of farmers are addressed with a sense of urgency. The present work focuses on the issues and concerns impacting the Indian agriculture. More importantly, it explains the key reform measures undertaken in recent years to mitigate agrarian distress, modernize agriculture and improve the economic conditions of the farmers, particularly small and marginalized ones.

Agrarian Crisis

Agrarian Crisis
Author: Emmadi Naveen Kumar
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 105
Release: 2012-12-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1443844306

India is among the fastest developing countries of the world. However, a major percentage of its population (60 to 70%) still depends on agriculture and its allied activities. Though many policies have been introduced to enhance its agriculture sector, it still faces a lot of challenges. In recent times the state of Andhra Pradesh, one of the major food grain producing states, has had the highest number of farmer suicides in the country, with Warangal witnessing the highest number amongst the districts in the state. This book attempts to figure out the various socio-economic reasons behind the agrarian crisis prevailing in that district and suggests some remedies to control the situation.

Revitalizing Indian Agriculture and Boosting Farmer Incomes

Revitalizing Indian Agriculture and Boosting Farmer Incomes
Author: Ashok Gulati
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2021-03-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9811593353

This open access book provides an evidence-based roadmap for revitalising Indian agriculture while ensuring that the growth process is efficient, inclusive, and sustainable, and results in sustained growth of farmers’ incomes. The book, instead of looking for global best practices and evaluating them to assess the possibility of replicating these domestically, looks inward at the best practices and experiences within Indian states, to answer questions such as -- how the agricultural growth process can be speeded up and made more inclusive, and financially viable; are there any best practices that can be studied and replicated to bring about faster growth in agriculture; does the prior hypothesis that rapid agricultural growth can alleviate poverty faster, reduce malnutrition, and augment farmers’ incomes stand? To answer these questions, the book follows four broad threads -- i) Linkage between agricultural performance, poverty and malnutrition; ii) Analysing the historical growth performance of agricultural sector in selected Indian states; iii) Will higher agricultural GDP necessarily result in higher incomes for farmers; iv) Analysing the current agricultural policy environment to evaluate its efficiency and efficacy, and consolidate all analysis to create a roadmap. These are discussed in 12 chapters, which provide a building block for the concluding chapter that presents a roadmap for revitalising Indian agriculture while ensuring growth in farmers’ incomes.

Agrarian Crisis in India

Agrarian Crisis in India
Author: D. Narasimha Reddy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2010-06-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0199088306

This volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the macro- and micro-level issues associated with agrarian distress. It analyses structural, institutional, and policy changes, highlighting the failure of public support system in agriculture. The crisis manifests itself in the form of deceleration in growth and distress of farmers. The case studies from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Punjab bring out the diversity of conditions prevalent in the states.

Ramrao

Ramrao
Author: Jaideep Hardikar
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2021-08-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9354223095

One morning in 2014, Ramrao Panchleniwar, an ordinary cotton grower in Maharashtra's infamous Vidarbha region, consumed two bottles of pesticide in a bid to commit suicide. But he miraculously survived. In Ramrao, rural journalist Jaideep Hardikar attempts to put a face to India's unending farm crisis with his story. He takes the reader on a journey of the everyday life of an Indian farmer, his daily struggles, his desperation to come out of his situation, his inability and many failings, the quagmire of issues he faces, and how he comes to a pass where he chooses to put an end to it all. The result of years of committed reportage, this is an evocative read that rescues an ordinary life from obscurity and turns it into an essential biography for our times.

The impact of disasters and crises on agriculture and food security: 2021

The impact of disasters and crises on agriculture and food security: 2021
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2021-03-17
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9251340714

On top of a decade of exacerbated disaster loss, exceptional global heat, retreating ice and rising sea levels, humanity and our food security face a range of new and unprecedented hazards, such as megafires, extreme weather events, desert locust swarms of magnitudes previously unseen, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Agriculture underpins the livelihoods of over 2.5 billion people – most of them in low-income developing countries – and remains a key driver of development. At no other point in history has agriculture been faced with such an array of familiar and unfamiliar risks, interacting in a hyperconnected world and a precipitously changing landscape. And agriculture continues to absorb a disproportionate share of the damage and loss wrought by disasters. Their growing frequency and intensity, along with the systemic nature of risk, are upending people’s lives, devastating livelihoods, and jeopardizing our entire food system. This report makes a powerful case for investing in resilience and disaster risk reduction – especially data gathering and analysis for evidence informed action – to ensure agriculture’s crucial role in achieving the future we want.

Merchants of Grain

Merchants of Grain
Author: Dan Morgan
Publisher: Backinprint.com
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2000
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780595142101

The first and only book to describe the seven secretive families and five far-flung companies that control the world's food supplies. Little has changed their central role since Morgan's best-selling book first appeared in 1979.

Agrarian Distress in India

Agrarian Distress in India
Author: B. C. Barah
Publisher: Concept Publishing Company
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2011
Genre: Agriculture
ISBN: 9788180697654

Papers presented at the National Seminar on Agrarian Distress in India.

Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India

Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India
Author: Prabhu Pingali
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2019-05-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030144097

This open access book examines the interactions between India’s economic development, agricultural production, and nutrition through the lens of a “Food Systems Approach (FSA).” The Indian growth story is a paradoxical one. Despite economic progress over the past two decades, regional inequality, food insecurity and malnutrition problems persist. Simultaneously, recent trends in obesity along with micro-nutrient deficiency portend to a future public health crisis. This book explores various challenges and opportunities to achieve a nutrition-secure future through diversified production systems, improved health and hygiene environment and greater individual capability to access a balanced diet contributing to an increase in overall productivity. The authors bring together the latest data and scientific evidence from the country to map out the current state of food systems and nutrition outcomes. They place India within the context of other developing country experiences and highlight India’s status as an outlier in terms of the persistence of high levels of stunting while following global trends in obesity. This book discusses the policy and institutional interventions needed for promoting a nutrition-sensitive food system and the multi-sectoral strategies needed for simultaneously addressing the triple burden of malnutrition in India.