India
has made lot of progress in agriculture since
independence in terms of growth in output, yields
and area under many crops. It has gone through
a green revolution, a white revolution, a yellow
revolution and a blue revolution. Today, India
is the largest producer of milk, fruits, cashew
nuts, coconuts and tea in the world, the second
largest producer of wheat, vegetables, sugar and
fish and the third largest producer of tobacco
and rice. The per capita availability of food
grains has risen in the country from 350 gm in
1951 to about 500 gm per day now, of milk from
less than 125 gm to 210 gm per day and of eggs
from 5 to 30 per annum despite the increase in
population from 35 crores to 95 crores. However,
India would have been in an even better position
now both in terms of agricultural output and economic
development had our planners given the required
importance to its development it deserved in the
early years since independence. Even today, the
farmers in India are able to obtain only 15 per
cent of their requirements of agricultural credit
from banks. The various state seed corporations
are able to produce only 1 0 per cent of the seeds
required by our farmers. At present only 2330
per cent of the farmers are able to derive any
benefits of extension services provided by various
government agencies and every year about 20 per
cent of the crop is lost due to mishandling, spillage,
floods, droughts and pests and diseases. In fruits
and vegetables the loss is around 30 per cent.
The farmers are still being exploited by moneylenders
who provide finance at exorbitant interest rates
and there are cartels of traders who pay very
little for their produce even in the well recognized
mandies in the country.
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