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3
T.1 Cropping Pattern in India:
It represents the area under different crops in an economy at a given point of time.

Types Of Cropping Patterns

There are various types of cropping patterns that farmers use to optimize the use of their land and
resources. Some of the most common types:
● Monocropping: This involves growing only one type of crop on a particular piece of land
in a given season. Monocropping is common in areas where the soil and climate conditions
are well-suited to a specific crop.
● Intercropping: This involves growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same plot
of land. Intercropping can help farmers increase the productivity of their land, as different
crops can complement each other in terms of nutrient requirements, water usage, and pest
management.
● Crop rotation: This involves growing different crops in a particular area in a specific
sequence over a period of time. Crop rotation can help maintain soil health and fertility by
reducing soil-borne diseases, pests, and weeds. It also helps to diversify the farmer's
income and spread the risk.
● Relay cropping: This involves growing two or more crops in the same field during the
same growing season, with one crop being sown after the other has already germinated.
Relay cropping can help farmers to optimize the use of their land and water resources.
● Mixed cropping: This involves growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same
plot of land, without any specific sequence. Mixed cropping can help to reduce risk and
increase productivity, as different crops can complement each other in terms of resource
utilization.
● Multiple cropping: This involves growing two or more crops in the same field during the
same growing season. Multiple cropping can help to increase the productivity of the land,
as it enables farmers to use the same resources multiple times in a given year. However, it
requires careful planning and management of resources.

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Crops grown in India
Types of
Meaning Major Crops
Crops

Crops that are used for Rice, Wheat, Maize, Millets, Pulses and
Food grains
human consumption Oilseeds

Crops which are grown for

Commercial Cotton, Jute, Sugarcane, Tobaccco and
sale either in raw form or
Crops Oilseeds
in semi-processed form

Crops which are grown on

Plantation
Plantations covering large Tea, Coffee, Coconut and Rubber
Crops
estates

Sections of agriculture in
Horticulture which Fruits and Fruits and Vegetables
Vegetables are grown
Diversity of crops grown across the country:
● Rice-Wheat: UP, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh.
● Rice-Rice: Irrigated and Humid coastal system of Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Kerala.
● Rice- Groundnut: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and Maharashtra
● Rice-Pulses: Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Bihar.
● Maize-Wheat: UP, Rajasthan, MP and Bihar.
● Sugarcane-Wheat: UP, Punjab and Haryana accounts for 68% of the area under
sugarcane. The other states which cover the crops are; Karnataka and MP.
● Cotton-Wheat: Punjab, Haryana, West UP, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu.
● Soya bean-Wheat: Maharashtra, MP and Rajasthan
● Legume Based Cropping Systems (Pulses-Oilseeds): MP, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Cropping Seasons in India:
Cropping Season Time Period Crops States

Rabi ● Sown: Oct - Dec Wheat, barley, peas, • Punjab

● Harvested: Apr - gram, mustard etc. • Haryana
Jun • Himachal Pradesh
• Jammu and Kashmir
• Uttarakhand
• Uttar Pradesh
Kharif • Sown: Jun - Jul Rice, maize, jowar, • Assam
• Harvested: Sept - bajra, tur, moong, • West Bengal
Oct urad, cotton, jute, • Odisha
groundnut, soybean • Andhra Pradesh
etc. • Telangana
• Tamil Nadu
• Kerala
• Maharashtra

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Zaid Sown & harvested: Mar Seasonal fruits, Most of the northern and
-July vegetables, fodder north-western states
(between Rabi and crops etc
Kharif)

Factors affecting cropping pattern

1. Geographical Factors:
● Physical environment such as physiography, soil, climate, water etc. play a very
important role in the growth and distribution of plants and animals.
o Ex: rice-wheat in plains, tea/rubber in hilly terrains
o Ex: cotton in black soil
o Ex: rainfall patterns affecting pulses
● Climate change has affected the Indian monsoon due to which cropping patterns are also
changing.
2. Socio-Cultural Factors: Food habits, customs, traditions etc. of the population in general
guide the cropping pattern of a region. Ex: food culture in western India -> Strong food processing
industry -> demand for vegetables
3. Infrastructure Factors: Irrigation, storage, transport, extension services etc. decide location,
quantity, quality etc of the crops
4. Demographic factors: Population explosion and urbanisation has led to land conversion,
boosting intensive farming and has brought changes in cropping patterns.
5. Technological Factors: Humans through their technological advancements such as Green
Revolution has changed the physical limits
● Example: Cultivation of rice in Punjab, Haryana and Ganganagar of Rajasthan
6. Economic Factors:
● Economic expansion: Farmers are more intensively moving towards cultivation of cash crops
such as oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, spices, etc. from the traditional
non-cash/non-commercial crops such as cereals and pulses
● Size of land holdings => sustenance vs commercial farming.
● Increase in the prices of crops, land ownership, land tenancy, land tenure, size of land
holding influences the cropping patterns.
7. Government policies: invests in technology, seeds, infrastructure etc.
● Subsidy influences trends and patterns
o Ex: Sugarcane farming in MH

From 1951 to 2021 net area under cultivation decreased but gross cropped area has
increased due multiple time farming on same land.
1951 2021
80% of the total gross cropped area was under 76% of the total gross cropped area was under food
food grain. Out of this 80% grain. Out of this 76%
● 31% Paddy ● 35% paddy
● 28% millets ● 23% wheat
● 20% Pulses ● 20% pulses
● 11% Wheat ● 15% millets
Among remaining 20% were: Among remaining 24% were:
● 5% jute ● 2% jute
● 4% cotton ● 6% cotton
● 2% fruits & vegetables ● 5% fruits & vegetables
● 2% oil seeds ● 4% oil seeds

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● 5% sugarcane ● 7% sugarcane

There are typical patterns observed in changes in cropping pattern in India over last
70 years
1. Paddy is the most important crop covering 1/4 of area under cultivation.
2. Wheat has increased in importance & area under its cultivation has doubled
3. Pulses have remained stagnant with respect to area under cultivation, and millets have
significant declined
4. Fruits & vegetables have increased along with oil seeds due to rise in demand
5. Area under jute has reduced due to decrease in demand
6. India produces more than 130 million tonnes of rice & more than 100 million tonnes of
wheat devoting more than 45% of area under cultivation to these products. This has
developed of what is called a rice wheat economy in India.

Issues with cropping pattern:

1. Acc to the Economic Survey 2020-21 warns that the existing cropping pattern is skewed
towards cultivation of sugarcane, paddy and wheat which has led to depletion
of fresh ground water resources at alarming rates, it also points out that extremely
high water stress levels are recorded in the country’s north-western region.
2. Input subsidies,MSP,Differential support from states and post green revolution led
to more centralised and monocrop system.
3. In most States, power supply for agriculture use is either totally free or highly
subsidised,Free power has also distorted cropping patterns towards
water-intensive crops, showing disregard for agro-climatic conditions of various States
and regions.
4. Over usage of pesticides and fertilisers(According to a report by NITI Aayog, the
average NPK ratio in India was 8:3:1 in 2015-16, which is far from the recommended ratio
of 4:2:1) increase in soil erosion, etc the yield of crops stagnated and the state
experienced a fall in the income of the farmers. This fear of fall in the income of the farmers
and stagnation in crop yield has become the central issue in the current agrarian crisis.
5. The agriculture sector contributes 14 per cent of the total GHG
emissions.Within the sector, 54.6 per cent of GHG emissions were due to enteric
fermentation, followed by 17.5 per cent from rice cultivation, 19.1 per cent from
fertiliser applied to agricultural soils, 6.7 per cent from manure management, and 2.2
per cent due to field burning of agricultural residues.
6. Supply-Demand Mismatch:
➢ Leads to Inflation
➢ In 2018-19, more than 52,13,360 kg of food grains were wasted or had
rotten, causing an estimated loss of Rs 72,033,224.

Why Crop Diversification is needed:

Crop diversification is a strategy applied to grow more diverse crops from
shrinking land resources with an increase in productivity in the same arable land.
This can be done in various forms such as the addition of new crop(s) as
intercrop and/or predecessor or successor crops, changing numbers of the crop (multi-cropping),
modified cropping system and adopting a new, integrated cropping pattern with changing
agronomical practices.

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The traditional pattern of agriculture in India has wider crop diversity, and is more stable and
pro-nature. In the Garhwal Himalayan region of India,Barahnaja is a crop diversification
system for cultivating 12 crops in a year. ‘Barah anaaj’ literally means ‘12 foodgrains’ and is
the traditional heritage of the area.

What are the benefits of crop diversification?

1. Increases Farmers’ income: Crop diversification can act as an important
stress-relieving factor for the economic growth of the farming community and provide
economic stability.
The Government of Haryana has also supported this by announcing that farmers switching to
other alternate crops instead of paddy will be paid Rs. 7000 per acre incentive (Mera Pani - Meri
Virasat Scheme).
2. Increases natural biodiversity and productivity: Crop diversification can increase
natural biodiversity, strengthening the ability of the agroecosystem to respond to climatic
and environmental stresses.
3. Reduces the risk of crop failure: As different crops will respond to climate scenarios in
different ways, crop diversification will significantly reduce the risk of total crop failure.
Further, diversification will also help in mitigating natural calamities.
4. Ensure Food and nutritional security: Crop diversification enables farmers to grow
surplus products for sale at the market. Thus facilitating both food and nutritional security.
5. Access to national and international markets: It can enable farmers to gain access to
national and international markets with new products, food and medicinal plants.
6. Environmental Conservation: Adoption of crop diversification helps in the
conservation of natural resources like the introduction of legumes in the rice-wheat
cropping system, which has the ability to fix atmospheric Nitrogen to help sustain soil
fertility.

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Conclusively, major advantages of crop diversification include income increases of small
farm holdings; less risk for price fluctuation, climatic variability etc.; balancing food demand;
increasing the production of quality fodder for livestock animals; beneficial for conserving
natural resources; minimize environmental pollution; reduce dependence on off farm inputs;
and community food security can be increased.

The main reasons for lack of crop diversification in India are:

1. Rising productivity & income from wheat and rice after green revolution
2. Higher presence of MSP with open procurement policy only for wheat & rice
3. Increase in irrigation subsidy promoted growth of water incentive crops like rice.
4. High fertiliser subsidy has resulted in intensive cultivation and growth of wheat & rice even
in regions where soil is not suitable.
5. Risks attached to pulses & oilseeds of pest infestation & price fluctuation discourages their
production.
6. Lack of proper storage & marketing facility discourages production of fruits & vegetables
Case Study:
Telangana Regulated Crop Cultivation Programme:
Govt. of Telangana has announced a market demand-based regulated farming model for the ensuing Kharif
2020, for cultivating 41.80 lakh acres under paddy, 12.31 lakh acres under red gram, 60 lakh acre under cotton
and 10.90 lakh acres for other crops under the plan.
The Government is promoting crop colonies taking into
account the agro-climatic realities and based on production and consumption matrix locally
and at the state level.

Efforts and Initiatives:

1. The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) is implementing the Crop
Diversification Programme (CDP), a sub-scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana (RKVY) in the Original Green Revolution States viz; Haryana, Punjab &
Western Uttar Pradesh since 2013-14 to divert the area of water intensive paddy
crop to alternative crops like pulses, oilseeds, coarse cereals, nutri cereals,
cotton etc.
2. Government of India is also supplementing the efforts of state governments to
encourage diversified production of crops such as pulses, coarse cereals, nutri cereals,
cotton & oilseeds under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and horticultural crops
under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).
3. Economic Survey 2022 highlighted that the incentive structure provided under the MSP
regime leading to variation in return over cost across crops has bearing on crop
diversification.
4. The Committee on Doubling Farmers Income has already suggested that shifting
some areas from staple cereals to high-value produce can lead to a sizable increase in the
returns for farmers.

Way Forward
National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) suggested certain measures for
introducing a better and scientific cropping pattern:
● Introduce legislative compulsion for structuring a desired cropping pattern in different region
of the country. Example: U.S.A., U.A.E., and other countries
● Government may appoint District Planning Officers who introduce crop planning in every
season considering various seasonal changes and changes in other factors such as yields,
policies, demand etc.
● Cultivators also should cooperate with various government departments for implementing
their programme.

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● An agricultural mechanisation corporation may also be set up for supplying various inputs on
loans.
● Government should also provide adequate transport and marketing facilities and also make
provision for consolidation of holdings.
● Research institutes such as ICAR should conduct research on further crop diversification

T.1.1 Impact and assessment of Green revolution

When India attained independence, the agriculture sector was in a poor state. The situation was
aggravated by the fact that the more productive and largely irrigated areas fell in the newly-created
Pakistan. The first two decades after Independence did not see any improvement in overall food
availability – per capita annual production of total food remained unchanged at 296 kg till
1966-67. The adoption of Green Revolution technology led to an improvement in the
situation, and per capita food production reached the level of 365 kg (around 1 kg food per
person per day) in the early 1970s. Annual production of food has now reached 683 kg per
person, or 1.87 kg/person/day.

Timeline:
● In 1958 we had severe drought & recession. The government invited team from Ford
foundation.
● 1959: Team submitted its report & recommended modernisation of agriculture
● 1961: Integrated agricultural development program was initiated as pilot project.
● 1964: Intensive agricultural area program in 114 districts
● 1966: Green revolution initiated with:
o High yielding variety of seeds
o Chemical fertiliser
o Assured irrigation
o Chemical pesticides.
● Within a span of six years 1966-72 crop yield of food grains production increased from 60
million tonne to 110 million tonne making India self-sufficient in food grain production.

Impact of Green Revolution:

1. Increase in Agricultural production: GR resulted in phenomenal increase in
production of agricultural crops especially in food grains,the production of cereal crops
tripled with only a 30% increase in the land area cultivated.

2. Diffusion of Rice and Wheat Cultivation to Non-Traditional Areas: Earlier West

bengal and Bihar had been traditional producers of rice and had distinction of being called

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‘Rice heartland’ but because of GR rice cultivation spreaded to semi arid areas of
Punjab,Haryana,UP this has happened because of increase in irrigation facilities
supplemented by availability of better seeds and fertilizer.
Similarly Wheat Cultivation has
spread to vast areas in eastern UP,MP,Rajasthan and some parts of Maharashtra,Guj,WB.

3. Poverty Alleviation: Higher agricultural productivity often translates into higher

incomes for farmers. The Green Revolution helped lift many small-scale farmers out of
poverty by increasing their crop yields and income levels. For example, the poverty ratio
in rural India declined from 50.1% in 1993-94 to 25.7% in 2011-12, partly due to
the impact of the Green Revolution.

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4. Reduced food-grain imports: India is a net exporter of wheat, rice and other food
grains such as rye, maize, sorghum, buckwheat, bajra, ragi and their import is negligible. In
2020-21, India exported 18.5 million tonnes of rice, which was the highest ever
in a year. India also exported 2.1 million tonnes of wheat in 2020-21, which
was the highest in six years.
5. Capitalistic Farming: Big farmers having more than 10 hectares of land have tended to
get the maximum benefit of Green Rev by Investing large amount money in
HYVseeds,Fertilizer.This encouraged Capitalistic Farming.
6. Benefits to the Farmers: The introduction of the Green Revolution helped the farmers
in raising their level of income. Farmers ploughed back their surplus income for improving
agricultural productivity.
According to a study conducted by Punjab Agriculture
University, Ludhiana farmers plough back about 55 per cent of their income for
agricultural progress.
7. Industrial Growth: The Revolution brought about large scale farm mechanization which
created demand for different types of machines like tractors, harvesters, threshers,
combines, diesel engines, electric motors, pumping sets, etc.
8. Rural Employment: There was an appreciable increase in the demand for labour force
due to multiple cropping and use of fertilizers.
9. Change in the Attitude of Farmers: The Indian farmer had remained illiterate,
backward and traditional and had been using conventional methods of cultivation since the
early times. But Green Revolution has brought about a basic change in his attitude towards
farming.

Challenges of green revolution:

Green Revolution is a unique event in the agricultural history of Independent India. This has saved
us from the disasters of hunger and starvation andmade our peasants more confident than ever
before. But it has its own inherent deficiency segments. Ever since its inception, the income
gap between large, marginal and small farmers has increased, gap between

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irrigated and rainfed areas has widened and some crops have benefited more than
the others, sometimes two even at the cost of other crops. it is neither
product-neutral nor region-neutral and leaves uneven effect of growth on
products,regions and classes of people. This has given birth to a plethora of socio-economic
problems. According to Radha Krishna Rao, "The spiraling prices of fertilizers, the
tendency to use them frequently and the stagnant wheat and rice yields in Punjab
and Haryana have combined to confirm that Green Revolution has reached ripened
old age".
1. Regional Disparities: Green Revolution technology has given birth to growing disparities
in economic development at interred and intra regional levels. It has so far affected only 40
percent of the total cropped area and 60 per cent is still untouched by it.
2. It resulted in increasing interpersonal inequality
3. It resulted in overuse of chemical fertilisers, over extraction of water & overuse
of pesticides leading to soil degradation, water table depletion & health hazards for
people.
4. Limited Coverage of HYVP: High Yielding Variety Programme (HYVP) was restricted to
only five crops: Wheat, Rice, Jowar, Bajra and Maize.
5. It resulted in larger use of machines & equipments which displaced workers & resulted in
unemployment.
6. Unemployment: Except in Punjab, and to some extent in Haryana, farm mechanization
under the Green Revolution created widespread unemployment among agricultural
labourers in the rural areas.
7. It discouraged crop diversification by focusing more on wheat & rice and creating a
mechanism of marketing system, trading system etc. that supported higher growth of wheat
& rice at the cost of other crops.
8. It discouraged institutional reforms in agriculture.

M.S. Swaminathan Report (2005)- Evergreen Revolution: Higher productivity with

ecological sustainability. He suggested
1. Technological Reforms like:
● Soil Reforms: studying different types of soil, it’s component, presence of humus &
nutrients, level of water table & advising the farmers regarding suitable crops, proper choice
of fertiliser & optimum irrigation.
● Seed revolution: promotion of hybrid seeds, non hybrid seeds, GM seeds etc. Running
pilot projects & simulating their impact in labs & also training farmers in seeds conservation
● Irrigation reforms:
o demand side reforms- utility of water: -
● training farmer to avoid wastage
● Improving choice of crop according to agro climatic region
● Reduce irrational subsidy of irrigation
o Supply side reforms-conservation of water
● Creating small check dams
● Rainwater harvesting
● Developing new technologies like drip irrigation to increase efficiency of water
use
● Improving maintenance & repair of canals to assure that water is not wasted
● promoting local source of irrigation
2. Institutional reforms
a. Reforming the credit system: - more efforts should be made to develop micro credit
institutions, creating SHGs, promoting the scope of priority sector lending,
increasing coverage of Kisan credit card etc all of which will reduce dependence of
money lenders & therefore reduce cost of farming by reducing interest rates

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b. Protection of crops (Upstream issues of agricultural marketing)
i. Provision of proper fencing to protect crop from animal intrusion
ii. Developing methods to protect crops from pests & weeds
iii. Developing storage facilities on the field & proper network of cold storage
chain to prevent wastage of crop during transportation to market.
c. Marketing Reforms
i. There should be more competition for APMC markets, improving storage
facilities, warehousing, packaging & grading & measurements, giving farmers
accessibility to contract farming, improving connectivity to the market &
educating the farmers better through extension services will all help in
improving returns to the farmers in agriculture

Need of New Green Revolution:

The new green revolution aims for:
1. First, to make India self-sufficient in not just wheat and paddy, but food items of every
kind, be it pulses or oilseeds;
2. Second, to increase per acre production and preserve soil by encouraging natural farming;
and
3. Third, to bring prosperity to farmers by finding markets for natural farming produce, he
said.
4. Fourth,The use of biotechnology and breeding will be important in developing
eco-friendly, disease-resistant, climate-resilient, more nutritious and diversified crop
varieties

T.1.2 Impact of climate change on cropping patterns

Climate change reduces crop yields and lower nutrition quality of produce. Extreme events like
droughts affect the food and nutrient consumption, and its impact on farmers.
In absence of adoption of adaptation measures:
● rainfed rice yields in India are projected to reduce by 20% in 2050
● irrigated rice yields are projected to reduce by 3.5% in 2050
● reduce wheat yield by 19.3% in 2050

Impact of climate change:

● Decrease in yield: In India, an increase in temperature by 1.5° C and decrease in the
precipitation of 2 mm, reduces the rice yield by 3 to 15%.
o The predicted higher day temperatures by 3-5 degrees for the prevailing current
season in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan will affect
the yield of the wheat crop.
o It is being speculated that the effect of El Niño will lower the summer crops
production in India as El Niño affects the monsoon winds into India and creates
drought conditions.
● Loss in production: Adverse weather conditions can cause production losses, especially
if experienced during critical stages of growth.
o After the rain-deficient sowing period of paddy, the excess rainfall just before
harvesting in Uttar Pradesh will decrease the production of paddy by 6% from 2021
in the State.
● Lowers quality of produce: Change in weather conditions affects the quality of crops
also.
o For instance, excess rainfall during the flowering season affected the quality of
cashew nut in Kerala.

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● Increase in pests: Variations in temperature and relative humidity facilitate the
emergence of new pests and diseases, leaving many crops susceptible to attacks and
outbreaks.
● Reduction in soil nutrients: Extreme rainfall events in India have been wiping out soil
nutrient reserves, generating a negative impact on the crops

Government Initiatives and Policies to tackle Climate-Related Effects

● National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: It has been formulated for enhancing
agricultural productivity especially in rain-fed areas focusing on integrated farming, water
use efficiency, soil health management and synergizing resource conservation.
● Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY): It has been formulated with the
vision of extending the coverage of irrigation and improving water use efficiency in a
focused manner with end-to-end solution on source creation, distribution, management,
field application and extension activities.
● Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): It is the government sponsored crop
insurance scheme to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the
event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
● Agriculture Accelerator Fund: The fund is a part of Central Government’s efforts to
incentivize agriculture. The fund will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions
for challenges faced by farmers.
● Agriculture Infrastructure Fund: It is a financing facility for creation of post-harvest
management infrastructure and community farm assets
Suggestions
Focus on promoting natural farming in rainfed areas beyond the Gangetic basin. Home to half of
India’s farmers, rainfed regions use only a third of the fertilisers per hectare
● Enable automatic enrolment of farmers transitioning to chemical-free farming into the
government’s crop insurance scheme, PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to avoid any risks
● Promote microenterprises that produce inputs for chemical-free agriculture
● Leverage ngos and champion farmers who have been promoting and practising sustainable
agriculture across the country.
o CEEW research estimates that at least five million farmers are already practising
some form of sustainable agriculture
● Beyond evolving the curriculum in agricultural universities, upskill the agriculture
extension workers on sustainable agriculture practices
● Government should facilitate an ecosystem in which farmers learn from and support each
other while making the transition
● Support monitoring and impact studies
● Dovetail the ambition on millet promotion with the aim to promote sustainable agriculture.
Instead of the two remaining in silos, why not promote chemical-free millets and create
awareness about both

Climate Smart Agriculture:

Climate-smart agriculture is an approach for transforming food and agriculture systems to support sustainable
development and safeguard food security under climate change.
CSA comprises three pillars or objectives:
● Sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes;
● Adapt and build resilience to climate change; and
● Reduce/remove GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions,
Improvements in agroforestry, sustainable water management, and precision agriculture are all
concrete examples of CSA ideas in action, and they are not limited by any one country. CSA promotes
crop diversification, increases water efficiency, and integrates drought-resistant crop types, all of which help
lessen the disruptive effects of climate change. The importance of CSA lies in its ability to increase

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agricultural output while maintaining ecological stability.
The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change, National
Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture, Soil Health Mission, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Biotech-KISAN, and Climate Smart Village are a few
examples of government initiatives in India focusing on CSA. Various public and private sector entities
such as farmer-producer organisations and NGOs are also working towards the adoption of CSA.

Conclusion: reaching toward the goal of sustainable agriculture is the responsibility

of all participants in the system, including farmers, laborers, policymakers, researchers,
retailers, and consumers. Each group has its own part to play, its own unique contribution to make
to strengthen the sustainable agriculture community.

T.1.3 Comparison with China:

While China and India walked abreast on agriculture till the
early 1990s, China has taken substantially longer strides since,
whether it is in grain yield enhancement or growth in
agricultural capital formation or maintaining trade
surplus with roughly about half on average per capita
the farm holding as India (1.2 hectares as compared to
about 0.6 hectares in China).With much lesser land under
cultivation, China produces agricultural output valued
at $1,367 billion—more than three times that of India’s
$407 billion.
It can be attributed largely
to China’s commitment to improve agricultural resource
administration, especially with respect to on-farm irrigation
water management. Globally, China stands with the largest
irrigated area (69.1 as compared 67 million hectares in
India). But to cope with such demand, China has made
concrete moves to adopt advanced water-saving technologies.
At present, 48% of irrigated area in China has
micro-irrigation systems (drip/sprinklers) that make
optimal use of water.
In 2018-19 China invested
$7.8 billion in Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems
(AKIS) while India invested $ 1.4 billion. India invests about 0.35 % of Agri-Gross Value
Added (GVA) and China on the other hand invests about 0.8 % of GVA.
Israel:
Development of greenhouse equipment, seed and livestock propagation, fertilizers and pesticides
have enabled Israeli agriculture to prosper in adversity. In addition, farmers have learned to
develop high value-added and innovative farm products that enable them to compete in markets
with lower-cost producers.
Perhaps the most innovative development in
water utilization has been drip irrigation, conceived in Israel some 35 years ago.
Today, networks of plastic pipes with small openings for each plant or tree are
strategically placed across fields. Via the drippers, controlled amounts of fertilizer can be
pumped through the irrigation pipes to the plants, a system known as fertigation.
Israel is the largest user of recycled effluent water
for agriculture across OECD member countries: more than 87% of wastewater
effluent is reused for agriculture.

IAS Exam Congress Mains- 2024