Agriculture in India: Information About Indian Agriculture & Its Importance

Introduction

Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58 per cent of India’s population. Gross Value Added by agriculture, forestry and fishing is estimated at Rs 17.67 trillion (US$ 274.23 billion) in FY18

The Indian food industry is poised for huge growth, increasing its contribution to world food trade every year due to its immense potential for value addition, particularly within the food processing industry. The Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth largest, with retail contributing 70 per cent of the sales. The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32 per cent of the country’s total food market, one of the largest industries in India and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth. It contributes around 8.80 and 8.39 per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA) in Manufacturing and Agriculture respectively, 13 per cent of India’s exports and six per cent of total industrial investment.

Market Size

During 2017-18 crop year, food grain production is estimated at 279.51 million tonnes, as per third advance estimates while rice and wheat production in the country is estimated at 111.52 MT and 98.61 MT, respectively in the same period. Milk production was estimated at 165.4 million tonnes during FY17, while meat production was 7.4 million tonnes. Total area in India, sown with rabi crops reached 64.29 million hectares in February 2018.

India is the second largest fruit producer in the world. Production of horticulture crops is estimated at record 307.16 million tonnes (mt) in 2017-18 as per second advance estimates.

Total agricultural exports from India grew at a CAGR of 16.45 per cent over FY10-18 to reach US$ 38.21 billion in FY18. In April-May 2018 agriculture exports were US$ 6.43 billion. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products. Spice exports from India reached US$ 3.1 billion in 2017-18. Tea exports from India reached a 36 year high of 240.68 million kgs in CY 2017 while coffee exports reached record 395,000 tonnes in 2017-18.

Food & Grocery retail market in India was worth US$ 380 billion in 2017.

Investments

According to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the Indian agricultural services and agricultural machinery sectors have cumulatively attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow of about US$ 2.02 billion and US$ 466.31 million, respectively, during April 2000 to December 2017. The food processing sector attracted FDI of US$ 8.37 billion in the same period.

Some major investments and developments in agriculture are as follows:

• The first mega food park in Rajasthan was inaugurated in March 2018.
• Sugar production in India is expected to reach 27.2 million tonnes in 2017-18 season (October-September).
• In January 2018, India Agri Business Fund II (IABF-II), co-sponsored by Rabobank, the UK’s CDC Group and Asian Development Bank (ADB), made an investment worth US$ 10 million for a minority stake in Global Gourmet Pvt Ltd, a frozen food products exporting company.
• A loan agreement of US$ 318 million was signed between the Government of India, Government of Tamil Nadu and the World Bank in December 2017 for the ‘Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization Project' through which is expected to benefit around 500,000 farmers in the state.
• Cotton output in India is expected to increase by 9 per cent in 2017-18* to 37.7 million bales.

Government Initiatives

Some of the recent major government initiatives in the sector are as follows:

• In March 2018, the Government of India extended the urea subsidy to the farmers till 2020 with the aim of ensuring supply of urea at statutory controlled prices. Urea subsidy for 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 45,000 crore (US$ 6.95 billion).
• As of March 2018, the Government is working on a plan to provide air cargo support to promote agriculture exports from India.
• The implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) will be made faster and the government is aiming to increase the coverage under the scheme to 50 per cent of gross cropped area in 2018-19.
• The Government of India is going to provide Rs 2,000 crore (US$ 306.29 million) for computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) to ensure cooperatives are benefitted through digital technology.
• Around 100 million Soil Health Cards (SHCs) have been distributed in the country during 2015-17 and a soil health mobile app has been launched to help Indian farmers.
• With an aim to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture, the Government of India is introducing a new AGRI-UDAAN programme to mentor start-ups and to enable them to connect with potential investors.
• The Government of India has launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) with an investment of Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.7 billion) aimed at development of irrigation sources for providing a permanent solution from drought.
• The Government of India plans to triple the capacity of food processing sector in India from the current 10 per cent of agriculture produce and has also committed Rs 6,000 crore (US$ 936.38 billion) as investments for mega food parks in the country, as a part of the Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters (SAMPADA).
• The Government of India has allowed 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products and in food product e-commerce under the automatic route.
• A new platform for selling agricultural produce named e-RaKam has been launched by the Government of India and will operate as a joint initiative of Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited and Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited (CRWC).

Road Ahead

India is expected to achieve the ambitious goal of doubling farm income by 2022. The agriculture sector in India is expected to generate better momentum in the next few years due to increased investments in agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation facilities, warehousing and cold storage. Furthermore, the growing use of genetically modified crops will likely improve the yield for Indian farmers. India is expected to be self-sufficient in pulses in the coming few years due to concerted efforts of scientists to get early-maturing varieties of pulses and the increase in minimum support price.

The government of India targets to increase the average income of a farmer household at current prices to Rs 219,724 (US$ 3,420.21) by 2022-23 from Rs 96,703 (US$ 1,505.27) in 2015-16.

Going forward, the adoption of food safety and quality assurance mechanisms such as Total Quality Management (TQM) including ISO 9000, ISO 22000, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) by the food processing industry will offer several benefits. 

Exchange rate used: INR 1 = US$ 0.015 as of March 30, 2018.

References: The Economic Survey 2016–17, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Department of Commerce and Industry, Union Budget 2017–18, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Press Releases, Media Reports, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Crisil

Note: *cotton year starts in October and ends in September

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.