{"id":425,"date":"2020-07-04T11:33:22","date_gmt":"2020-07-04T11:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/?p=425"},"modified":"2020-07-04T11:33:22","modified_gmt":"2020-07-04T11:33:22","slug":"agriculture-for-prosperity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/2020\/07\/04\/agriculture-for-prosperity\/","title":{"rendered":"AGRICULTURE FOR PROSPERITY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To rule the roost, India needs to strengthen its\nroots!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is high time for our country to revive the\nculture of agriculture as it plays a critical role in taking nation\u2019s economy\nto new heights. For long, India has been an agrarian country and prosperity of\nagriculture has direct impact on its overall Gross Domestic Product.\nUnfortunately, the economic contribution of agriculture to India\u2019s GDP is\ndeclining steeply in the backdrop of the country\u2019s broad-based economic growth\nacross a wide range of sectors which in parallel are trying to register\nlucrative outputs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A complete overhaul in the agriculture sector\nbecomes even more crucial as over 58% of the rural households depend on\nagriculture as their principal means of livelihood. Going by the latest report\nof India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the share of Primary Sector including\nagriculture, livestock, forestry and fishery is estimated to be 20.4% of the\nGross Value Added (GVA) during 2016-17 which is estimated to have grown at 3%\nin FY 2017-18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promising facts and figures appear to be in\nstark contrast to rising number of farmers\u2019 suicide cases, which our nation\ncannot afford to sweep under the carpet as yet another in a series of other\nimpeding causes. It goes without saying that farmers of our country who have\nalways been a reckoning force in ensuring food resources to citizens of the\ncountry, themselves often run short on easy access to basic amenities of life.\nThe situation seems to show a slightly different picture on practical ground.\nApathy and negligence meted out to agriculture sector over the past few decades\nhas been one of the prime reasons in slipping this sector into a state of\ntatters. Encroachments in prohibited forest regions, rampant deforestation and\nunchecked expanse of urbanisation have brought the field of agriculture to its\nknees. The interest of the youth has drifted from agriculture owing to the\nexacting demand in this sector which seeks laborious efforts and requires them\nto exercise patience that too with unsatisfactory returns. Rising interest in\nwhite collar jobs promising handsome remunerations has been one of the main\nfactors in putting the agrarian sector to risk and in a state of sheer apathy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In no uncertain terms, agriculture sector seems\nto keep on losing its sheen against the many odds stacked against it, but the\nneed of the hour is to bring it back to its purple patch.  If the agrarian sector is doing well,\nautomatically scores of our national problems will be solved. There are hosts\nof reasons that boldly underscore the urgency of injecting new vim and vigour\ninto the wilting agriculture sector. Connecting youth to their roots via\nagriculture could be a significant step in reviving the sector. Prosperity in\nthis sector is the stepping stone for bringing health and wealth to the whole\nnation. In view of the fact that our population is increasing at an alarming\npace, resuscitation of agriculture could be the last ditch attempt to open new\navenues to cater to the needs of rising number of stomachs to be fed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agriculture sector was at its lowest point\nafter Independence when the nation was in the grip of a severe famine. In the\n21st century, we need to repeat the lofty efforts made by many people including\nvisionary scientist Dr. Norman Borlaug who played a pivotal role in bringing\nthe Green Revolution especially in Punjab and Haryana. Anointed as father of\nGreen Revolution in Punjab for his stupendous work in reviving the nosedived\nagrarian sector, US-based scientist Dr. Borlaug, winner of Nobel Prize for\nPeace, visited India in 1963 and brought the country to self-sufficiency by\nincreasing wheat proficiency from 12.3 million tons in 1965 to 20.1 million\ntons in 1970. He also advocated the need of introducing Blue Revolution\nalong with Green Revolution for optimum water-use productivity in the 21st\ncentury to enhance land-use productivity. Envisioning biotechnology as\ninstrumental in the facelift of agriculture sector, he urged leveraging\nbiotechnology to create a revolution in the coming decades in order to meet the\ncolossal demands of food and fibre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart and prudent fusion of Digital Resolution\nto create disruptive revolution with Agriculture can bring dramatic\nimprovements both in quality and quantity. To bridge the digital divide\nexisting among the farmers and end-users presently poses one of the toughest\ntasks and if this lacuna is effectively plugged into, lots of solutions will be\nat our disposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Held across 28 centres across the country, Smart\nIndia Hackathon, a unique initiative run by the Union Government in 2017 and\nnow in 2018 has sparked new hopes that the giant digital divide can certainly\nbe bridged effectively by tapping into highly productive professionally driven\nand growth oriented young techies. Through this initiative, the Government is\ntrying to cash in on the rising impact of technology by drafting novel ideas of\ntechno-geeks across many Ministries to improve governance and bring\ntransparency into the system. The Ministries of Agriculture and Health and\nFamily Welfare invited new ideas from young minds across Educational Institutes\nfrom all over the country as to how socio-economic life of the farmers could be\nimproved by channelising the potential of internet and technology in a planned\nmanner. In 2017, over 27 ideas were implemented in the Ministry and this year\ntoo, students came up with novel concepts to give an impressive facelift to the\nfarming sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has always been a huge gap between farmers\nand end users and in the wake of that, farmers incur heavy losses despite\nputting strenuous efforts in procuring their produce. With the advent of futuristic\nwebsites and mobile apps, young techies suggested ways to replace the concept\nof middlemen with technological interface in which farmers can directly make\ntheir produce reach the end user at lucrative profit. Crop damage owing to\nerratic weather conditions can too be contained through mobile app trackers\nwhich would equip farmers with information beforehand about the ominous weather\nconditions, current moisture of the crop and nutrition in the soil, exact\nquantity of pesticides to avoid excessive usage and save their money being\nsquandered away without specific directions. Farmers benefit from gadgets\ntelling them water content in the soil which help in saving water proficiently\nand using it in the exact quantity that is required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the help of technology, problem of stubble\nburning too can be contained effectively as through a mobile app, it is quite\npossible to connect farmers directly with the Government agencies including\nrequisite logistics support to ferry the stubble to Government warehouses. Not\nonly would such ideas help in reducing pollution, these would also give farmers\nadditional money for the stubble which they usually burn with no benefit at\nhand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Modi-led NDA Government is now aiming to\nfulfill its goal of doubling farm income by 2022. The agriculture sector in\nIndia can witness a positive fillip if it is pushed with added impetus of\nbetter agricultural infrastructure, farming subsidies, transparent loan schemes\nand waivers, upscale irrigation facilities, proper warehousing and cold storage\nfacilities. Making farmers abreast of the growing use of genetically modified\ncrops will likely improve the yield for farming families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this entire process of uplifting the farming\nsector, our prime focus ought to be on generating maximum awareness among\nfarmers through informative seminars and workshops. This is only possible\nthrough proactive involvement of public, private and voluntary organisations\nwhich should work hand-in-hand in liaising with Gram Panchayats at smaller\nlevels and formulate new plans and policies in ensuring that correct and useful\ninformation is delivered to the end farmer with rational results. The\nGovernment should initiate necessary schemes to repose faith and loyalty among\nfarmers about vitality of agriculture in nation\u2019s growth to recreate a belief\nthat farming can be a self-sustaining and self-sufficient profession per\nse.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For our nation to be self-sufficient in pulses\nin the coming few years, the concerted efforts of scientists are required to\nget early-maturing varieties of pulses and increase in minimum support price.\nIn view of the fact that the Union Government is targeting to increase the\naverage income of a farmer household at current prices to Rs. 2,19,724  by 2022-23 from Rs. 96,703 in 2015-16, many\nnew reforms and policies need to be framed and then regulated to implement them\nin both letter and spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New spur in agriculture will bring forth\ncheering news across a wide spectrum of our society as this sector impacts many\nother sectors due to close interlink. Our nation is bedevilled with a host of\nproblems which primarily include high demand of rising population, reducing\nagricultural land, menace of unemployment, urbanisation taking over rural\nlives, declining interest in farming sector and so on. To every problem, lies\novert as well as covert solutions in agriculture. There will be a conspicuous\nrise in the demand for manpower, generating employment to a colossal number of\nyouth with the rise in agricultural produce. Less import and more export opportunities\nwill give an additional spur to the nation\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green rippling fields have all the possible\npotential in causing positive ripples of prosperity, helping India bear the\nstamp of a nation advancing ahead imposingly on the wheels of sustainable\ndevelopment.      <\/s><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To rule the roost, India needs to strengthen its roots! It is high time for our country to revive the culture of agriculture as it plays a critical role in taking nation\u2019s economy to new heights. For long, India has been an agrarian country and prosperity of agriculture has direct impact on its overall Gross […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":426,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425\/revisions\/426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}