Indian agriculture is among the most robust and biggest in the world. Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is unquestionably the largest livelihood provider in India ranking second in terms of agricultural farm output and allied sectors. Most of the industries also depend upon the sector for their raw materials. Steady investments in technology development, irrigation infrastructure, emphasis on modern agricultural practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidies are the major factors contributed to agriculture growth.

Indian agriculture has undergone a rapid transformation in the past two decades. The policy of globalization and liberalization has opened up new avenues for agricultural modernization. This has not only led to commercialization and diversification but also triggered various technological and institutional innovations owing to investments from corporate entities.

Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58% of India’s population. Gross Value Added (GVA) by agriculture, forestry and fishing was estimated at Rs. 19.48 lakh crore (US$ 276.37 billion) in FY20 (PE). Growth in GVA in agriculture and allied sectors stood at 4% in FY20.

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. Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth-largest, with retail contributing 70% of the sales. The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32% 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.

Essential agricultural commodities export for the April-September period of 2020 increased by 43% to Rs. 53,626 crore (US$ 7.3 billion) over Rs. 37,397 crore (US$ 5.1 billion) in the same period last year.

India's agriculture is composed of many crops, with the foremost food staples being rice and wheat. Indian farmers also grow pulses, potatoes, sugarcane, oilseeds, and such non-food items as cotton, tea, coffee, rubber, and jute (a glossy fiber used to make burlap and twine). India is a fisheries giant as well. A total catch of about 3 million metric tons annually ranks India among the world's top 10 fishing nations. Despite the overwhelming size of the agricultural sector, however, yields per hectare of crops in India are generally low compared to international standards. Improper water management is another problem affecting India's agriculture. At a time of increasing water shortages and environmental crises, for example, the rice crop in India is allocated disproportionately high amounts of water. One result of the inefficient use of water is that water tables in regions of rice cultivation, such as Punjab, are on the rise, while soil fertility is on the decline. Aggravating the agricultural situation is an ongoing Asian drought and inclement weather. Although during 2000-01 a monsoon with average rainfall had been expected, prospects of agricultural production during that period were not considered bright. This has partially been due to relatively unfavourable distribution of rainfall, leading to floods in certain parts of the country and droughts in some others.

Although agriculture accounts for as much as a quarter of the Indian economy and employs an estimated 60 per cent of the labour force, it is considered highly inefficient, wasteful, and incapable of solving the hunger and malnutrition problems. Despite progress in this area, these problems have continued to frustrate India for decades. It is estimated that as much as one-fifth of the total agricultural output is lost due to inefficiencies in harvesting, transport, and storage of government-subsidized crops.

Contribution of women in Agriculture

1. 1. Agriculture sector employs 81% of all economically active women in India; they comprise 33% of the agriculture labour force and 48% of the self-employed farmers.
2. 2. In India, 85% of rural women are engaged in agriculture, yet only about 13% own land. The situation is worse in Bihar with only 7% of women having land rights, though women play an important role in various agricultural activities.
3. 3. Economic Survey 2017-18 says that with growing rural to urban migration by men, there is ‘feminization’ of the agriculture sector, with the increasing number of women in multiple roles as cultivators, entrepreneurs, and labourers.
4. 4. Bihar’s agriculture sector is highly feminized, with 50.1% of the total workforce engaged in farming activities being women (‘Women in the informal economy of Bihar’ – ADRI).
5. 5. 70% of all women engaged in cultivation are from households witnessing migration. (Report released in 2014 by IHD, New Delhi).
6. 6. About 60-80% of food are produced by rural women.

AGRICULTURE IN JHARKHAND

Agriculture is the mainstay for 80% of the rural population of the state. Agriculture is their employment and primary income-generating activity. The agricultural economy of the Jharkhand state is characterized by dependence on nature, low investment, low productivity, mono-cropping with paddy as the dominant crop, in inadequate irrigation facilities and small and marginal holdings. The dependence of agriculture on the Vagaries of the rain-god can be gauged from the fact that as much as 92% of the total cultivated area is unirrigated.

The cultivable land resources of the state have good potential for higher production of horticulture and forest products. The soil is young and has a high capacity of fixation of humus. The forest provides sufficient biomass to feed its soiling. However, Soil erosion and failure to recycle the biomass is depleting the soil fertility. Hence, a judicious oil, water and land management are required only that can improve agriculture productivity. Even though the state has a good rainfall, the surface water availability to agriculture is not sufficient due to inadequate storage facilities etc. as far as the status of groundwater is concerned, it is also in the poor state due to little recharging of groundwater by a natural process in absence of artificial recharging facilities, as a result, the water label in the plateau is going down.

Presently, the availability of water resource is only 287810 lakhs m3, out of which 237890 lakh .m3 is from surface water and rest 49920 lakh m3 is from groundwater. The total utilization of surface and groundwater in the state for irrigation purposes so far is only 47360 lakh m3 out of which 39640 lakh m3 is surface water and 7720 lakh m3 is groundwater. For all-round agricultural development, technology must be supplemented by institutional mechanisms to ensure the provision of the essential facilities and services that the farmers need to improve agronomic practices and obtain higher yield. Only the development of a healthy agricultural marketing system can guarantee remunerative prices to the farmers and motivate the adoption of scientific cultivation for raising agricultural productivity.

1. (i) Land Profile

→ Geographical Area: 79.70 lakh ha

→ Cultivable Area: 38 lakh ha

→ Net Shown Area: 25 - 26 lakh ha

→ Rainfall: 1300 mm (Normal)

→ No. of Districts - 24

→ No. of Blocks - 259

2. (ii) Major Crops: Paddy, Wheat, Maize, Pulses, Oilseeds & Horticultural Crops

   S. No.	Crops	Area (000 ha)	Production (000 MT)
   1.	Rice	1501.77	4367.433
   2.	Wheat	170.097	335.932
   3.	Maize	265.846	450.736
   4.	Pulse (Arhar, Urad, Moong, Gram etc.)	591.138	590.948
   5.	Oiled (Mustered, Niger, Til, Groundnut etc.)	278.135	191.984
   6.	Fruits	83.853	859.008
   7.	Vegetable	295.273	4196.700
   8.	Cashew Nut	19.695	9.858

3. Minor Crops: Maize, Arhar, Urad, Moong, Wheat, Gram, Mustard
4. (iii) Constraints:

→ Runoff loss and soil erosion and Low level of irrigation.

→ Mono Cropping.

→ Cultivation of wasteland.

→ Lack of Organized marketing facilities.

→ Soil Acidity and poor soil condition.

→ Increase in Kharif area/area expansion-Coverage of fallow land, increase in pulses, oilseed and coarse cereals area

→ Inadequate seed.

→ Low Farm mechanization

→ Low credit/insurance

→ Poor infrastructure for post-harvest and value addition.