Agriculture Development in India

• 04 Feb 2025

For Prelims: Agriculture, Union Budget 2025-26, High-Yielding Seeds, Monocultures, Crop Diversity, FPOs, Gene Bank, Cotton, EEZ, High Seas, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep Islands, Fish Production, Irrigation, Pulse Production, Grameen Credit Score, SHG, Interest Subvention Scheme, Bt Cotton, GIS, Remote Sensing. 

For Mains: Initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, Concerns related to high-yielding seeds. 

Source: PIB 

Why in News? 

Emphasizing ‘Agriculture as the first engine’ for India’s development journey, the Union Budget 2025-26 announced a slew of measures to spur agricultural growth and productivity. 

• The Economic Survey 2024-25 found that the agriculture sector has shown robust growth, averaging 5% annually from 2016-17 to 2022-23. 
• However, the announced National Mission on High-Yielding Seeds raised concerns over monocultures and loss of crop diversity. 

What Agricultural Initiatives were Announced in the Union Budget 2025-26? 

• National Mission on High Yielding Seeds: It aims to improve agricultural productivity by developing high-yielding seeds that are more resilient to pests and climate stress. 
  • Focus Areas: 
    • Developing new seed varieties with better productivity and resistance. 
    • Creating seeds resilient to pests and climate stress. 
    • Ensuring easy access to high-yielding seeds for farmers. 
  • Seed Varieties: It targets to increase the availability of over 100 new seed varieties, including 23 cereals, 11 pulses, 7 oilseeds, among others. 
• Makhana Board in Bihar: A Makhana Board will be established to boost production, processing, and marketing, and support farmers through FPOs and government schemes. 
• Food Processing: The union government will establish a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in Bihar to promote food processing activities in Eastern India.  
• Gene Bank: The second Gene bank (1st in 1996) with 10 lakh germplasm lines would be set up for future food and nutritional security. 
  • A gene bank is a facility where genetic material from plants, animals, or microorganisms is stored and preserved for future use. 
• Mission for Cotton Productivity: It is a 5-year mission for improvements in productivity and sustainability of cotton farming, and promotes extra-long staple cotton varieties. 
  • It aligns with the 5F principle of the Ministry of Textiles i.e., Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion, Fashion to Foreign. 
• Sustainable Fisheries: The government will create a sustainable fisheries framework for the EEZ and High Seas, focusing on Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. 
  • India ranks 2nd-largest globally in fish production and aquaculture. 
• Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana: It aims to enhance agricultural productivity in 100 low-productivity districts, focusing on crop diversification, sustainable practices, improved storage, irrigation, and credit availability, benefiting 1.7 crore farmers. 
• Mission for Self-reliance in Pulses: A 6-year mission will be launched to achieve self-sufficiency in pulse production, focusing on crops like Tur, Urad, and Masur. 
• Rural Prosperity and Resilience Programme: It is a multi-sectoral initiative to address under-employment in agriculture through skilling, investment, technology, and rural empowerment. 
  • It prioritizes rural women, young farmers, and small farmers, aiming for job creation, financial independence for women, and agricultural modernization. 
• Grameen Credit Score: Public Sector Banks will develop the ‘Grameen Credit Score’ framework to serve the credit needs of SHG members and people in rural areas. 
• Kisan Credit Cards (KCC): Loan limit under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme increased from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for KCC holders supporting around 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers. 

Makhana 

• Known as fox nut, Makhana is the dried seed of the prickly water lily (Euryale ferox). 
• Bihar contributes to 90% of India’s makhana production. It is recognized as a nutrient-dense, low-fat healthy snack 
• In 2022, ‘Mithila Makhana’ received a GI tag. 
• The global makhana market was valued at USD 43.56 million in 2023. 

High-Yielding Seeds 

• About: High-yielding seeds are designed to increase crop output per unit of land using selective breeding, genetic modification, or advanced techniques. 
• Benefits: They produce more output with faster growth, better disease resistance, and require fewer resources. 
• Examples: Hybrid Rice (PRH 10 and Pusa Basmati 1121), Hybrid Wheat (HD 3086 and PBW 725), Bt Cotton,  etc. 
• Concerns: It risks promoting monocultures, reducing biodiversity, threatening indigenous seeds, and increasing dependence on corporate seed companies. 

What are Agriculture Related Findings of Economic Survey 2024-25? 

• Agricultural Growth: Agriculture sector grew at 5% annually (2016-23), with GVA share rising from 24.38% (2014-15) to 30.23% (2022-23). 
  • Agricultural income has grown at 5.23% annually over the past decade. 
• Sectoral Performance: The fisheries sector had the highest growth rate (13.67%), followed by livestock (12.99%) between 2013-14 and 2022-23, while oilseeds grew slowly at 1.9%. 
• Irrigation: Irrigation coverage increased from 49.3% (2015-16) to 55% (2020-21) of Gross Cropped Area (GCA), while irrigation intensity rose from 144.2% to 154.5%. 
  • Punjab (98%), Haryana (94%), Uttar Pradesh (84%), and Telangana (86%) have high irrigation coverage, while Jharkhand and Assam have below 20%. 
  • GCA is the total land cultivated in an agricultural year, including multiple cropping cycles on the same land. 

Way Forward 

• Promote Biodiversity: Safeguard traditional seed varieties alongside high-yielding seeds by encouraging a mix of both, helping to preserve biodiversity while enhancing agricultural productivity. 
• Ecological Sustainability: Prevent monoculture farming by promoting crop rotation and polyculture (different crops in the same space at the same time), and incentivize diverse cropping systems to maintain soil health and reduce pest risks. 
• Research and Development: Develop drought, flood, and pest-resistant crops through both traditional and modern methods. 
• Leverage Technology: Use technology to monitor high-yielding seeds and sustainable practices by utilizing GIS and remote sensing for crop health, pest outbreaks, and early warnings. 

Drishti Mains Question: 

How can the Union Budget 2025-26 initiatives support the long-term sustainability of Indian agriculture?

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ) 

Prelims

Q. In the context of India’s preparation for Climate -Smart Agriculture, consider the following statements:

1. The ‘Climate-Smart Village’ approach in India is a part of a project led by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), an international research programme.
2. The project of CCAFS is carried out under Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) headquartered in France.
3. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India is one of the CGIAR’s research centres.

Which of the statements given above are correct? 

(a) 1 and 2 only 

(b) 2 and 3 only 

(c) 1 and 3 only 

(d) 1, 2 and 3 

Ans: (d)  

Q. With reference to the ‘Global Alliance for ClimateSmart Agriculture (GACSA)’, which of the following statements is/are correct? (2018)

1. GACSA is an outcome of the Climate Summit held in Paris in 2015.
2. Membership of GACSA does not create any binding obligations.
3. India was instrumental in the creation of GACSA.

Select the correct answer using the code given below: 

(a) 1 and 3 only  

(b) 2 only 

(c) 2 and 3 only  

(d) 1, 2 and 3 

Ans: (b) 

Mains 

Q. How far is the Integrated Farming System (IFS) helpful in sustaining agricultural production? (2019)