The Indian agriculture is going through a constant process of learning aimed at conquering nature. The Indian agricultural scientist and farmer are telescoping into a few brief years achievements which have taken decades or even centuries to accomplish in the agriculturally advanced countries.
Only recently has India passed through the trauma of drought, flood, etc., and we are still in the painful process of recovering from its after-effects.
One may note that there has been some improvement in agriculture during the planning period particularly from the Third Plan Period but there is still a yawning gap between what is desirable and what is available in reality in this regard. Various reasons are responsible for this backwardness and the following is a very brief attempt to analyze these problems of the Indian agriculture during the Planning Period:
- One of the major problems of Indian agriculture is that a large number of people depend solely on agriculture. It is obvious the, that not much can be realized unless this continuing pressure of population on land is reduced.
- Agricultural conditions and practices vary from State to State in various rural areas of India. Differences in soil conditions, climatic factors and systems of cropping produce etc., from State to State; farm productivity has not adequately been improving.. Indian agriculture has been almost continuously experiencing problem arising out of differences in agricultural conditions and practices.
- Comparing Indian agriculture with that of other countries of the world, we find that both productivity of crops are very low in India.
- Most of the Indian farmers are illiterate, ignorant, superstitious, and conservative and bound by outmoded customs, etc. create an atmosphere which is not proving helpful for going ahead with farm productivity. One needs, however, certain helpful conditions for one’s success, but Indian rural economy in many cases exhibits a poor state of conditions that appear to stand as a stumbling block to the growth of the Indian agriculture.
- Indian agriculture has been facing problems because of the inadequacy of such non-farm services, such as inadequate provision of finance, marketing etc.
- Institution like Co-operatives, Rural Banks, Panchayats, Community Development Projects, etc., are not rising adequately top the occasion to deliver the goods to the Indian farmers in their efforts for going ahead with farm income and productivity.
- Adequate attention is not given to increased the non-farm income opportunities so that during slack seasons. The farmers can be absorbed gainfully.
- Absence of adequate knowledge of inter-cultural practices, multiple cropping, crop-rotation, crop insurance, irrigational facilities, etc. is standing in the way of Indian agriculture.
- Lack of effective and meaningful agriculture enterprise in many parts of our vast countryside is also a great problem in Indian agriculture.
- There is lack of co-ordination between different institutions.