23. Agriculture: Productivity, Land Reforms, Finance, Marketing, Food Security, Food Processing — Full Notes

CORE Key Points at a Glance

1. 1

   Agriculture's Share in India's Economy

   • Contributes approximately 17–18% of India's GDP (2024–25)
   • Employs about 45.5% of the workforce (PLFS 2023–24)
   • Backbone of rural livelihoods despite declining from 50%+ GDP share at independence
2. 2

   Green Revolution and Foodgrain Growth

   • Green Revolution (1960s–70s) led by M.S. Swaminathan using HYV seeds from CIMMYT (Norman Borlaug)
   • Transformed India from food-deficit to food-surplus nation
   • Wheat: 11 MT (1965–66) → 107.7 MT (2023–24); total foodgrain: 328.8 MT (2023–24)
3. 3

   Land Reforms Post-Independence

   • Four components: zamindari abolition (1950s), tenancy reforms, land ceiling legislation, redistribution to landless
   • Over 20 million acres redistributed to landless farmers
   • Reforms remained incomplete due to benami holdings, exemptions, and poor implementation
4. 4

   Minimum Support Price (MSP)

   • Government-guaranteed floor price for 23 agricultural commodities, recommended by CACP
   • 2024–25 rates: common paddy ₹2,300/quintal, wheat ₹2,275/quintal
   • Based on C2+50% formula recommended by Swaminathan Commission
5. 5

   PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

   • Launched February 2016; premium rates: 2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi, 5% for commercial crops
   • Government pays the balance premium beyond farmer's contribution
   • Claims of ₹1.64 lakh crore paid to farmers up to 2023–24
6. 6

   National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013

   • Covers 81.35 crore people (67% of India's population) — 75% rural + 50% urban
   • Entitlement: 5 kg grains/person/month at subsidised prices (rice ₹3/kg, wheat ₹2/kg, coarse grains ₹1/kg)
   • PMGKAY provides free grains — merged into NFSA from January 2024 for 5 years
7. 7

   Agricultural Credit and NABARD

   • Institutional credit to agriculture reached ₹20 lakh crore in 2022–23
   • NABARD (est. 1982) is apex body for agricultural and rural credit
   • Kisan Credit Card (KCC) provides short-term crop loans at 4% interest (with interest subvention)
8. 8

   Agricultural Marketing Reforms

   • e-NAM (launched April 2016): online trading platform connecting 1,361 mandis across 23 states/UTs (by 2024)
   • APMC reforms aim to break mandis' monopoly over agricultural trade
   • Model APLM Act 2017 allows private markets alongside regulated mandis
9. 9

   PM Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)

   • Umbrella scheme for food processing under Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI)
   • Sanctioned projects creating 36.8 lakh MT additional processing capacity by 2024
   • Generated 7.8 lakh direct/indirect jobs; India's food processing sector is 5th largest globally
10. 10

    PM-KISAN Income Support

    • Launched December 2018; provides ₹6,000/year in three equal instalments via DBT
    • By 2025, 9.3 crore farmers are benefiting
    • Over ₹3.24 lakh crore disbursed cumulatively
11. 11

    Agricultural Productivity Challenges

    • India's yield/ha is below world average in most crops: wheat ~3.6 t/ha (vs UK 8+), rice ~2.7 t/ha (vs China 7+)
    • Key causes: fragmented landholdings (average 1.08 ha), inadequate irrigation, low seed replacement rate
    • Post-harvest losses: 15–30% of production due to poor storage, cold chain, and transport
12. 12

    White Revolution and Allied Sectors

    • Operation Flood (1970–1996) made India the world's largest milk producer — 239 MT milk (2023–24)
    • Blue Revolution (fisheries): India is the 2nd largest fish producer globally
    • PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (2020, ₹20,050 crore) targets doubling fish exports by 2025