ICAR News April-June 2018

Abstract

Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods for 40% of global population, 500 m small hold farmers worldwide, mostly rainfed, providing up to 80% of food in the developing World. India being one of the largest agriculture economy, has now achieved highest ever foodgrain production of over 259 mt, 262 mt of horticulture produce, 132 mt of milk, 6 mt meat and 90 mt fish. Indian agriculture is the saga of millions of farmers in most diverse agro-ecological conditions, sustaining a billion plus human and half a billion livestock population. Studies on estimations of food demand by 2020 indicate that our national requirement would be about 280 million tonnes (MT) for food grains including 22 MT pulses, 35 MT oilseeds, 96 MT fruits, 152 MT for milk and milk products, and 87 billion eggs. The natural resources in some of the most productive regions of the country are under immense pressure. In 110 out of 142 blocks of the Punjab, groundwater pumping is much more than its rechargeable capacity and the water table is receding fast. The water table has depleted to more than 10 m in 97 % of its cultivated area endangering sustained production of not only rice but even the traditional crop of the region – wheat. Similar is the situation in Haryana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, etc. A balance needs to be maintained between withdrawal and recharge of ground water resources. Enactment of ‘Sub-soil Water Preservation Act’, in Punjab which bans rice planting before 10th of June every year is an example of a welcome decision to check excessive use of groundwater. Promotion of resource conservation technologies well supported by precision farming like laser land leveling, direct seeding of rice, etc. saves water and energy costs by more than 25%. These technologies also help farmers to minimize the adverse impact of climate change induced weather aberrations especially temperature variations that are likely to be more severely felt in North Western Region of the country. Another important aspect of intensive cultivation relates to deteriorating soil health. For instance, the partial factor productivity of NPK for foodgrain production in Punjab has declined from 81 kg grain per kg of NPK in 1966-67 to 15 kg in 2009-10. Though the cropping pattern and use of fertilizers changed entirely over the period of time, the decline in factor productivity largely happened due to imbalanced use of nutrient and depleting soil organic carbon. The deficiency of multiple micronutrients such as Zn, Mn and Fe has become rampant and has further aggravated the situation. Today’s Soil Health Card Scheme has been a boon for farmers for optimized nutrient management. India has been a mega biodiversity centre and rearing of domesticated animals. There are about 140 well documented and defined domestic breeds. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research at the helm of the nation’s agro-initiative technology generation has the formidable task by 2025 to feed the estimated livestock population of about 600 million-comprising crossbred cattle (14%), indigenous cattle (27%), buffalo (20%), sheep (12%), goat (24%) in carbon constraint economy. The livestock sector accounts for over 25% of the agricultural GDP and is crucial for livelihood security of rural households, especially for the small or landless farmers in the rainfed areas. The country remains to be the highest milk producers in the world, second in fish and fifth in egg production. Research efforts on breed improvement, health and nutrition have been instrumental in improving productivity of livestock and fisheries. India has earned the distinction of being free from dreaded animal diseases namely rinderpest, African horse sickness and bovine pleuropneumonia. The upcoming poultry sector received a setback on account of avian influenza that affected birds in epidemic form. In fisheries sector, developing culture and breeding protocol of golden mahseer and rainbow trout, composite carp culture technology based on exotic carps for mid altitude, multiple breeding of Indian major carps are being developed for easy and round the year availability of quality seeds. Further, sea cage farming of seabass; breeding of cobia; technique for off season spawning of carps are also being strengthened for integrated fish farming in the country. Besides, food security and nutritional security is also of paramount interest as anaemia is increasingly engulfing rural India owing to iron deficiency. Vitamin A and zinc deficiency are becoming common in India. This scenario has provided us with a lot of opportunity for crop diversification and integrated farming systems to translate the mundane agriculture into remunerative agriculture; to embark on secondary agriculture to minimize production losses through effective post-harvest technology and also to do good agri-business. To feed India’s swelling population, heavy investments for developing requisite infrastructure and other areas of agriculture are essentially required to have linkages from ‘seed to market’ and efficient ‘lab to land’ transfers to meet the ends of the recently enacted National Food Security Act 2013.