Agricultural Inputs & Services in India

Agricultural sector occupies a key position in the Indian economy. It provides employment to about 65 percent of the working population of India. It is but natural that the problems of farmers are addressed with a sense of urgency. Although Indian agriculture is way back compared to the levels in developed countries, some notable developments have occurred since Independence in 1947. Large areas which suffered from repeated failures of rainfall have received irrigation, new crops have come to occupy a significant position in the country''s production and trade, agricultural and the industrial economies now exert a powerful influence on one another, problems of rural indebtedness and the exploitative practices of the village moneylenders are much less, and finally there is visible in the countryside an awakening and a desire for better standard of living. Low levels of yields in Indian agriculture are attributable mainly to lack of agricultural services and unsatisfactory spread of new technological practices. The present work focuses on the quality of agricultural inputs and services in India and the Government policies and programmes to improve them. The areas covered include seeds, insecticides, farm machines, agricultural research, fertilisers, irrigation, agricultural credit, marketing and trade of agricultural produce, agriculture insurance, use of information technology (IT) in agriculture and exports and imports of agricultural products.