User:Amitturri2/Agriculture in India

Agriculture
As of 2006, an estimated 36 percent of the world's workers are employed in agriculture[1] (down from 42% in 1996), making it by far the most common occupation. However, the relative significance of farming has dropped steadily since the beginning of industrialization, and in 2006 – for the first time in history – the services sector overtook agriculture as the economic sector employing the most people worldwide. Also, agricultural production accounts for less than five percent of the gross world product (an aggregate of all gross domestic products). A){Evolution} Origins of Agriculture Mehrgarh, one of the most important Neolithic (7000 BCE to 3200 BCE) sites in archaeology, lies on the "Kachi plain of Baluchistan, Pakistan, and is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in South Asia."[1] Located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River valley and between the present-day Pakistani cities of Quetta, Kalat and Sibi, Mehrgarh was discovered in 1974 by an archaeological team directed by French archaeologist Jean-François Jarrige, and was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986. The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh — in the northeast corner of the 495-acre site — was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE–5500 BCE. When major climate change took place after the last ice age c.11,000 BC much of the earth became subject to long dry seasons. These conditions favoured annual plants which die off in the long dry season, leaving a dormant seed or tuber. These plants tended to put more energy into producing seeds than into woody growth. An abundance of readily storable wild grains and pulses enabled hunter-gatherers in some areas to form the first settled villages at this time. The practice of agriculture first began around 10,000 BC in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East, represented primarily by present day Iraq, southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. This region, which was far greener and wetter then than now, was home to an unusual diversity of annual plants and, according to one study, 32 of the 56 largest grass seeds in the world. Naturally mutated strains of grass, favoring ever larger seeds, were a vital precursor to the domestication events about to take place.[citation needed] Several of the first crops to be domesticated were all crops of edible seeds, wheat, barley, peas, lentils, chickpeas, bitter vetch and flax. These plants were all readily storable, easy to grow and grew quickly. They had to undergo few genetic changes to be of use to farmers, their wild relatives remaining easily recognisable to this day. Crop domestication took place independently in geographically distant human populations. Indian agriculture Evidence of the presence of wheat and some legumes in the 6th millennium BCE have been found in the Indus Valley. Oranges were cultivated in the same millennium. The crops grown in the valley around 4000 BCE were typically wheat, peas, sesame seed, barley, dates and mangoes. By 3500 BCE cotton growing and cotton textiles were quite advanced in the valley. By 3000 BCE farming of rice had started. Other monsoon crops of importance of the time was cane sugar. By 2500 BCE, rice was an important component of the staple diet in Mohenjodaro near the Arabian Sea. The Indus Plain had rich alluvial deposits which came down the Indus River in annual floods. This helped sustain farming that formed basis of the Indus Valley Civilization at Harappa. The people built dams and drainage systems for the crops. By 2000 BCE tea, bananas and apples were being cultivated in India. There was coconut trade with East Africa in 200 BCE. By 500 CE, eggplants were being cultivated. Neolithic Revolution - the first agricultural revolution The Neolithic Revolution was the first agricultural revolution—the transition from nomadic hunting and gathering communities and bands, to agriculture and settlement. It occurred in various independent prehistoric human societies between 10-12 thousand years ago. The term refers to both the general time period over which these initial developments took place and the subsequent changes to Neolithic human societies which either resulted from, or are associated with, the adoption of early farming techniques, crop cultivation, and the domestication of animals The Neolithic Revolution is notable primarily for developments in social organization and technology.

b)Types of agriculture
Cash crop In agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for money. The term is used to differentiate from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer's own livestock or grown as food for the producer's family. In earlier times cash crops were usually only a small (but vital) part of a farm's total yield, while today, especially in the developed countries, almost all crops are mainly grown for cash. In non-developed nations, cash crops are usually crops which attract demand in more developed nations, and hence have some export value. In many tropical and subtropical areas, jute, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, bananas, oranges and cotton are common cash crops. In cooler areas, grain crops, oil-yielding crops and some vegetables predominate

There are three major types of agriculture prevail in India and the world:

(1) Organic agriculture refers to the concept and practice of agricultural farming which is a ecologically sustainable system focused on production using biological processes. Organic agriculture avoids the use of synthetic pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMO) and emphasizes on sustainable agriculture to maintain the fertility of the soil as well as the health of the livestock raised without drug.

Organic Agriculture is beneficial because : Organic farmers try to minimize the use of minimize the use of synthetic fertilizers in the production process. Instead they try to restore fertility and productivity using croup rotation, using animal manures and by relying on humus. Those involved in organic agriculture plough and aggregate the soil of the arable land to get rid of weeds, insects and other pests. The process of pest control is however, an aggregate of many cumbersome processes. Organic pest control in fact involves allowing a minimum level of damage by pests. Then the farmer has to introduce/encourage growth of beneficial organisms. The farmer needs to gain expertise in understanding pest life cycles and interactions to ward them off.

The role of organic farming is actually incomparable. Besides maintaining and ameliorating the health of the human being and animals, it also aids in conservation of soil and prevents pollution of air and water.

(2) Industrial Agriculture: Industrial agriculture is defined as a modern form of capital intensive farming in which the machinery and purchased are substituted for the labor of human beings and animals. Industrial agriculture requires huge amounts of innovation in agriculture machinery and their utilization, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetic technology, large amounts of irrigation water and creates new markets for consumption. The method ofindustrial agriculture is used mostly in the developed countries. Properties of Industrial Agriculture: Monoculture- Industrial agriculture derives its profits from economies of scale that is achieved through practicing monoculture. Monoculture is the procedure of growing a single crop year after year. It reduces the production costs significantly and thus help the farmer to earn a higher share of profit.

Pest prone- In the absence of crop rotation, industrial agriculture has a tendency to get attacked by pests and weeds. This asks for huge reliance on pesticides and other chemicals to get rid of them. For similar reasons, a huge amount of fertilizers is also required.

Unhealthy livestock- Industrial agriculture is practiced over large arable lands. This needs a huge amount of livestock also. Often the livestocks are kept in filthy conditions thus making them susceptible to communicable diseases.

Practiced frequently- In United States, almost all major commodity crops are grown under industrial agriculture. However the practice of monoculture is frequently discontinued. Industrial agriculture has been under controversy because according to many agriculturists its benefits can't outweigh its costs. Industrial agriculture has brought into existence cheap agricultural products and at the same time has magnified the profit that goes to the pocket of the farmer. The crop produced under industrial agriculture has developed demand in the global market also as US exports 60 percent of wheat and 30 percent of soybeans thus produced.

However the environmental costs of industrial agriculture is simply huge. Besides pollution and soil destruction, it also consumes large amounts of water, energy and chemicals.

(3) Crop Agriculture: Crop agriculture encompasses the rigorous cultivation to produce fiber, food and feed. Crop agriculture also provides ingredients which are of industrial or medicinal use.

Ornamental products can also be obtained through crop agriculture.

Crop agriculture first made it's appearance when hunters of the stone age switched over to the culture of species which were favored.

Crop agriculture produced new variety of crops which were derived from their predecessors by choosing seeds which were comparatively larger in size and possessed other suitable features.

Middle east, Southern Europe and North African countries produced sugar beet, barley,oats, wheat, millet, forage legumes in specific regions of the above mentioned countries.

Crop agriculture in North America as well as South America produced tobacco, sunflowers, corn, potatoes, peanuts. Crop agriculture in China produced rice, sugarcane while bananas and citrus fruits were produced by South Asia.

Latest techniques employed in crop agriculture vary vastly in its range. Crop agriculture during the modern times range from management of small lands to big lands for commercial purposes.

Crop agriculture farmers are well versed in the selection of those varieties of plants which are capable of adapting themselves to the varying or fluctuating soil and climatic conditions.

A good crop agriculture farmer should be capable enough to store crops, harvesting crops, planting crops, growing as well as protecting crops.

Managing crops and to prevent the crops from being infected by pests, insects and diseases is required to be taken care of by the expert crop agriculture farmer. Possessing marketing skills goes a long way to determine the amount of return an individual farmer can avail of from the crops.

India has about 1,129,866,154 people in it (July, 2007 estimate.) This makes India's foods need the second highest on the planet (behind only China.) Not surprisingly, nearly 3/4ths of the workers in India are engaged in feeding the nation (through Agriculture mostly, as most Hindu's don't eat meat.) The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem. As modern farming methods are employed more (fertilization, pest control, machinery, etc.) their ability to feed their people will further cause the nation to grow. But the road ahead is difficult. They typical farmer is poor. They are unable to provide more than the vary basic needs for their families. However, as the portion of the economy that is growing rapidly (software services and programming) brings wealth to some, the prices of basic commodities (like food) are increasing, and that is "trickling down" to the farmers. India, as a nation, spent $15 billion US dollars on building infrastrucure. As a comparison, the single State of Missouri spent more. India still lags far behind the west. India consumes about 2.5 million barrels of oil a day. This isn't enough to use machinery in all their agricultural endeavors--indeed, they plant, weed, and harvest much of their needs by hand. A farmer in the US works very hard (80+ hours per week) during certain key periods (planting, harvesting, etc.) and significantly less hard during most of the year. The average American farm family earns $60,000.00 a year. The average Indian farm family works 80 hours per week, through 40 or more weeks in the year, and earns about $3,000.00 a year. His wife and children work with him in the field. Few have telephones, computers, or other modern equipment. Most don't even own a tractor. There is another disturbing issue. Wages are so poor for most farmers, that some resort to the selling of their children to others--often in involuntary servitude (slavery) to brick kilns, rice mills, and embroidery factories, while some children endure involuntary servitude as domestic servants

Agricultural Research
The apex body for education, research and extension education in the field of agriculture is the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), established in 1929. India's transformation from a food deficit to a food surplus country is largely due to ICAR's smooth and rapid transfer of farm technology from the laboratory to the land. ICAR discharges its responsibilities through 43 research institutes, four national research bureaus, 20 national research centers, nine project directorates, 70 all-India coordinated research projects, and 109 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (farm science centers). Besides, the program of Agricultural Education is coordinated by ICAR with the curricula and other normative guidance given to the 26 Agricultural Universities and four National Research Institutes.

E) Issues affecting farmers and farming
weather, fuel costs, equipment repair and upkeep, equipment purchase prices, soil condition, fertilizer costs, labor costs, insurance costs for crops, equipment, and barns, selling prices of crop raised, seed purchase costs, travel distance to market to sell crop

FROM EVOLUTION TO REVOLUTION IN AGRICULTURE
3.1. General In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, agricultural growth in the region was slow compared to the rates achieved in the past thirty years. Agricultural development in the recent past has been characterized by an extraordinary diversity both within and between countries. Many largely traditional farming systems that were sustainable with a low density of population are becoming increasingly strained by, and vulnerable to, the pressure of rising population. Spectacular environmental damage exemplifies the consequences of this pressure as land-hungry cultivators push into the tropical forests and up the hillsides. A growing prosperity among some groups contrasts with the deepening poverty among others less fortunate.

3.2. Agriculture typology
According to the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) there are three basic types of agriculture. These are:

industrial agriculture; Green Revolution agriculture; resource poor agriculture. Industrial agriculture has large farming units, is highly capitalized and relies on large inputs and subsidies. It is found mainly in the developed world or in specialized enclaves in the developing countries. Green Revolution agriculture is found in well-endowed areas of the developing world and in areas either irrigated or with reliable rainfall. It includes large and small farms and uses high-yielding varieties with complementary inputs. The third type of agriculture is associated with unfavourable or difficult areas that are mainly rainfed, often undulating and with fragile or problem soils.

Agriculture in Asia also falls in the above three categories. Industrial agriculture that was alien to the region emerged in the context of the political colonization by the European powers. Until World War II it was largely manifested in the region in the form of large plantations, particularly in the relatively land-rich areas of equatorial South-east Asia.

The traditional subsistence rice cultivation in the riverine lowlands of Asia could be considered to be a primitive form of Green Revolution agriculture. These systems are associated with irrigation, sometimes with local water lifting, and constitute the productive base for the indigenous civilizations, large and small. Not all the lowlands are irrigated, with the important exceptions of China and India.

Traditionally the third category of agriculture in Asia is practised by groups that reside in the hills and on the fringes of the deserts, at the edges of the main lowland civilizations. In South-east Asia these groups are mainly ethnic minorities; in the Indian sub-continent they are known as tribes. Some of these groups may have been the original inhabitants of the lowland areas, and may have been driven into the forested highland by more dominant civilizations. The type of cultivation associated with these areas is either rainfed or swidden cultivation (see also section 2.2) that involves the clearing of new forest plots every one to two years when the natural fertility on the old plots, derived from the burning of the forest, is exhausted.

3.3. Changes in traditional patterns During the rapid population growth and economic development that have occurred in the region there have been considerable changes in these three basic types of agriculture. The functional separation of the industrial agriculture, which existed as enclaves at the beginning of the colonial period, has disappeared, and the spatial separation between the second and third categories of agriculture also has been eroded by the expansion of cultivation frontier into the forests.

3.3.1. Changes in industrial or plantation agriculture
Over the years, industrial or plantation agriculture in the region has become diverse. The assertion of economic nationalism, following independence, has brought about the break-up of many large estates into smallholdings. In Malaysia and Indonesia, the idea of the state plantation has emerged, not only through the take-over of former colonial estates but also through the establishment of smallholder settlement schemes, in which the landholders are closely tied to central processing facilities operated by government agencies.

In Thailand and the Philippines, industrial agriculture has taken the form of operations by private agri-business enterprises. These have rarely been able to secure large enough areas of land to operate at the scale required by their processing facilities, encouraging them to arrange production contracts with individual small farmers in the hinterland of their factories, in the style of the sugar quotas of the past. The range of crops that are grown under contract farming schemes has broadened to include several which do not need immediate processing, such as cotton, wheat, barley and cashew nuts (ESCAP 1994).

Today, plantation crops are the mainstay of several economies in the region, contributing substantially to their foreign exchange earnings and providing employment for a significant proportion of their population. Continued viability of these crops has been recognized as being important for sustaining the economies of these countries. However, for most countries, the existing plantings, notably of coconuts and tea, are characterized by low productivity, a consequence of the large age of the stands, their inferior varieties, the non-optimal plant density, minimal input use and poor agronomic practices. Optimization is being achieved through rehabilitation and replanting of the crop concerned, and through inter-cropping with other crops; it depends on available technological innovations, the crop’s responsiveness to improved practices and the extent to which the increased output will lead towards substantial income gains.

Land use considerations have played an important role in decisions to expand the cultivation of plantation crops. Many countries have areas with severe terrain constraints (steep slopes) and high rainfall, which will suffer extensive ecological damage if planted to annual crops. Consequently, plantation crops such as rubber, tea, coffee, cocoa, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom, which require minimal cultivation and provide continuous ground cover, have been successfully established in such areas. Expansion of certain crops has been based on their ability to overcome specific environmental constraints, e.g. cashews, mangoes and cinnamon in dry and sandy areas, cardamom at high altitudes, and pineapple and coffee in organic soils (peat).

(a) Important plantation crops
(i) Rubber

Production of natural rubber is concentrated in a few developing countries, with Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India accounting for a substantial volume of the world’s exports. Rubber is easily grown in hilly terrain, and has been successfully established in degraded deforested areas, leading to improved land use and a reduction of erosion, siltation and flooding. Productivity has been enormously increased through improved varieties (including better quality rootstocks) and innovations in agronomic practices, including exploitation methods (e.g. low intensity tapping with chemical stimulation to optimize productivity), advanced planting material and micro-tapping (to reduce immaturity period), and other innovations such as high intensity planting.  (ii) Oil palm

Palm oil production in Asia amounts to more than half of world production, with Malaysia, Indonesia and now Thailand accounting for the major share. Much progress has been made, particularly in Malaysia, in the addition of value to their products through further processing of palm oil into semi-finished and finished products. Oil palm is the most efficient producer of vegetable oils (500 percent better than soya beans), giving it greater resilience to adverse price changes. There are prospects of even higher productivity now that improved varieties (clonal planting material) have been introduced, with a good possibility that oil quality characteristics will improve. Over the years there has been expansion of oil palm areas and intensification of downstream processing activities, largely with import substitution objectives.  (iii) Coconuts

Coconut is another major perennial oil crop in Asia, accounting for more than two-thirds of the world’s production. Major coconut producers are the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Coconut plantations in the region are characterized by low productivity, though efforts were made in the 1980s to improve productivity gains through the introduction of improved varieties (hybrid planting material), better use of inputs, and inter-cropping (including livestock). In most countries, at present, marketing structures focus on oil extraction and by-product utilization.

(iv) Tea

Most of the tea grown in the region is black tea. India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia are the three largest producers of tea. Viet Nam, Malaysia and Bangladesh are other important producers. Total production of tea in Asia amounts to more than half of the total world production. Tea is grown as an estate as well as a smallholder crop. Tea production is labour-intensive and, consequently, total investment per job created is much lower than for other plantation crops. Tea is an important foreign exchange earner for some of these countries. Over the years, considerable initiatives have been made to enhance productivity through incorporating new tea clones, improved input use, expansion of processing facilities and support of extension and research institutions.

(v) Coffee

Coffee is produced in India, Indonesia and Viet Nam on a relatively large scale compared to other countries. However, the total production in Asia is not so significant when compared with the world production of coffee. The world market situation for coffee does not justify large-scale expansion of coffee plantations and processing facilities. Consequently the approach has been to plant coffee as an inter-crop in combination with oil palm or coconuts, with import substitution objectives. This mixed farming has helped to minimize the risk involved with single crop farming.

(vi) Spice crops

Perennial spice crops such as pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves play an important part in the agriculture of some of the countries in the region, particularly in smallholder agriculture. Spice crops are cultivated both in home gardens and as a mono-crop. Spices offer a small but extremely remunerative market and are considered for application in inter-cropping, e.g. cloves, nutmeg and pepper with coconuts, or cardamom with coffee; for diversification; and as an alternative to tea for specific environmental conditions, e.g. cinnamon in sandy soils and, cardamom at high altitudes; and for import substitution, e.g. cloves in Indonesia, pepper in India. Being labour-intensive, these crops and other spices also offer attractive prospects for generating employment.

(vii) Fruit trees

Almost all countries in the region cultivate a wide range of perennial fruit trees in small mixed farms, and, with the exception of bananas and pineapples, production is directed primarily at meeting local demand. Marketing of fruits, mainly at local level, has been constrained by the high seasonality in production. Processing to make juice, jam, pressed dried fruit and other confections) has helped to alleviate this, but more needs to be done.

(b) Major industrial field crops
Among annual field crops grown in the region, sugarcane, cotton and jute/kenaf are the main crops for industrial processing. All Asian developing countries except Korea grow sugarcane and have their own sugar industries, with Pakistan and Afghanistan producing sugar from both sugarcane and sugar beet. India, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia are the main producers. The first three countries and the Republic of China are major exporters of sugar, whereas Indonesia is a substantial net importer. The total area under sugarcane in the region was about 8.2 Mha in 1995 and yield was 513.2 Mt.

(i) Cotton

Cotton is grown on close to 16.8 Mha in the entire region. This crop requires dry weather during the boll-forming stage and is grown in countries and areas having pronounced dry seasons. India is by far the leading producer (8 Mha in 1995) followed by China (5.4 Mha) and Pakistan (3 Mha). Several other countries have commenced programs for cotton expansion, for import substitution and to provide domestic raw materials for their textile industries. Cotton is a labor-intensive crop and very suitable for smallholder cultivation; it can be cultivated on the lighter soils which are marginal for paddy, and can be grown under rainfed conditions.  (ii) Jute

Jute and jute substitutes (especially kenaf) were cultivated on about 1.7 Mha in 1995 although this area has decreased in recent years because of depressed prices and reduced world demand as a result of competition from synthetic fibres. India and Bangladesh are by far the largest producers of the fibres and of jute products, accounting for about 90 percent of world exports. Smaller but significant producers are Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Vietnam.  (c) Trends in plantation crops

The world’s largest producers and exporters of six major plantation and field crop commodities - rubber, tea, coconut, palm oil, cotton and jute - are in the Asian region.

Tea production in Asia increased by more than 50 percent between 1961 and 1990. Rubber production in Asia expanded by 96 percent in line with growth in world production. Coffee production in Asia during the period 1961-1990 expanded by as much as 200 percent. Cocoa production in Asia and the Pacific Region during the same period showed a similar expansion, although in terms of world production it was small.  3.3.2. Changes in Green Revolution agriculture

Three decades ago, the collective response to the spectre of hunger resulted in what became known as the Green Revolution. In Green Revolution agriculture, the major change has been the improvement of irrigation systems, with upstream storages allowing the extension of cultivation into the dry season. This has enabled intensification and specialization, typified by the introduction in the 1960s of improved high-yielding varieties that require large inputs of chemical fertilizer. At their most intensive, such systems have been producing two or three crops per year, often incorporating a short duration legume between cereals. Because of the excellent resource base of the Green Revolution agriculture, smallholders who have expanded their enterprises have achieved a size of operation difficult to distinguish from industrial agriculture.

The resulting expansion of food production has brought Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, the People’s Republic of China, the Philippines and others from the brink of starvation to the threshold of national food-grain self-sufficiency. It has stimulated industrial growth and fostered political stability. And, unlike many previous rural development efforts, the majority of the beneficiaries of the Green Revolution have been small-scale producers.

The Green Revolution has been based on a package of technological inputs - fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation - that have allowed the full expression of the yield potential of new crop varieties. The Green Revolution has indeed transformed the agriculture scene and provided the impetus for agricultural development in the region.

That the Green Revolution has resulted in productivity gains in Asia is obvious from the fact that between 1965 and 1990 cereal production increased by an average of more than 3 percent annually in many of the high-population countries. In some it was 4 percent or more (e.g. Pakistan and Indonesia), whereas some traditional agricultural systems had been able to sustain only 0.5-1.0 percent increases in production in the past.

For the most part, the high growth rates did not bring new land into production. With only a few exceptions, growth in area under agricultural production was less than 1 percent annually in most countries of the region. In fact land area under agricultural production actually declined in a few countries, such as People’s Republic of China and Japan. This implies that the productivity gains came from increases in yields per hectare, which is what the Green Revolution was all about. People’s Republic of China and Indonesia had yield increases averaging nearly 4 percent annually from the mid-1960s to 1990, and annual increases greater than 2.5 percent were achieved in several other countries including India, Republic of Korea, Pakistan and the Philippines (Doobs 1994).

As stated above, increased land under irrigation was part of the Green Revolution story. Several large countries (India, Indonesia, and the Philippines) increased their areas under irrigation by more than 2 percent per year. In addition, the effectiveness of irrigation was substantially enhanced on many already irrigated tracts when tube wells were installed to augment or replace irrigation supplies from traditional dug wells, tanks and reservoir fed canals. The real yield payoff, however, came from the combination of irrigation water, improved cereal cultivars, and fertilizer. Many countries in Asia experienced average annual growth rates in fertilizer use in excess of 10 percent in the last three decades. Increasing fertilizer use, often by subsidizing farm-level prices, was a major part of the agricultural development strategy in many of developing countries of Asia during the 1970s.

Productivity gains associated with the Green Revolution in Asia have been greatest in wheat and rice areas with well developed irrigation systems; productivity gains in the un-irrigated arid and semi-arid areas of Asia have been limited.

'''(a) Important field crops

(i) Cereals'''

The total area of all cereals harvested in the region in 1995 was about 279 Mha, of which almost half was accounted for by rice, followed by wheat at 25 percent, and maize at about 14 percent. The cereals together account for about two-thirds of the area under field crops. Cereals are the main food crop grown in the region: rice and wheat accounted for 40 and 16 percent, respectively, of the region’s total food crop production in 1995. At the country level, the contribution of rice to the total food crops production ranged from 25 percent in Pakistan to 90 percent in Myanmar, being more than 70 percent in Bangladesh and Laos. Only Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Nepal and Pakistan produced sizeable quantities of wheat. Wheat is the predominant food crop produced in Pakistan (53 percent of all food crops); in India it makes up about 20 percent of food crops produced. Much of the potential area suitable to wheat in India and Pakistan has already been exploited. In Bangladesh around 40 percent of the potential wheat acreage is already under rice-wheat rotation and the area is expanding at an annual growth rate of 14 percent. Much of the potential area in Myanmar and almost all the potential area in Thailand, Viet Nam, Philippines and Indonesia has also been subjected to exploitation. The relative importance of wheat has grown in the region during the last decade, initially by increased acreage and subsequently by yield increases.

Maize is grown to some extent in all countries and is the preferred food in the hilly areas of some. Millet and sorghum, which cover a smaller area (about 18 Mha) than maize, are mainly confined to the dry areas of the Indian subcontinent, Thailand and Myanmar. Most of the growth in developing country maize production has been by area expansion, with yield increases averaging 3.5 percent per annum between 1985 and 1995. The release by CIMMYT of a high-yielding early maturing maize has heralded a quantum yield increase in this crop and allowed it to fit into a brief rainy season or more intensive cropping sequences. Production of early maturing drought and disease-resistant millets and sorghums by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has also resulted in increased production of these crops.  (ii) Root crops

Root and tubers constitute about 20 percent of the total production of food crops in the region and are a secondary source of carbohydrates in most Asian diets, after cereals. Potatoes (primarily in highland areas) and sweet potatoes (with main areas of concentration in India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam) each account for about one-quarter of the root crop areas. Cassava cultivation accounts for most of the remaining area, with Thailand and Indonesia being the major producing countries (over 1 Mha each in 1995) followed by India, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. During the period before the rice harvest, cassava consumption in Indonesia exceeds that of rice among the lower income groups. In contrast, most of the cassava produced in Thailand is exported to Europe as a component for animal feed. Cassava is also important as a potential source of fuel energy, both in terms of yield of carbohydrate, which is higher than for all other food crops except sugarcane, and in terms of carbohydrate production efficiency under marginal soil conditions.

(iii) Pulses

Pulses, i.e. various types of bean, pea, chickpea, lentil, etc., are cultivated on approximately 36 Mha of which about 70 percent is in India, and are generally cultivated as fallow and off-season crops with minimal inputs and little care. About 8 Mha of chickpeas are grown annually in India and Pakistan (where it is the major source of vegetable protein) mostly on soils of low fertility and under rainfed conditions. Production of chickpea has declined over the last few years in Pakistan because of the extension of irrigation facilities and the substitution of chickpea production by cereal production.

(iv) Annual oil crops

Annual oil crops (groundnuts, soya beans, rapeseed, sesame, linseed, seed cotton) account for roughly 30 Mha. Groundnuts and soya beans account for about 90 percent of this area. Like pulses, they receive minimal inputs from farmers and genetically low-yielding varieties are grown under rainfed conditions. Annual oil crops are mostly grown in countries with pronounced dry seasons where cultivation of perennial oil crops (oil palm and coconut) is not feasible. In years of low productivity, some countries spend large amounts of foreign exchange on imports of edible oil and fats to meet domestic requirements.  3.3.3. Changes in third world agriculture

It is probably in the third world agriculture that changes in the traditional systems have been most dramatic, both in the expansion of the area cultivated and in the diversification of cultivation systems. While the Green Revolution agriculture responded through intensification to demands created by increased population growth and rising consumption standards, increases in production have proved inadequate. Consequently, there has been movement of surplus population from such areas onto more marginal lands (ESCAP 1994).

Third world agriculture refers to subsistence farming that includes swidden cultivation and rainfed farming. Rainfed areas constitute over 70 percent of the cultivated land in the region and support nearly two-thirds of its farmers. Yield increases still depend on the subtle interaction between soil, water, seeds, and sunlight, but the process is not as well understood in rainfed conditions as it is for irrigated land. Local conditions vary so much that to find solutions is often costly, and they can seldom be replicated elsewhere. Even with the current state of knowledge, however, there is scope for growth. New methods of tilling, new crop rotations, increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides, soil conservation and drainage all have a part to play. Soil erosion and declining fertility are the main threats to rainfed agriculture in the humid and sub-humid areas.

The tackling of these challenges has required protection of the soil by continuous crop coverage and minimum tillage, as well as by drilling seeds and controlling weeds. This has been considered to provide a systematic approach that is being promoted in most countries. Increases in yields from rainfed land will therefore be relatively slow, and concentrated in regions with better rainfall and soil, but the gains could be considerable. If rainfed land could increase its yield by 500 kg/ha, the total increase in production would exceed what could be achieved by a rise of 2 t/ha in the yield of all irrigated land.

Some formidable obstacles, such as flooding, stand in the way of such achievements: in many parts of Asia, normal rains cause widespread floods. Standing water often more than 30 cm deep makes many paddy fields of Asia unsuitable for high-yielding dwarf varieties of rice. Small-scale flood protection and effective drainage have enabled modern rice technology to expand into parts of Bangladesh, Myanmar, India and Thailand.

Agriculture & Rural Developments In India
From a nation dependent on food imports to feed its population, India today is not only self--sufficient in grain production, but also has a substantial reserve. The progress made by agriculture in the last four decades has been one of the biggest success stories of free India. Agriculture and allied activities constitute the single largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product, almost 33% of it. Agriculture is the means of livelihood of about two--thirds of the work force in the country.

This increase in agricultural production has been brought about by bringing additional area under cultivation, extension of irrigation facilities, the use of improved high yielding variety of seeds, better techniques evolved through agricultural research, water management, and plant protection through judicious use of fertilizers, pesticides and cropping practices.  Crops

The 1970s saw a multi-fold increase in wheat production that heralded the Green Revolution. In the next decade rice production rose significantly; in 1995-96, rice production was 79.6 million tons. Total grain production crossed 191 million tons in 1994-95, a big leap from 51 million tons in 1950-5 1. During the Seventh Plan, the average grain production was 155 million tons, 17 million tons more than the Sixth Plan average.

To carry improved technologies to farmers, a National Pulse Development Program, covering 13 states, was launched in 1986. The Special Food Production Program augmented efforts to boost pulse production further. In 1995-96, pulse production was 13.2 million tons. With some States offering more than the statutory minimum price, sugarcane production also received a boost, in 1995-96 a record 283.0 million tons was registered. ''' Irrigation ''' As efforts continued to increase the irrigation potential in the country, the last 40 years saw the gross irrigated area reach 8~ million hectares. Flood forecasting has become an important activity over the years. Over 500 hydrological stations collect and transmit data through 400 wireless stations for issuing forecasts for 157 sites. About 5000 forecasts are issued in a year with 94% accuracy. The country also receives international support, with the World Bank as a primary source, for developing the water resources. International cooperation is also envisaged in setting up a National Center for Information on Water and Power. As there is a broad seismic belt in the country, particularly along the Himalayan, the Kutch region and ports of Maharashtra, a scheme is being evolved to collect all data on seismic activity at various dam sites. ''' Fertilizers ''' The fertilizer industry in India has grown tremendously in the last 30 years. The Government is keen to see that fertilizer reaches the farmers in the remote and hilly areas. It has been decided to decontrol the prices, distribution and movement of phosphatic and potassic fertilizers. Steps have been taken to ensure an increase in the supply of non-chemical fertilizers at reasonable prices. There are 53 fertilizer quality control laboratories in the country. Since bio--fertilisers are regarded as an effective, cheap and renewable supplement to chemical fertilizers, the Government is implementing a National Project on Development and Use of Bio-fertilisers. Under this scheme, one national and six regional centers for organizing training, demonstrating programs and quality testing of bio-fertilisers has been taken up.

It was a challenging decision of the Government to take Bombay High gas through a 1,700-km pipeline to feed fertilizer plants located in the consumption centers of North India. However, the major policy which has ensured the growth of the fertilizer industry is the thrust on accelerating fertilizer consumption by fixing, on the one hand, low and uniform price for fertilizers, and on the other hand providing the manufacturers adequate compensation through the retention price and subsidy scheme. As expected, fertilizer nutrient demand has gone up from 0.29 million tons in 1960-61 to 13.9 million tons at the end of 1995-96, compared to 12.15MT during 1992-93.

Fisheries

Fish production achieved an all-time high of 4.9 million tons at the end of 1995-96. Programs that have helped boost production include the National Program of Developing Fish Seeds, Fish Farmers' Development Agencies and Brackish Water Fish Farmers' Development Agencies. The Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training trains the necessary manpower. To diversify fishing methods and introduce processed fish products on a semi-commercial scale, an Integrated Fisheries Project has been launched. A National Fisheries Advisory Board has also been established.  Food Processing

A Ministry of Food Processing Industries was established in July 1988 to ensure better utilization of farmers' output by inducting modem technology into the processing of food products, thus augmenting the income of farmers and generating employment opportunities in rural areas. A new seeds policy has been adopted to provide access to high quality seeds and plant material for vegetables, fruit, flowers, oil-seeds and pulses, without in any way compromising quarantine conditions. Initiatives have been taken to encourage private sector investment in the food processing industry.

Agricultural Research

The apex body for education, research and extension education in the field of agriculture is the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), established in 1929. India's transformation from a food deficit to a food surplus country is largely due to ICAR's smooth and rapid transfer of farm technology from the laboratory to the land.

ICAR discharges its responsibilities through 43 research institutes, four national research bureaus, 20 national research centers, nine project directorates, 70 all-India coordinated research projects, and 109 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (farm science centers). Besides, the program of Agricultural Education is coordinated by ICAR with the curricula and other normative guidance given to the 26 Agricultural Universities and four National Research Institutes.

Oilseeds Production A Technology Mission on Oilseeds was launched in 1986 to increase production of oilseeds in the country and attain self-sufficiency. Pulses were brought under the Technology Mission in 1990. Before the Mission was launched in 1985-86, oilseed production was 10.83 million tons; during 1995-96, it was estimated at 22.42 million tons, which is a record. Soybean, rapeseed and mustard largely contributed the increase in production. Production of pulses has seen many ups and downs, which is expected to be checked under the Mission. The country grows mainly nine oilseeds, with groundnut, rapeseed and mustard accounting for 62% of total production. Lately, soybean and sunflower have shown major growth potential.  Drinking Water

A Technology Mission on Drinking Water and Related Water Management has been constituted to cover the residual problem villages and provide potable water at 40 liter per capita per day, and 70 liters per capita per day in desert areas inclusive of 30 liters for cattle. The Mission is tackling the problem through 55 mini-missions in project districts and countrywide problem oriented sub-missions. A Village Level Operation and Maintenance (VLOM) pump called India Mark-11 has been developed and is being exported to 40 countries. By March 31, 1993, over 79% of the rural and about 85% of the urban population was provided drinking water facilities.

DEVELOPMENTS
Development of a sophisticated system of irrigation using machines such as norias (newly invented water raising machines), dams and reservoirs. With such technology they managed to greatly expand the exploitable land area.

The adoption of a scientific approach to farming enabled them to improve farming techniques derived from the collection and collation of relevant information throughout the whole of the known world. Farming manuals were produced in every corner of the Muslim world detailing where, when and how to plant and grow various crops. Advanced scientific techniques allowed leaders like Ibn al-Baytar to introduce new crops and breeds and strains of livestock into areas where they were previously unknown.

Incentives based on a new approach to land ownership and labourers' rights, combining the recognition of private ownership and the rewarding of cultivators with a harvest share commensurate with their efforts. Their counterparts in Europe struggled under a feudal system in which they were almost slaves (serfs) with little hope of improving their lot by hard work.

The introduction of new crops transforming private farming into a new global industry exported everywhere including Europe, where farming was mostly restricted to wheat strains obtained much earlier via central Asia. Spain received what she in turn transmitted to the rest of Europe; many agricultural and fruit-growing processes, together with many new plants, fruit and vegetables. These new crops included sugar cane, rice, citrus fruit, apricots, cotton, artichokes, aubergines, and saffron. Others, previously known, were futher developed. Muslims also brought to that country lemons, oranges, cotton, almonds, figs and sub-tropical crops such as bananas and sugar cane. Several were later exported from Spanish coastal areas to the Spanish colonies in the New World. Also transmitted via Muslim influence, a silk industry flourished, flax was cultivated and linen exported, and esparto grass, which grew wild in the more arid parts, was collected and turned into various articles.

The invention of a three field system of crop rotation during the Middle Ages, and the importation of the Chinese invented moldboard plow, vastly improved agricultural efficiency.

After 1492 the world's agricultural patterns were shuffled in the widespread exchange of plants and animals known as the Columbian Exchange. Crops and animals that were previously only known in the Old World were now transplanted to the New and vice versa. Perhaps most notably, the tomato became a favorite in European cuisine, and maize and potatoes were widely adopted. In the other direction, several wheat strains quickly took to western hemisphere soils and became a dietary staple even for native North, Central and South Americans.

By the early 1800s, agricultural practices, particularly careful selection of hardy strains and cultivars, had so improved that yield per land unit was many times that seen in the Middle Ages and before, especially in the largely virgin soils of North and South America. With the rapid rise of mechanization in the late 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the form of the tractor, these tasks could be done with a speed and on a scale previously impossible. These advances have led to efficiencies enabling certain modern farms in the United States, Argentina, Israel, Germany and a few other nations to output volumes of high quality produce per land unit at what may be the practical limit.

Domestication of plants is done in order to increase yield, improve disease resistance and drought tolerance, ease harvest and to improve the taste and nutritional value and many other characteristics. Centuries of careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics of crop plants. Plant breeders use greenhouses and other techniques to get as many as three generations of plants per year so that they can make improvements all the more quickly.

Plant selection and breeding in the 1920s and '30s improved pasture (grasses and clover) in New Zealand. Extensive radiation mutagenesis efforts (i.e. primitive genetic engineering) during the 1950s produced the modern commercial varieties of grains such as wheat, corn and barley.

For example, average yields of corn (maize) in the USA have increased from around 2.5 tons per hectare (40 bushels per acre) in 1900 to about 9.4 t/ha (150 bushels per acre) in 2001. Similarly, worldwide average wheat yields have increased from less than 1 t/ha in 1900 to more than 2.5 t/ha in 1990. South American average wheat yields are around 2 t/ha, African under 1 t/ha, Egypt and Arabia up to 3.5 to 4 t/ha with irrigation. In contrast, the average wheat yield in countries such as France is over 8 t/ha. Variation in yields are due mainly to variation in climate, genetics, and the use or non-use of intensive farming techniques (use of fertilizers, chemical pest control, growth control to avoid lodging). [Conversion note: 1 bushel of wheat = 60 pounds (lb) ≈ 27.215 kg. 1 bushel of corn = 56 pounds ≈ 25.401 kg]

DEVELOPMENT IN INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE
In industrialized agriculture, crop "improvement" has often reduced nutritional and other qualities of food plants to serve the interests of producers. After mechanical tomato-harvesters were developed in the early 1960s, agricultural scientists bred tomatoes that were harder and less nutritious (Friedland and Barton 1975). In fact, a major longitudinal study of nutrient levels in numerous vegetables showed significant declines in the last 50 years; garden vegetables in the U.S. today contain on average 38 percent less vitamin B2 and 15 percent less vitamin C (Davis and Riordan 2004).

Very recently, genetic engineering has begun to be employed in some parts of the world to speed up the selection and breeding process. The most widely used modification is a herbicide resistance gene that allows plants to tolerate exposure to glyphosate, which is used to control weeds in the crop. A less frequently used but more controversial modification causes the plant to produce a toxin to reduce damage from insects.

There are specialty producers who raise less common types of livestock or plants.

Aquaculture, the farming of fish, shrimp, and algae, is closely associated with agriculture.

Apiculture, the culture of bees, traditionally for honey—increasingly for crop pollination.

Agriculture may often cause environmental problems because it changes natural environments and produces harmful by-products. Some of the negative effects are:

Surplus of nitrogen and phosphorus in rivers and lakes Detrimental effects of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and other biocides Conversion of natural ecosystems of all types into arable land Consolidation of diverse biomass into a few species Soil erosion Depletion of minerals in the soil Particulate matter, including ammonia and ammonium off-gasing from animal waste contributing to air pollution Weeds - feral plants and animals Odor from agricultural waste Soil salination Agriculture is cited as a significant adverse impact to biodiversity in many nations' Biodiversity Action Plans, due to reduction of forests and other habitats when new lands are converted to farming. Some critics also include agriculture as a cause of current global climate change.

There are various methods of agricultural production:

aeroponics aerial topdressing animal husbandry aquaculture beekeeping crop rotation Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO, factory farming) composting dairy farming detasseling domestication fencing fertilizers Geier Hitch greenhouse harvest heliciculture hydroponics Integrated Pest Management (IPM) livestock market gardening monoculture no-till farming organic farming plant breeding plasticulture Permaculture pollination management precision farming ranching season extension seed saving seed testing shepherding subsistence farming succession planting sustainable agriculture terracing vegetable farming tillage weed control