India - Agriculture in India

Although agriculture contributes only a fifth of India’s GDP, its importance in the country’s economic, social, and political fabric goes well beyond this indicator. Agriculture provides livelihoods to 60 percent of the rural people, the majority of whom are poor, and remains vital for the country’s food security. After the Green Revolution of the 1970s which enabled India to achieve self-sufficiency in foodgrains, agricultural growth has slowed - from 3.5 percent in mid 1980s to 1990s to less than 2 percent in mid 1990s to 2000s. Slow agricultural growth and the consequent widening of the gap between rural and urban incomes has become a major cause for concern. The Government of India is therefore placing high priority on reducing poverty by raising agricultural productivity.

World Bank projects are helping the country to build a solid foundation for a highly productive, internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural sector:

Reclaiming Uttar Pradesh's Sodic Lands

In Uttar Pradesh, the World Bank has helped to reclaim sodic lands that were too degraded to farm because of the high salt content in the soil. Some 1.2 million hectares of land – or almost 10 percent of the state’s total cultivable area – suffered from this problem. Two innovative World Bank projects – the Uttar Pradesh Sodic Lands Reclamation Projects Project I and II – from 1993 to 2001, and from 1998 to 2007 - have helped to bring in technological innovations to improve soil conditions and make these lands productive. This has raised incomes for hundreds of thousands of poor families in these chronically-impoverished areas. Over the program's two phases, the Uttar Pradesh Bhumi Sudhar Nigam - the government’s implementing agency -has improved its capacity to handle complex issues of participatory management, women’s empowerment, human resource development and technology dissemination, in addition to its land reclamation activities.

Improving Farm Productivity in Assam

The World Bank's Assam Rural Infrastructure and Services Project has helped to raise the agricultural incomes of Assam’s rural poor by considerably expanding the network of shallow tube-wells in the state. Farmers now have enough water for their fields in the dry season enabling them to plant an extra crop. Rural families as well as the state are now self sufficient in paddy, their staple foodgrain. Research, training and extension activities have helped farmers to diversify into higher value vegetables and fruits, and road improvements have helped them to market their produce. Better livestock have raised milk production, and the cleaning of ponds has improved the availability of fish, improving nutrition. Women have been trained in duck breeding and the cultivation of flowers to raise their incomes. There is more work for landless wage laborers.

Revitalizing Karnataka’s degraded lands

The Karnataka Watershed Development Project is helping to raise agricultural productivity on degraded watershed lands in the drought-prone districts of Karnataka. These areas are home to some 1 million people. Soil and water conservation works have helped to raise groundwater tables and recharge wells, enabling farmers to grow a larger variety of crops - especially cash crops. Yields have risen, increasing farm incomes. Fewer young men now leave to find work elsewhere. Communities are now actively involved in the planning and development of their natural resources, especially water. An team from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is monitoring and evaluating progress on an ongoing basis, using cutting edge remote sensing and geographic information systems to complement traditional field surveys.

Diversifying Agriculture in Uttar Pradesh

The World Bank-supported Diversified Agricultural Support Project has helped to increase agricultural productivity in over 6,000 villages across Uttar Pradesh. Using a demand-driven approach, farmers were taught to adopt new techniques and diversify into higher value crops. Where diversification was not called for, yields were increased through intensive farming techniques, with balanced fertilizer use, and substituting chemicals with bio-pesticides. The project also assisted horticulture, dairy farming and animal husbandry. Farmers’ field schools took technology from lab to land. Farm-to-market roads were built, particularly in areas where perishable crops were grown. For easier marketing of produce, over 100 haats or markets, and two cattle markets were constructed and handed over to local village bodies. The project has enabled farmers in project areas to reap rich dividends.

Reviving Traditional Water Bodies in Karnataka

The Karnataka Community Based Tank Management Project is helping to restore and rehabilitate traditional village tank systems that have been the mainstay of agriculture and drinking water in the Deccan Plateau from time immemorial. With the help of local NGOs, communities are being mobilized and trained to manage their own tanks. The development plans of each village are made in a participatory manner, with all tank users participating. Farmers are being trained in better water management techniques for the optimum use of water. Modern agricultural techniques - including a new method of growing paddy that uses significantly less water and gives higher yields - are being introduced. Although the project is still ongoing, the water table has risen in many areas, enabling farmers to significantly increase the area under cultivation. Landless families are being helped to expand livestock herds through microfinance. Women are being empowered through Self Help Groups and trained in new income generating activities.

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Agriculture in India