Empowering sustainable agriculture in India

 

The agricultural industry in India is at a critical juncture in its development and change. It is still the most distinguishing era in India's agricultural sector, marked by the introduction of intensive modern farming methods, high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, and high-yielding fertilizers during the green revolution.

However, as public awareness of food safety and sustainable farming grows in India and across the globe, it is essential that the country's agricultural industry reimagines its future path. With this aim of Empowering Sustainable Agriculture in India, Kisaan Helpline is being created as a one-stop-shop for all informational requirements of an Indian farmer. The Indian Farmer will no longer have to navigate through a maze of websites designed for various purposes.

Empowering Sustainable Agriculture in India

Agriculture is often referred to as the "backbone" of the Indian economy because it provides a living for 42 percent of the country's workers. It makes up 19.9 percent of the country's gross domestic product, demonstrating its importance to the economy.

Agribusiness, which is one of the world's oldest and most labor-intensive sectors, requires resilience and innovation to guarantee the sector's long-term viability and long-term viability. COVID-19, without question, has heightened the urgency of changes in the agricultural sector in the coming years.

Increase in people working in Horticulture

An increase in the number of people working in horticulture, which is the most important sector of agriculture, has been seen over the past decade. It contributes to 30 percent of agricultural GDP and is expected to continue to increase in the next few years.

Plant breeding and horticulture have continuously ranked high on the priority list in India's overall agricultural policy framework. As a result, overall horticulture output is expected to reach 327 million tone’s in 2020-21.

Impact of Climate change

The negative effect of climate change, on the other hand, has a disproportionate influence on this important industry. In recent years, natural disasters of extraordinary proportions have occurred, including drought, pandemic, cyclones, severe storms, and flooding.

Climate change causes unpredictable weather, which makes it more difficult to produce goods and services. This results in increased usage of pesticides and chemicals, which in turn contributes to additional environmental deterioration, producing a vicious downward cycle.

Food traceability

Food safety, safe and sanitary food handling, and the adoption of sustainable agricultural techniques are all becoming more important to customers and markets at the same time.

For example, food traceability is gaining popularity at an alarming rate. Consumers may learn more about where, when, and who produced the crop as a result of this level of technical complexity, which also includes giving footprint data of the crop's journey from pre-harvest to the market shelf.

This enables customers to distinguish between "safe food" and "unknown fruit," thus providing an important market opportunity to ensure that farmers get remunerative returns/premiums for adopting and implementing sustainable farming methods.

Farmer-to-consumer supply chains are the most important link in the chain connecting consumers' demand for "safe and sustainable food" with farmers' capacity and willingness to produce that kind of food.

Value chains from farmers to consumers

It is also, in many cases, the only way to stop the vicious cycle and begin a virtuous one. Not only is openness in the manufacturing system essential to gaining customer confidence, but reducing waste in the supply chain is also the most straightforward (thanks to current technologies) and has the greatest effect (we will need to produce 25 percent less).

As a result, integrating value chains from farmers to consumers is the key to addressing one of the most difficult problems that humanity is now facing.

The beneficial effect that these linked value chains are having is already apparent in the marketplace. For example, the advancements in the banana value chain over the past decade have paved the path for future improvements.

Lack of infrastructure

India is the world's biggest producer of bananas, accounting for more than a quarter of worldwide output in 2010, despite having no presence in global commerce a decade earlier.

This was owing to insufficient farm-level production methods, insufficient quality standards, and a lack of infrastructure, among other factors. As a result of sustained efforts in developing this value chain, exports have increased to moreover 300,000 tonnes per year, making it India's biggest fruit export by volume.

The implementation of a contemporary package of techniques, the implementation of a 100 percent drip irrigation system for water conservation, the increase of productivity by 30 percent, and the compliance with global food safety and quality requirements were all necessitated as a result.

The development of infrastructure, the implementation of end-to-end traceability, and packaging improvements all contributed to an increase in more than 50% of the shelf life. As a result, organizations were able to reduce their waste to less than 2 percent, well below any other global standard in the process. The increase in revenue of farmers has been as high as 100 percent, which has enabled all of this.

As more and more agri-tech companies and creative organizations spring up, the technology and creativity needed to enable sustainable food production and consumption will continue to develop as a result.

It is now possible to implement drip irrigation systems that will help conserve water; safer chemicals, precision agriculture that will help ensure that food is safe to eat; innovative packaging, cold chain infrastructure, traceability systems, and improved transportation that will help reduce wastage; and many other initiatives.

Agri-reforms for farmers to adopt sustainable practices is the need of the hour

Agri-reforms for farmers to adopt sustainable practices are required, as is the promotion of organizations that can have a large-scale impact (rather than just isolated pockets of excellence), the education of consumers and farmers, and the transformation of the agriculture sector away from a production-driven to a demand-driven, sustainable farming methodology on a large scale, among other things.

With the advancement of sustainable agricultural methods, the prospects for their promotion in India are growing more favorable. Modern agri-tech companies may play a critical role in empowering farmers, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, reducing crop losses, deepening local and international market links, and increasing farmer income, among other things.

Final Thoughts

Farm interventions powered by technology and improved climate forecasting skills will assist in the reduction of crop loss and the mitigation of the problems presented by climate change.

Our resolve to regulate and improve agricultural production, maximize farmer income, and increase knowledge about food safety on a broad scale will also guarantee the sector's long-term viability. With this aim of Empowering Sustainable Agriculture in India, Kisaan Helpline is being created as a one-stop-shop for all informational requirements of an Indian farmer. The Indian Farmer will no longer have to navigate through a maze of websites designed for various purposes.