Agriculture in India - An Economic Empowerment

Agriculture in India is the major occupations for the majority of the rural population and cannot ever be overlooked. Despite of its overall contribution in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), agriculture has declined to less than 10 per cent and overall contribution of other rural sectors increased at an even faster pace. Agriculture in India has two faces - modern and traditional. Agriculture of crops like arable, fruits, vegetables and tubers, dairy, animal breeding and farming of oilseeds are done on the large-scale. Agriculture in India has been facilitated by modern technologies, which has made it feasible, efficient and profitable for the farmers.

Women farmers in the Indian countryside have realized benefits of using modern technology and techniques in agricultural activities such as spraying herbicide, integrated farm management systems, fertilizers, seed treatment, etc. introduced modern irrigation techniques, pesticides, fertilizers and improved breeds of cattle. With the advent of information technology, improved communication facilities and internet, rural women have gained wider knowledge and control over their lives and their economic empowerment through their participation in agriculture has become a possibility. Below mentioned are some of the key elements for successful agricultural sector in India:

Agriculture in India is one of the most diversified sectors in India, which accounts for more than half the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Agriculture has contributed around 45 percent of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Agriculture in India is the largest producer of food products, but also one of its biggest contributors to the Green Belt of Asia and the third largest producer of fish, forest products, and coals.

Agriculture in India, though dominated by men, has some small sections where women are also engaged in cultivating and catching the harvest. In the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Orissa, nearly half of the total population of agriculture is women. The major areas of agriculture in India are: millet, rice, wheat, tea, rubber, cabbages, vegetables, fruit trees, tobacco, leather, beef, poultry, goats, hunting, gecko fruits, honey, bird skins, and ornamental birds. As far as contribution towards development and economic empowerment is concerned, women farmers are the biggest losers. For every dollar invested in female farmers, nine dollars are generated in return.

Though agriculture is the single most important sector for employment generation, only a small share of the total population is engaged in it. Women are over-represented in the rural workforce, but they also lag behind in other services too. This is the reason the government has taken special interest in promoting women farmers and has also taken measures to help them economically. The rural development schemes of different countries has been implemented in India. Special programs have been planned for the backward regions too. The objective is to increase women's literacy, generate high quality employment, reduce poverty, and improve health and hygiene.

The agricultural production in India is highly diversified. The traditional crops of India are diverse and inclusive of different crops like paddy, rice, maize, cotton, jowar, linum tumengo, rubber, coir, etc. These crops are generally cultivated in open fields. However, the advanced irrigation technology has led to the growth of hydroponic cultivation, increasing the area of cultivation. The major beneficiaries of this are the women who have access to domestic markets through these improved agricultural products.

The major groups of beneficiaries under the rural development schemes include the mentally retarded, physically weak, handicapped, poor, mentally distressed women farmers. The programme also focuses on promoting agricultural practices that are environment friendly. Amongst the major projects, the most important is that of 'oxfam india' that stands for rural development program of integrated rural development and social inclusion for women farmers. This programme provides financial incentives, technical assistance, direct payment, indirect payments and improved farming techniques to the women farmers in order to improve their productivity, increase their production, provide improved access to financial services and basic amenities, improve their marketing and promotion skills and conduct quality audits.

Since ancient times, Indian farmers have practiced various agricultural practices. However, with changes in agricultural technologies and agricultural policies, their level of profitability has declined. The key drivers for such decline are depletion of natural resources (land, water, fertilizers), loss of agricultural land due to development, growth of non-forest resources (crops, grass, weeds) and shifting of communities (outsiders to the villages). The objective of the present project of 'oxfam india' is to revive the traditional agricultural policies and strengthen the rural economy.