The spectacular story of Indian agriculture is known throughout the world for its multi-functional success in generating employment, livelihood, food, nutritional and ecological security. Agriculture and allied activities contribute about 20% to the gross domestic product of India. With arable land area at 168 million hectares, India ranks second only to the U.S. in size of agriculture. A well-developed agricultural research system, a significant area of almost 60 million hectares under irrigation and increasing productivity in major crops make Indian agriculture a globally competitive player.

With the application of modern technologies, food production increased from 50 million tonnes in 1950 to over 230 million tonnes today. The United Nations estimates that with assured irrigation, India's food grains output can increase SIX times within five years- enough to feed two planet Earths!

The aggregate rate of return on Research and Development investments in agriculture has been between 40 and 80%, many times more than the 18 percent internal rate of return of the banking sector.

If India attained self-sufficiency in food in the 1970s, it was the 1990s that saw it join the ranks of the major food grain exporting countries. Along with wheat, India now exports substantial quantities of rice, and is in fact a leading rice exporting country accounting for a third of world rice trade and the largest exporter of the world's best rice, known as basmati.

Remote sensing has enabled a quantum leap in Indian agriculture

Ancient Indian records speak of the existence of rice varieties of curative value for various ailments as detailed in the Ayurvedic Treatise (Indian Materia Medica) of the 15th and 16th Centuries AD. Varieties like ‘Njavara’ and ‘Gathuran’, for instance, were used in the treatment of arthritis, while rice surveys in modern times in central India have found several varieties of medicinal value such as ‘aalcha’ for treatment of pimples, ‘maharaji’ for strength and stamina to assist post-delivery recovery, ‘baisoor’ for epilepsy and "laicha" for pregnant women to deliver healthy and disease-free children.
Thanks to the Department of Biotechnology of India's Ministry of Science and Technology and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India now has the critical mass and research infrastructure for using the cutting edge of scientific knowledge to solve problems that hitherto defied solution through conventional approaches. Among the various research programmes being undertaken, the most important are building of resistance to major pests and enhancement of nutritive quality such as B-carotene (vitamin A) and protein content using novel genes cloned from near and distant life forms. Apart from the transgenic approach, marker technology is being used to develop harmonious race-specific resistance genes.

Wheat

India is the largest producer of wheat in the world, accounting for about 15% of global wheat production. Native Indian wheat is universally recognized for its quality and has always been in demand. During the latter half of the 19th century, several Indian wheat varieties were used as parental lines in Australia, Kenya and other countries to improve their own grain quality and tolerance to abiotic stresses. For several decades, British India exported annually one million tonnes of wheat to England, Belgium, Spain, Italy and France and wheat flour to the Middle East, Africa, Yemen and several other nations. Indian wheat exports should cross 5 million tonnes, not bad for a country that only a few decades ago sought American wheat to feed its people.

Edible oil

India is among the largest vegetable oil economies in the world accounting for about a seventh of the world’s oilseeds area and a tenth of oilseeds production. It is the largest producer of castor safflower, sesame and niger, ranks second in groundnut and rapeseed-mustard, third in linseed and fifth in soybean and sunflower. The Technology Mission on Oilseeds set up in 1986 saw oilseeds production treble in a few years, with the country achieving self-sufficiency.

India's green revolution is visible anywhere in the country

Potato

A short duration crop like potato, which produces more dry matter, edible energy and edible protein per unit land and time than many other major crops such as wheat, rice and maize is the most potential and nutritionally superior crop for fighting hunger and malnutrition. It also generates larger returns per unit land and time. According to the estimates published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and International Potato Center (CIP), India is likely to have the highest growth rates in production and productivity of potatoes during 1993-2020.

Spices

History indicates the extreme fascination of the world for the fabled wealth of India, especially its spices. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices in the world. More than half of the world's listed spices are grown in India, and it accounts for more than half of world trade in this sector, exporting its fabulous spices to more than 150 countries. Besides being the foremost producer and exporter of chilli, Indian ginger, one of the oldest known spices in the world, is very highly regarded in global markets for its characteristic lemon like flavour. Among other Indian spices, turmeric is a multipurpose crop valued for its colouring pigment, spicy flavour and medicinal properties. In fact, major pharmaceutical companies are rushing to buy Indian spices for production of medicines and neutraceuticals.

Some major Indian medicinal spices are garcinai that contains hydroxy critic acid, an "appetite suppressant”, effective against obesity. Piperine from black pepper is a potent inhibitor of drug metabolism, while chillies, usually known as an irritant spice, have counter irritant properties and are used in skin ointments. They also help prevent rectum/colon cancer. Garlic, onion and fenugreek are well known for their properties to reduce cholesterol and to cure diabetes.

Rubber

The rubber industry holds a place of pride in the country. India has the status of both a leading producer and consumer. It has the highest per unit productivity in natural rubber, of which it is the world's third largest producer. In the last four decades, production has increased 36 times and productivity 6 times!

The cup that cheers

Tea garden in Assam

India is the world's largest producer of tea, accounting for a third of global production and sixth of global tea exports.

Fishing for food

The Indian fisheries sector plays a significant role in food and nutritional security, national economy, employment generation and exports. India is among the ten largest fish producing nations of the world with an annual landing of about 3 million tonnes. The sector employs over one million fishermen, and 2 million workers, half of them women, in the post-harvest sector. The country exports a wide range of seafood to more than 52 countries.

Vegetables

A large number of studies have shown that the consumption of vegetables reduces the risk of cancer, particularly cancer of alimentary canal and respiratory tract. Vegetable production in India has now crossed 100 million tonnes, one of the highest in the world.

Fruits

India is the second largest producer of fruits, total production now estimated at over 50 million tones.

Harnessing rain water

Rain water harvesting is an ancient and traditional Indian technology, first used some 5,000 years ago. It is now being revived. The technologies available include contour bunding, contour stone wall, contour trenching, providing check dams and construction of percolation ponds. Runoff water with silt soil is obstructed and stored to recharge ground water that can be used for irrigation. Further, roof (rain) water from buildings is also collected and recharged through recharge pits after filtration.

Space technology in agriculture

Increasing food grains production requires bringing more area under agriculture, increasing cropping intensity and productivity. Thus it is essential to identify and delineate culturable wastelands, increase irrigation potential, and emphasize judicious and optimal management of both land and water resources. Thus comprehensive and reliable information on land use/cover, soils extent of wastelands, agricultural crops, water resources on the surface and underground, hazards and natural calamities like drought and folds, and agrometeorology is essential.

In India, thanks to its outstanding scientists and technologists, space based remote sensing has emerged as a front running provider of information. Remote sensing refers to the science of identification and classification of earth surface features using electromagnetic radiation as a medium of interaction.

A common sight in the Indian countryside

Food preservation

As in other parts of the world, India has also practiced various methods of food preservation such as sun drying, pickling and fermentation which were supplemented with more energy consuming techniques such as refrigeration, freezing and canning. Man has always been in search of newer methods to preserve foods with least change in sensory qualities. Food irradiation is one of the latest methods.

Food irradiation involves exposure of food to short wave energy to achieve a specific purpose such as extension in shelf-life, insect disinfestations and elimination of food-borne pathogens and parasites. Compared to heat or chemical treatment, irriadiation is a more effective and appropriate technology that offers a number of advantages to producers, processors, retailers and consumers.

The future

Having proved to the world that agricultural success is not limited to the developed world, India is ready to share its experience in the conquest of hunger with friendly countries like Sudan. In fact, agriculture is one of the priority sectors that has been identified for bilateral cooperation. The Indian example shows that the green revolution can be made evergreen.