Indian Agricultural: Growth, Generation, Policy & Problem Indian Agricultural | Page 57

Pg.no. 56
• Cow milk, whole, fresh • Eggplants (aubergines)
• Tea • Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms
• Potatoes • Indigenous goat meat
• Onions • Cabbages and other brassicas
• Cotton lint • Pumpkins, squash and gourds
• Cotton seed
In 2009, India was the world's third largest producer of eggs, oranges, coconuts, tomatoes, peas and
beans.
In addition to growth in total output, agriculture in India has shown an increase in average agricultural
output per hectare in last 60 years. The table below presents average farm productivity in India over
three farming years for some crops. Improving road and power generation infrastructure, knowledge
gains and reforms has allowed India to increase farm productivity between 40% to 500% over 40
years. India's recent accomplishments in crop yields while being impressive, are still just 30% to 60%
of the best crop yields achievable in the farms of developed as well as other developing countries.
Additionally, despite these gains in farm productivity, losses after harvest due to poor infrastructure
and unorganized retail cause India to experience some of the highest food losses in the world.
Agriculture productivity in India, growth in average yields from 1970 to 2010
Crop
Average YIELD, Average YIELD, Average YIELD,
1970-1971 1990-1991 2010–2011
kilogram per hectare kilogram per hectare kilogram per hectare
Rice 1123 1740 2240
Wheat 1307 2281 2938
Pulses 524 578 689
Oilseeds 579 771 1325
Sugarcane 48322 65395 68596
Tea 1182 1652 1669
Cotton 106 225 510
India and China are competing to establish the world record on rice yields. Yuan Longping of China
National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Centre set a world record for rice yield in 2010 at 19
tonnes per hectare in a demonstration plot. In 2011, this record was surpassed by an Indian farmer,
Sumanth Kumar, with 22.4 tonnes per hectare in Bihar, also in a demonstration plot. These farmers
claim to have employed newly developed rice breeds and system of rice intensification (SRI), a recent
innovation in farming. The claimed Chinese and Indian yields have yet to be demonstrated on 7-
hectare farm lots and that these are reproducible over two consecutive years on the same farm.
Ramesh Kumar P