Agriculture in India

Development of agricultural output of India in 2015 US$
Share of labour force employed in agriculture in India

The history of agriculture in India dates back to the Neolithic period. India ranks second worldwide in farm outputs. As per the Indian economic survey 2020 -21, agriculture employed more than 50% of the Indian workforce and contributed 20.2% to the country's GDP.[1]

In 2016, agriculture and allied sectors like animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries accounted for 17.5% of the GDP (gross domestic product) with about 41.49% of the workforce in 2020.[2][3][4][5] India ranks first in the world with highest net cropped area followed by US and China.[6] The economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is steadily declining with the country's broad-based economic growth. Still, agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India.

The total agriculture commodities export was US$3.50 billion in March - June 2020. India exported $38 billion worth of agricultural products in 2013, making it the seventh-largest agricultural exporter worldwide and the sixth largest net exporter.[7] Most of its agriculture exports serve developing and least developed nations.[7] Indian agricultural/horticultural and processed foods are exported to more than 120 countries, primarily to Japan, Southeast Asia, SAARC countries, the European Union and the United States.[8][9]

Pesticides and fertilizers used in Indian agriculture have helped increase crop productivity, but their unregulated and excessive use has caused different ecosystem and fatal health problems.[10][11] Several studies published between 2011 and 2020 attribute 45 different types of cancers afflicting rural farm workers in India to pesticide usage. The chemicals have been shown to cause DNA damage, hormone disruption, and lead to a weakened immune system.[11] Occupational exposure to pesticides has been identified as a major trigger of the development of cancer.[11] The principal classes of pesticides investigated in relation to their role in intoxication and cancer were insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides.[12][11] Punjab, a state in India, utilises the highest amount of chemical fertilizers in the country. Many of the pesticides sprayed on the state's crops are classified as class I by the World Health Organization because of their acute toxicity and are banned in places around the world, including Europe.[13][14]

  1. ^ "India economic survey 2018: Farmers gain as agriculture mechanisation speeds up, but more R&D needed". The Financial Express. 29 January 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  2. ^ "CIA Factbook: India-Economy". Archived from the original on 18 March 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Agriculture's share in GDP declines to 13.7% in 2012–13". Archived from the original on 6 September 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  4. ^ Staff, India Brand Equity Foundation Agriculture and Food in India Archived 13 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 7 May 2013
  5. ^ "Labor force by agriculture sector in India". Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  6. ^ "India outranks US, China with world's highest net cropland area". Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  7. ^ a b India's Agricultural Exports Climb to Record High Archived 24 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine, United States Department of Agriculture (2014)
  8. ^ "Agriculture in India: Agricultural Exports & Food Industry in India | IBEF". Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  10. ^ Vaidyanathan, A. Fertilizers use in Indian agriculture. J. Soc. Econ. Dev. 24 (Suppl 1), 6–21 (2022). doi:10.1007/s40847-022-00224-x
  11. ^ a b c d Bhakar, A., Singh, Y.V., Abhishek et al. Pesticides in India in the twenty-first century and their impact on biodiversity. Vegetos 36, 768–778 (2023). doi:10.1007/s42535-022-00434-y
  12. ^ Vaidyanathan, A. Fertilizers use in Indian agriculture. J. Soc. Econ. Dev. 24 (Suppl 1), 6–21 (2022). doi:10.1007/s40847-022-00224-x
  13. ^ Pedroso, T.M.A., Benvindo-Souza, M., de Araújo Nascimento, F. et al. Cancer and occupational exposure to pesticides: a bibliometric study of the past 10 years. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 17464–17475 (2022). doi:10.1007/s11356-021-17031-2
  14. ^ Vivek Chaudhary (1 July 2019). "The Indian state where farmers sow the seeds of death". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.