India Agriculture Stats
Author: jaacosta47
An economist from Mumbai is calling on the government of India to implement economic reforms which will also focus on agriculture. Rural poverty is a principal problem in India with majority of the population living in rural areas. The disproportion between urban and rural incomes is also going up. The National Agro Foundation (NAF) has done a lot to address this issue. For more than 20 years, this foundation has been involved in interventions such as efficient farm and water management, introduction of technology in agriculture, soil improvement, rural sanitation, and upgraded cattle development. All these are meant to address farm productivity problems in India.
Indeed, India has made significant strides in agriculture. It used to be highly dependent on food grain requirements but now the country has emerged as an exporter of food grain commodities and commercial produce. This farming saga can be classified generally into three important periods. The first was the Post-Independence period which was five decades ago when there was severe food supply scarcity and India depended too much on United States agricultural programs and support. This was followed by the Green Revolution to attain food sufficiency. It was the period where there was conspicuous concentration on the unveiling of technologies and policies to make possible self sufficiency in grain production. The course of action of the ruling United Progressive Alliance was to enhance agricultural inputs by using quality seedlings, fertilizers and pesticides. In fact, a strategy was devised to improve infrastructure for the production and distribution of high quality seeds to farmers at reasonable prices. This has generated good results with 32.8 million tons of certified quality seeds available in the market.
Even as agriculture contributes merely 21 percent to the GDP of India, it still remains an important industry since more than 70 percent of the populace (1.1 billion) are poor and live on agriculture.
Definitions
- Agricultural growth: Index of agricultural production in 1996 - 98 (1989 - 91 = 100)
- Agricultural growth per capita: Net per capita agricultural production, expressed in International Dollars. Net means after deduction of feed and seed. International Dollars are calculated using the Geary-Khamis formula, which is designed to neutralize irrelevant exchange rate movements (more information on http://faostat3.fao.org/faostat-gateway/go/to/mes/glossary/*/E)
- Agricultural land > Sq. km: Agricultural land (sq. km). Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Land under permanent crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated crops.
- Agriculture, value added > Current US$: Agriculture, value added (current US$), including forestry, hunting, and fishing, as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production. Value added is the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or depletion and degradation of natural resources.
- Arable land > Hectares: Arable land (in hectares) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.
- Arable land > Hectares per 1000: Arable land (in hectares) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Arable land > Hectares per capita: Arable land (hectares per person). Arable land (hectares per person) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.
- Cereal yield > Kg per hectare: Cereal yield, measured as kilograms per hectare of harvested land, includes wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains. Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded."
- Cultivable land > Hectares: Cultivable land (in hectares) includes land defined by the Food and Agriculture Organisation as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded."
- Farm workers: Agricultural employment shows the number of agricultural workers in the agricultural sector.
- Grains > Rice > Consumption: Figures for 2003/2004
- Produce > Banana > Production: Metric tons of Bananas produced in 2000.
- Produce > Crop > Production index: Crop production index shows agricultural production for each year relative to the base period 1999-2001. It includes all crops except fodder crops. Regional and income group aggregates for the FAO's production indexes are calculated from the underlying values in international dollars, normalized to the base period 1999-2001.
- Products: Major agricultural crops and products
- Rural population: Total population living in rural areas. Future estimates are from the UN Population Division.
SOURCES:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2001; http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=FAO&f=itemCode%3a2051, Agriculture (PIN) +; Food and Agriculture Organization; World Bank national accounts data
United Nations Statistics Division
; World Development Indicators database; World Development Indicators database. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; Food and Agriculture Organization; Food and Agriculture Organisation, electronic files and web site.; Food and Agriculture Organisation, Production Yearbook and data files.; United States Department of Agriculture; Agri-Food Business Development Centre; All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 25 March 2010.; United Nations Population Division. Source tables
Citation
Did you know
- India is a spicy country but with ten million bee hives, it's also pretty sweet.
India Agriculture Profiles (Subcategories)
| Agricultural land 3 | Fertilizer 4 |
| Agricultural machinery 4 | Fertilizer use 3 |
| Agriculture 3 | Grains 14 |
| Arable land 5 | Livestock 3 |
| Area 22 | Produce 81 |
| Beekeeping 3 | Value added 10 |
| Cultivable land 3 |
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An economist from Mumbai is calling on the government of India to implement economic reforms which will also focus on agriculture. Rural poverty is a principal problem in India with majority of the population living in rural areas. The disproportion between urban and rural incomes is also going up. The National Agro Foundation (NAF) has done a lot to address this issue. For more than 20 years, this foundation has been involved in interventions such as efficient farm and water management, introduction of technology in agriculture, soil improvement, rural sanitation, and upgraded cattle development. All these are meant to address farm productivity problems in India.
Indeed, India has made significant strides in agriculture. It used to be highly dependent on food grain requirements but now the country has emerged as an exporter of food grain commodities and commercial produce. This farming saga can be classified generally into three important periods. The first was the Post-Independence period which was five decades ago when there was severe food supply scarcity and India depended too much on United States agricultural programs and support. This was followed by the Green Revolution to attain food sufficiency. It was the period where there was conspicuous concentration on the unveiling of technologies and policies to make possible self sufficiency in grain production. The course of action of the ruling United Progressive Alliance was to enhance agricultural inputs by using quality seedlings, fertilizers and pesticides. In fact, a strategy was devised to improve infrastructure for the production and distribution of high quality seeds to farmers at reasonable prices. This has generated good results with 32.8 million tons of certified quality seeds available in the market.
Even as agriculture contributes merely 21 percent to the GDP of India, it still remains an important industry since more than 70 percent of the populace (1.1 billion) are poor and live on agriculture.
Posted on 15 May 2014
jaacosta47
423 Stat enthusiast
