Question

What are the main causes of backwardness of the Indian agriculture? Suggest remedies for its improvement.

Answer 1

Causes of backwardness. The causes of backwardness of the Indian agriculture are as under:

1. Dependence on rain: The Indian farmer depends on rain for irrigation. Only 23% of the cultivated land has irrigation facilities.
2. Dearth of Nitrogen in the soil: Indian soil is poor in nitrogen. The land has been cultivated for thousands of years continuously and has, thus, affected the fertility of the soil.
3. Poor labour: The Indian farmers are weak in health and they cannot provide the required amount of labor for agriculture.
4. Subdivision of holdings: In India the land is equally distributed amongst all the sons after the death of the father. As a result the size of fields goes on decreasing and this affects the production.
5. Primitive methods of agriculture: The Indian farmer is still following the
   primitive methods of agriculture. Hence agriculture in India has suffered a setback.
6. Non-utilization of good seeds: Indian farmers are poor and do not use seeds of good quality. This lowers production.
7. Poverty: Money is needed for agriculture but the farmers are poor.
8. Weak cattle: Indian farmer cultivates his land with the help of bullocks but most of the bullocks in India are not of good breed. They are very weak and are thus unable to undertake agricultural activities properly.
9. Illiteracy: The Indian farmer is illiterate. He finds it difficult to adopt new methods of agriculture.

Suggestions for improvement of agriculture:

• Co-operative farming. Co-operative farming should be introduced. This will increase the size of the fields and modem methods of agriculture would easily be adopted.
• Improvement in irrigation. In order to bring improvement in agriculture, the irrigation facilities should also be improved.
• Intensive farming. The farmers should adopt intensive farming. This brings more return from a smaller area.
• Good seeds and fertilizers. The government should arrange to supply quality seeds and fertilizers to the farmers at reasonable rates.
• Use of new agricultural implements. There can be a lot of improvement in agriculture if modern agricultural implements are used by the farmers. The government should give financial aid to farmers for the purchase of such implements.