Essay on “Agricultural Importance” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Agricultural Importance

Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. About 64 percent of the total population is dependent on agriculture. It contributes about 26 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and constitutes about 18 percent of the total value of India’s exports. Agriculture forms the basis of many premier industries including cotton textile, jute and sugar industries. It plays an important role in the economic development of our country.

In the pre-British period, there was much progress in agriculture. There was a proper balance between agriculture and industry. This balance was shattered when the British rulers started their colonial rule in India. They did not do anything to develop agriculture. A wide gap arose between cultivators and landlords who owned lands. The farmers suffered the most. After independence, as a result of planning and after the Green Revolution in the 1960s, farmers have started adopting agriculture on the commercial basis.

The agriculture output, however, dependents on monsoons. Nearly 60 percent of the area depends on rainfall. Unfavorable weather conditions like droughts and floods adversely affect the agricultural production. Agricultural crops can be divided into two major categories, viz. food crops and non-food crops. Food crops include cereals and pulses. Cereals include rice, wheat, jawar, bajra, maize, etc. Pulses include gram, moong, masur, arhar, etc. The non-food crops comprise a number of cash crops such as sugarcane, cotton, jute, tobacco, etc. Besides these, we have plantation crops which includes tea, coffee and rubber; horticulture crops which include fruits, vegetables, coconut, cashew nut, etc. India earns valuable foreign exchange from the agricultural sector. It is a boost to the economic development of India.

Since the Green Revolution in the 1960s, food crop production has been growing steadily. It has helped to transform the economy from food scarcity to food self-sufficiency. The Government has decided to distribute food grains to people below poverty line at 50%subsidised rates. It has also decided to distribute them freely to the poorest of the poor.

Agriculture has been occupying a-very important place in India’s Five Year Plans. The allotment of funds to this sector has been very high compared to other sectors. The outlay on agriculture has been rising steeply during the successive plans. From Rs. 601 crore in the First Five Year Plan, it rose to Rs. 2,883,885 crore in the Tenth Plan.

Since the Ninth Plan, seeds have been made available for any contingent situation arising from natural calamity, etc. nor increasing agricultural output, fertilizers are given to farmers. The use of modern techniques and irrigation facilities for farming have further increased. Agricultural growth.

The efforts have been rewarding. For a number of years, the three agriculture-based exports — cotton textiles, jute and tea, accounted for more than 50 percent of export earnings.. India is one of the largest producers of coconut, ginger, cashew nut, black pepper, and is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables.

The Government introduced Kisari Credit Scheme for farmers in 1988-99 for an easy access to loan from Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks. The National Agricultural Insurance Scheme was introduced in 1999-2000 replacing the earlier Crop Insurance Scheme to increase the production of food crops and horticulture crops.

The poor farmers in India still suffer though our Government is doing its best to improve the lot of the farmers.