Agriculture had been the mainstay of the Indian economy at the time of Independence accounting for as much as 75% of the GDP. With development the share of agriculture has steadily come down to 19% at present. Despite this almost 60% of the Indian population is dependent on agriculture for employment. The development of agriculture would play a major role reducing the rural backwardness and lack of purchasing power.
The greatest problem agriculture in India faces, is the fragmentation of landholdings. The majority of the landholdings are small with an average size of some 3 acres. This is too small a size to be economically viable for a family of 4 people unless intensive and scientific cultivation techniques are adopted. This would require the farmers to be educated in farming techniques. But the small holdings do not generate any surplus for the small farmer to educate his offspring effectively and the drudgery continues generation after generation. Moreover, high level of farm mechanization is a must for better crop yields and the small farmer cannot even think of it.
Most of the time the small farmer is at the mercy of weather and he gambles every year by taking up farming. If the crop fails, he hardly has any money for investment in the next crop and has to borrow money from the moneylender at usurious rates of interest which he cannot repay. If the next crop too fails he has to borrow again and goes deeper and deeper into debt. This is a very sorry state of affairs indeed and no country can allow such an absurd scenario to continue.
One step can effectively address these problems and that is allowing companies to invest in agriculture and acquire farmlands. The companies can also lease lands from farmers on a long term basis and offer them a percentage of the profit earned on the lands. This would consolidate the landholdings and make them economically viable and more effective. The small farmer would be benefited substantially; the average agricultural income would grow higher and it would also enhance the National Income.
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