Agriculture: Ensuring Agricultural Sustainability in India

Agriculture: Ensuring Agricultural Sustainability in India

For Prelims: National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Soil Degradation, Sequestering Carbon, National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), Disease-resistant Crops
For Mains: The necessity of sustainable agriculture to prevent environmental degradation.

Why is this Important?

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare recently emphasized the policy paper released by ICAR titled ‘A Spatial Assessment of Sustainability in Indian Agriculture’ and highlighted the significance of the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).

The paper reveals that India’s agricultural sustainability is at great risk due to issues like water scarcity, soil degradation, and socio-economic vulnerabilities.

Key Findings from ICAR’s Policy Paper:

• Composite Index: The national average sustainability index stands at 0.49, indicating a moderate level of sustainability, based on 51 indicators covering environmental health, soil and water quality, and socio-economic development.

• State Performance: States such as Mizoram, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand perform better than the national average due to factors like crop diversification, infrastructure, credit access, and sustainable inputs. On the other hand, states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Assam face higher risks due to arid conditions, climate change, and intensive farming practices.

Major Threats to Agriculture:

• Water Scarcity: Groundwater depletion is a major concern, especially in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana, where extraction rates have surpassed recharge rates by 66%, 51%, and 34%, respectively. Additionally, rising water salinity is affecting aquifers in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.
• Soil Erosion: Soil erosion from croplands is expected to reach 10 tonnes per hectare annually by 2050, while salinity-affected areas are projected to grow from 6.7 million hectares to 11 million hectares by 2030.
• Crop Yield Reductions: Climate change may reduce rainfed rice yields by 20% by 2050 and 47% by 2080. Wheat yields could drop by 19.3% by 2050 and 40% by 2080.
• Erratic Rainfall: With 80% of India’s rainfall occurring between June and September, this pattern causes floods and droughts. Monsoon dry spells are becoming more frequent in rainfed areas. By 2050, increased rainfall during the Kharif and Rabi seasons could lead to waterlogging, lodging (plant collapse), and pest and disease outbreaks.

What is Sustainable Agriculture?
Sustainable agriculture refers to a holistic approach that meets current food and fiber needs while conserving resources for future generations. Practices include crop rotation, organic farming, and community-supported agriculture, ensuring environmental health, economic viability, and social equity.

Benefits of Sustainable Agriculture:

• Environmental Benefits: Enhances soil health, conserves water, protects biodiversity, and reduces the carbon footprint.
• Economic Benefits: Promotes long-term productivity, reduces costs, creates market opportunities, and enhances climate resilience.
• Social Benefits: Provides healthier food, generates employment, and strengthens food security.
• Climate Resilience: Practices like organic farming, conservation tillage, and agroforestry sequester carbon, lower emissions, and increase resilience to climate change.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA):

• About NMSA: A flagship initiative under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) aimed at promoting sustainable agricultural practices in India.

• Objectives:

  • Enhance Agricultural Productivity: Focus on improving productivity in rainfed areas, which constitute 60% of India’s net sown area and 40% of total food production.
  • Promote Sustainable Practices: Encourage the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources like soil and water.
  • Climate Change Adaptation: Implement measures to make agriculture more resilient to climate change impacts.
  • Livelihood Diversification: Help farmers diversify their income sources through integrated farming systems.

• Programmes of Action (POA): NMSA addresses ten key dimensions of Indian agriculture.

• Alignment with SDGs: NMSA contributes to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) by fostering sustainable farming practices and improving climate resilience.

Way Forward:

• Financial Incentives for Farmers: Offer financial rewards to farmers adopting sustainable practices like organic farming, crop rotation, and agroforestry. Subsidies for eco-friendly inputs such as organic fertilizers and biopesticides should also be provided.
• Invest in Research and Development (R&D): Invest in developing drought, pest, and disease-resistant crops, as well as affordable organic inputs for small farmers.
• Market Access for Sustainable Produce: Improve storage, transport, and processing infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses. Facilitate direct farmer-to-consumer sales for sustainable produce.
• Strengthen Environmental Regulations: Enforce strict regulations on water use, fertilizers, and pesticides to prevent overuse and pollution, with strong monitoring for compliance.

Drishti Mains Question:
Groundwater depletion and soil degradation pose significant risks to Indian agriculture. Discuss the role of the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) in addressing these challenges.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)

• Prelims
  Q. With reference to the ‘Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion’, which of the following statements is/are correct? (2016)

  1. This initiative aims to demonstrate improved production and post-harvest technologies, and demonstrate value addition techniques in an integrated manner with a cluster approach.
  2. Poor, small, marginal, and tribal farmers have a larger stake in this scheme.
  3. An important objective of the scheme is to encourage farmers of commercial crops to shift to millet cultivation by offering them free kits of critical inputs like nutrients and micro-irrigation equipment.
     Select the correct answer using the code given below:
     (a) 1 only
     (b) 2 and 3 only
     (c) 1 and 2 only
     (d) 1, 2 and 3
     Ans: (c)

• Mains
  Q. How far is the Integrated Farming System (IFS) helpful in sustaining agricultural production? (2019)

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