A Handbook of Agriculture in India

India’s record of progress in agriculture over the past four decades has been quite impressive. The agriculture sector has been successful in keeping pace with rising demand for food. The contribution of increased land area under agricultural production has declined over time and increases in production in the past two decades have been almost entirely due to increased productivity. Contribution of agricultural growth to overall progress has been widespread. Increased productivity has helped to feed the poor, enhanced farm income and provided opportunities for both direct and indirect employment. The success of India’s agricutlure is attributed to a series of steps that led to availability of farm technologies which brought about dramatic increases in productivity in 70s and 80s often described as the Green revolution era. The major sources of agricultural growth during this period were the spread of modern crop varieties, intensification of input use and investments leading to expansion in the irrigated area. In areas where ‘Green Revolution’ technologies had major impact, growth has now slowed.