The agriculture sector is India’s backbone. About 58% of the Indian population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. The agriculture sector has about 17.8% of GDP contribution. India has the highest net cropped area followed by USA and China. Indian farmers face many challenges due to the rise in industrial and developing sectors. To tackle such challenges modern technologies and tools are being introduced in farming. The government is launching many schemes to help agricultural technology rise.
Challenges Faced by Indian Farmers
Even though agriculture forms the foundation of India’s growth, the farmers still face many challenges. Here are a few challenges faced by Indian Farmers:
- Decrease in Soil Fertility: The increase in the usage of chemical fertilizers has resulted in the depletion of organic matter in the soil content and humus. In order to manage time and competition farmers started using chemical fertilizers to get quicker results. The excess of such fertilizers led to decreased numbers of beneficial insects, increased pest attacks, and altered soil pH levels.
- Climate Changes: Climate change can be a major problem for a farmer. This means that normal weather conditions might change. That would lead to frequent weather changes that could be unpredictable. Such changes might lead to drought, flood, or storms. Such extreme conditions can affect soil fertility, livestock production, etc. Prevailing heat waves can cause heat stress in the crops.
- Poor Adoption of Mechanization: After so many years of development, India is still behind in the matters of machine adaptation in farming. Many rural farmers have small lands and lack information due to which they cannot enjoy the modernization facilities like adapting machines in their farming process. High interest rates on loans for such challenges make it a setback as many farmers couldn’t afford it.
Drones in Agriculture. Image Credit: agrifarming
Modern Technologies to Tackle Such Challenges
The government’s goal is the adaptability of modern technology widely across India. Many technologies have been developed to help the farmers of India. Here are a few rapidly advancing technologies:
Soil Sensor
Soil sensors are used by farmers to keep track of the soil’s moisture levels, temperature, and other factors in order to adjust their farming practices. Moreover, farmers can receive the data collected by soil sensors wirelessly.
Weather Monitoring
Since the invention of smartphones, it has been quite easy to monitor the weather in a particular area in real-time. Farmers can access the weather condition reports through the weather apps so as to decide when to sow or what type of crops to grow and other weather-related factors.
Automation and drones
Automation has helped in decreasing manual labor to an extent and has helped increase efficiency. Agricultural activities such as sowing, harvesting, etc have been benefiting from automation as it is being widely adopted. Drones are also being put to use to navigate the land in order to map the land and monitor the crops. Agricultural planning is easier with the use of drones as it is a good source of data collection.
Agriculture Robots
Agricultural robots are being developed to help with various farming activities. With greater efficiency and long hours, these robots can be very helpful in the farming process. These robots will have capabilities like milking cows or cutting grass, plucking ripe fruits and vegetables, and much more.
The introduction of AI in agriculture is also going to be a trend soon. In fact, it is being initiated shortly and many people are learning to apply it in real life. Farmers can detect insects or plant diseases through AI-powered systems. That too faster than humans, AI-powered systems can alert farmers when pesticides are being excessively used and help in controlling the use of pesticides to a great extent. AI is proving itself very useful in agriculture as well.
Modern Farming Technologies in Agriculture. Image Credit: smartteksolutions
Impact of Agricultural Technology
Technology has been a benefit for both farmers as well as consumers. Let’s see how.
On Consumers
Good quality production is facilitated along with reduced cost of production. Farmers are being able to gain wider market reach to deliver their products to all types of consumers. There is also an increase in the production of crops and livestock. New ways of selling and distributing these products have also emerged to make them more accessible. Also, new jobs are created due to this.
On Farmers
Agricultural technology has had a well-recognizable impact on farmers by reducing costs and saving human labor. It has increased their yields and improved the quality of farming. However, having pros means there are cons too. The use of technology in farming also has some drawbacks such as too much dependence on machines which could lead to high maintenance costs. Due to machines, humans might feel like having more leisure time. Also, if machines and chemicals are not used properly they can harm the environment.
Role of Government in the Development of Agricultural Technology
In order to grow any sector, the government plays a crucial role. In 2022, India’s agricultural exports were recorded to be 50 Billion USD. Without the government’s support farmers will suffer and so will the country. In order to support the agricultural sector the government has undertaken many initiatives. These initiatives are meant to support farmers by all means such as insurance, loans, development of technology, and several other means to help them.
Artificial Intelligence in Food and Agriculture. Image Credit: ucdavis
To promote irrigation facilities the government launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendra, the government has announced to convert of more than 3.25 lakh fertilizer shops, so that not only farmers will have access to fertilizers and seeds but also modern techniques like soil testing and information about farming technologies.
To make Indian agriculture ahead of time, the government needs to be ready and prepared for it. India is the largest producer of sugar and the second-largest producer of rice after China. To extend and grow accordingly with more efficiency, the government of India has initiated the promotion of scientific warehousing, the adoption of drone technologies, and the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. The government is setting up the Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund to increase investments in the agricultural sector. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana to promote organic farming and create Long-term Irrigation Funds and Micro Irrigation Funds. All this is for the farmers to take initiatives like startups or to grow their farming business.