Agriculture Industry India

Agricultural sector is the mainstay of the rural Indian economy around, which the socio-economic privileges and deprivations revolve, and any change in its structure is expected to have a corresponding impact on the existing pattern of social equality. The growth of India's agriculture sector during the 50 years of independence remain impressive at 2.7 % per annum. About two-third of this production growth is aided by gains in crop productivity. The need based strategies adopted since independence and intensified after mid – sixties primarily focused on feeding the growing population and making the country self reliant in food production.

Indian agriculture has attained an impressive growth in the production of food grains that has increased around four times during the planned area of development from 51 million tons in 1950-51 to 199.1 million tonnes in 1997-98. The growth has been really striking since sixties after the production and wide spread usage of high yielding varieties of seed, fertilization, pesticides, especially in assured irrigated areas. 

Chemical Industry Exporter History

Over the 10,000 years since agriculture began to be developed, peoples across the world have discovered the food value of wild plants and animals and domesticated and bred them. Primary importance of these are cereals such as rice, wheat, barley, corn, and rye; sugarcane and sugar beets; meat animals such as sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs or swine; poultry such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys; and products like milk, cheese, eggs, nuts, and oils. Fruits, vegetables, and olives are also an important category of agriculture products; feed grains for animals include field corn, soybeans, and sorghum. Modern agriculture in India primarily depends on engineering and technology and on the physical and biological sciences. Irrigation, drainage, conservation and sanitation, each of these stages are essential in successful farming, and require specialized knowledge and expert skills of agricultural engineers. 

Mechanization, the spectacular characteristic of late 19th and 20th-century agriculture, has eased much of the backbreaking toil of the farmers. More importantly, mechanization has considerably increased the farm efficiency and productivity.  

Overview of Indian Agriculture Market History

In several agricultural sectors, India is the world’s leading or one of the largest producers. For example, the country is second largest milk producing country in the world. India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 18% of the GDP in 2007, employed 70% of the total workforce and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India. Yields per unit area of all crops have grown since 1950, due to the special emphasis placed on agriculture in the five-year plans and steady improvements in irrigation, technology, application of modern agricultural practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidies since Green revolution in India. However, international comparisons reveal that the average yield in India is generally 30% to 50% of the highest average yield in the world.

Indian Punjab is called the "Granary of India" or "India's bread-basket. It produces 14% of India's cotton, 20% of India's wheat, and 9% of India's rice.

According to recent studies, the total turnover of Indian food market is approximately Rs.250000 crores (US $ 69.4 billion), out of which, the share of value-added food products is around Rs.80000 crores (US $ 22.2 billion). The Government of India has also sanctioned proposals for joint ventures, foreign collaborations, industrial licenses and 100% export oriented units conceiving of an investment of Rs.19100 crores (US $ 4.80 billion) out of which foreign investment is over Rs. 9100 crores (US $ 18.2 Billion).

The Indian agricultural food industry also assumes significance owing to country's sizable agrarian economy that accounts for over 35% of GDP and employs around 65 % of the population. Both in terms of number of joint- ventures / foreign collaborations and foreign investment, the consumer food segment has the top priority. The other salient features of the Indian agro industry, which have the capacity to lure foreigners with assuring benefits are the aqua culture, deep sea fishing, milk and milk products, meat and poultry segments.