Problems of Indian agriculture is serious matter. Indian agriculture is mainly depends on monsoon, due to this production of food-grains fluctuates year after year. A year of abundant output of cereals is often followed by a year of acute shortage. Few reasons are the main points of being backward of Indian agriculture.
Cropping Pattern of Indian Agriculture
Various crops are grown in India. They are divided into two broad categories: food crops and non-food crops. While the former comprise food-grains, sugarcane and other beverages, the latter includes different kinds of fibres and oil seeds. In recent years there has occurred a fall in agricultural production mainly due to fall in the output of non-food articles. Moreover rabi production has become as important as kharif production in the later years. Cropping pattern is the main problems of Indian agriculture.
Land ownership system
The ownership of agricultural land in India is fairly widely distributed; there is some degree of concentration of land holding. Inequality in land distribution is also due to the fact that there are frequent changes in land ownership in India. It is believed that large parcels of land in India are owned by a- relatively small section of the rich farmers, landlords and money-lenders, while the vast majority of farmers own very little amount of land, or no land at all. Moreover, most holdings are small and uneconomic. So the advantages of large-scale farming cannot be derived and cost per unit with uneconomic holdings is high, output per hectare is hectare is low. As a result peasants cannot generate sufficient marketable surplus. So they are not only poor but are often in debt.
Sub-Division and Fragmentation of Holding
Growth of population and breakdown of the joint family system, there has occurred continuous sub-division of agricultural land into smaller and smaller plots. At times small farmers are forced to sell a portion of their land to repay their debt. This creates further sub-division of land. Sub-division, in its turn, leads to fragmentation of holdings. When the size of holdings become smaller and smaller, cultivation becomes uneconomic, as a result a major portion of land is not brought under the plough. Such sub-division and fragmentation make the efficient use of land virtually impossible and add to the difficulties of increasing capital equipment on the farm. All these factors account for the low productivity of Indian agriculture. Problems of Indian agriculture of sub-division and fragmentation of holding are increasing day to day.
Conditions of Agricultural Labourers
The conditions of most agricultural labourers in India are far from satisfactory. There is also the problem of surplus labour or disguised unemployment. This pushes the wage rates below the subsistence levels in Indian agriculture. A low rate wage problem in India is the identical problems of Indian Agriculture.
