Technological gap in Indian agriculture

The share of service sector in Indian economy has increased to more than 50% while that of agriculture sector has declined progressively to less than 15%. From the national income point of view, we find progress in service sector but from the employment point of view, it still lags behind. On the other hand, agriculture sector is very important from the point of view of employment.

Much more than 50% of Indian families are reliant upon agriculture and its allied areas. Almost 70% poor people in India live in rural backward areas. With growing income and population at the same time, livelihood and food security of India are dependent upon production of cerial crops on one hand and production of milk, fruits, and vegetables on another hand.

With so much significance, it is very important on the part of planners and agriculture scientists to develop a sustainable, diversified, holistic, and competitive agriculture sector. It will have a dual effect: on one side, it will reduce technological gap in agriculture sector and on another side, it will improve farm size and productivity. In the face of global warming, rising population, globalisation, and shifting food preferences, bridging the technological and necessary gaps in Indian agriculture finds itself at the crossroads.

To improve livelihood security and produce more food with limited resources while also making sure that economic returns of the growers are higher is more or less a challenge keeping in view different problems in Indian agriculture. It is in this regard that reducing technological gap and the adoption of scientific techniques of production are not just beneficial but a necessity.

A million dollar question is why there is a big technological gap in Indian agriculture despite Green Revolution and other agricultural virtues. Answer is simple. Our agriculture system has deep cultural roots or factors. In fact, technology which is more or less traditional or unscientific, itself has deep cultural background.

Majority of the farmers in India use traditional methods of production that are inherently inefficient and prone to the eccentricity of nature. With the result, farm productivity and production declines thereby dipping the returns as well. The introduction of modern technology is a welcome step but the growth rate is low which encourages technological gap.

To fill the gap in technology in agriculture sector, it is smart or precision agriculture that is required. For that, agriculturists, agriculture experts, and IT experts have to work day in and day out. All these stakeholders have to harness the power of the Internet of things (IoT) to monitor and manage different aspects of farming.

From the point of production to the point of marketing, smart agriculture can make a big difference. All we need to do is making farmers aware about modern techniques and IoT devices so that technological and development gap in agriculture can be reduced. Agriculture data has always proved beneficial for the primary sector.

This data is invaluable in making sound decisions pertaining to agriculture including irrigation, pest control, and fertilization. Agricultural economics aims at optimization of agriculture resources. Smart agriculture fulfills this aim thereby increasing farm yeilds and minimizing costs. Hence, smart agriculture model should be fully developed so that agriculture prospects are improved with every passing day.

Such models should be made part and parcel of the subject of agriculture economics. Moreover, different technological models should also be developed so that agriculturists and farmers avail benefits of new technology. Furthermore, they will learn ways to reduce technological gaps.

Dr. Binish Qadri, Former, Assistant Professor, Cluster University, Srinagar.

Dr. Ruyida Mushtaq,  Research scholar, Department of Geography and Disaster Management, University of Kashmir, Srinagar.