What are the key principles of sustainable agriculture, and how can they be implemented on a large scale?
Agricultural reforms in India, particularly market-oriented policies and marketing system reforms, have significantly impacted rural development and income growth, albeit unevenly. The introduction of the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) and deregulation has enhanced market access, enabling farmeRead more
Agricultural reforms in India, particularly market-oriented policies and marketing system reforms, have significantly impacted rural development and income growth, albeit unevenly. The introduction of the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) and deregulation has enhanced market access, enabling farmers to secure better prices and reduce reliance on middlemen. Investments in infrastructure, such as cold storage and logistics, have improved supply chain efficiency, reducing post-harvest losses and increasing incomes.
However, regional disparities pose challenges, with states like Punjab and Haryana benefiting more than underdeveloped regions like Bihar and Odisha. Small and marginal farmers often miss out on these benefits due to limited resources and market access. Resistance to reforms, evidenced by the 2020 farm protests, highlights farmer fears of income instability and exploitation by private players.
To overcome these challenges, strengthening Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) can enhance market access and bargaining power. Investment in digital technologies can provide farmers with crucial market and weather information. Tailored regional policies, capacity building, and public-private partnerships can further enhance the effectiveness of reforms. Ensuring policy stability and addressing farmers’ concerns are essential for building trust and ensuring the sustainable success of these agricultural reforms.
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The key principles of sustainable agriculture are: Minimum tillage or zero tillage: Minimum or zero tillage is the restricted use of mechanical manipulation of the soil (through ploughs or other means) Water management: Efficient water supply through drip irrigation or spray irrigation to conserve wRead more
The key principles of sustainable agriculture are:
Implementation of sustainable agriculture in large scale:
- Education to local farmers: Mostly farmers in India are not aware of sustainable agriculture where they use chemical fertilizers rapidly for growth of crops that ultimately result in polluting the soil. Farmers should be taught to adopt Biofertilizers and non chemicals for the growth of crops.
- Government policies and incentives: Various government policies to encourage farmers to adopt sustainable agriculture should be one of the measures. Providing incentives, subsidy and grants for adopting sustainable agriculture can be a powerful measure.
- Launching projects for farmers: The Government of India can launch projects relating to sustainable agriculture for the farmers to bring about new innovations in the field of agriculture.
- Market Access to production units: In many villages, the market Access is not available easily. More shops and centres should be in close vicinity of the farmers to gain easy access of the seeds, Biofertilizers, etc.
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