Why in the News
A review of the Prime Minister’s 25 years in public service, 13 of them as Gujarat’s Chief Minister, finds India secure in staples. Two tasks remain: a rice and wheat surplus against a pulses and oilseeds shortfall, and stagnant farm incomes.
How did water and technology build India’s food security?
- Gujarat’s farm boom: Farm growth topped 9% a year in that tenure, rare even in Punjab’s Green Revolution heyday.
- Inputs behind it: Gujarat built check dams, secured Narmada waters and laid separate power feeder lines so farm pumps got power on time. Roads, Krishi Mahotsav village outreach and Bt cotton (approved 2002) followed.
- National irrigation push: After the 2014 and 2015 droughts, the Centre prioritised irrigation and crop insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
- Irrigation coverage: Almost 60% of the gross cropped area (land sown twice counted twice) is now irrigated.
- The takeaway: Water, power, roads and seeds turned scarcity into surplus, now itself the problem.
Where does Indian agriculture stand today?
- Overflowing grain stocks: Even after free grain under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), rice stocks exceed four times the buffer norm (the minimum stock required), wheat almost three times.
- Farm trade: India is the largest producer and exporter of rice and a net exporter of farm goods. Its $40 billion of farm imports are mostly edible oils and pulses.
- Growth rate: Agricultural GDP has grown about 4% a year under the present government, enough for food security as population grows slowly.
Why does the crop basket not match demand?
- Demand supply mismatch: India grows too much rice and wheat and too few pulses and oilseeds. Atmanirbharta (self sufficiency) in these needs incentives matching rice and wheat.
- Rice for ethanol: Diverting almost 7 million tonnes of rice to ethanol is “perverse”: it consumes more energy than it yields and loses money.
- Paddy’s hidden subsidy: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) research finds paddy in Punjab and Haryana pays because of power, fertiliser and canal subsidies worth almost Rs 40,000 per hectare.
- Crop neutral support: Paying pulses and oilseeds growers about Rs 35,000 per hectare saves groundwater at no extra cost to the exchequer, because paddy’s input subsidies fall.
- Haryana first: A jointly funded Centre State scheme could start in Haryana, where groundwater falls 1.7 feet a year.
Why have farm incomes not doubled, and what could change that?
- Doubling target missed: The Ashok Dalwai Committee held that doubling farmers’ real incomes needed 10.4% annual farm growth.
- High value diversification: Fisheries, poultry, milk, fruits and vegetables raise incomes, but these perishables need efficient value chains.
- Agri photovoltaics: Solar panels 10 to 11 feet above crops let one field yield food and power, like rooftop solar over a farm, making the farmer ‘annadata’ and ‘urjadata’ (food and energy giver).
- Rajasthan pilot: An ICRIER pilot in Rajasthan raised a farmer’s income eight to 10 times.
- Surya Khet Kranti: Give farm solar under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) the rooftop PM Surya Ghar subsidy and a feed in tariff (fixed price for grid sales), sparking an Operation Flood style revolution.
Challenges
- Procurement bias: Open ended minimum support price purchase covers mainly rice and wheat, so other crops stay riskier.
- Subsidies States control: A fiscally neutral swap needs States to cut politically sensitive power and canal subsidies.
- Selling farm power: Cash strapped distribution companies delay buying farmers’ solar power.
Way Forward
- Assured pulses purchase: Extend assured minimum support price purchase to pulses and oilseeds.
- Lean buffer stocks: Hold only the buffer norm and sell surplus grain.
- Solar farming standards: Notify panel height and spacing norms protecting crop yields.
Conclusion
India’s farm policy still rewards the crops it has in surplus and penalises the ones it imports. Whether the Centre and States swap input subsidies for crop neutral support, and pay fairly for farm solar power, will decide if incomes rise as harvests did.
Key numbers
- Free grain under PMGKAY: 5 kg of rice or wheat per person per month.
- Farm exports (2025-26): roughly $53 billion, led by rice and marine products.
Government Initiatives for Crop Diversification
- Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses: A ₹11,440 crore mission (2025) for self reliance in tur, urad and masoor.
- National Mission on Edible Oils: NMEO-Oilseeds (about ₹10,103 crore) and NMEO-Oil Palm target edible oil self reliance.
- PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana: Converges 36 schemes for crop diversification in 100 low productivity districts.
Matching Previous Year Question
“[2026, GS3, 15 marks] How Indian agriculture has been transformed from food scarcity to food surplus level? Explain the various government policies implemented for diversification of Indian agriculture.”
