Mapping the Growth Trajectory of the Indian Agriculture Sector

Susheel engaged in a conversation with the Industry Outlook magazine to answer queries on the growth trajectory and future developments in the Indian agriculture sector. He comes from a hard-core sales and marketing strategy background and has been associated with Syngenta for over fourteen years. Kumar completed an MBA in Agribusiness from Symbiosis Institute of International Business and bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Operations and Related Sciences from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University.

Given the rapid advancements in agriculture, could you provide an overview of how these developments are shaping the future of agriculture in India?

The agricultural & allied sector, estimated to constitute 18 percent of India's GVA in FY24, is the bedrock of the nation's economy providing employment to over 50 percent of the workforce. Despite challenges posed by the global health crisis and variability in climate conditions, the sector has demonstrated remarkable tenacity and resilience, contributing significantly to India's economic recovery and development. With advancement in technology, adoption of science-based agriculture, government’s focus and enabling policies, agricultural production has grown significantly, transforming India into a self-sufficient nation and a net exporter of key agricultural products.

Research, technological improvements, and protected cultivation techniques are playing a crucial role. Companies are engaging to offer innovative products, including improved seeds, fertilizers, crop protection chemicals, customized farm machinery, and animal feed at competitive prices. Rapid adoption of scale neutral technologies will be pivotal in developing environment friendly, disease-resistant, climate-resilient, and nutritionally enriched crop varieties for the over 86 percent of smallholder farmers in the country.

Precision farming, enabled by soil testing-based decisions, artificial intelligence, sensors, and drones, will revolutionize agriculture. Small and marginal farmers will gain access to these technologies through collaborations with private players, government initiatives, or farmer producer organizations (FPOs). Smartphones facilitate the use of GPS technology, drones, robots, and other advanced devices, making farming more profitable, efficient, and environmentally friendly. But all these need to be cost competitive for rapid adoption.

India's improved digital connectivity has opened new avenues for farmers, enabling them to be more aware and connected with various stakeholders. The increasing number of internet users and the government's efforts to leverage digital technology will enhance information sharing, generate awareness among farmers, and facilitate direct transfers of government schemes.

The private sector is also introducing cutting edge technologies and promoting collaborations in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode to further benefit the smallholder farmers in India.

Precision agriculture and IoT technologies being increasingly integrated into farming practices worldwide, how do you envision the role of these technologies in enhancing productivity and sustainability in Indian agriculture?

The Indian agriculture market is currently represented by issues such as low productivity, fragmented landholdings, and inefficient supply chains. Though government is supportive of the technology and farmers are welcoming, however, the implementation of appropriate technology needs to improve as lack of education, accessibility and affordability is hampering penetration to small holder farms.

The sector hopes to leverage advancements in technology from the AgriTech ecosystem to address these long-standing issues. Automated machinery, AI, robotics and technologies that utilize frameworks such as IoT would lead the way when it comes to agriculture 4.0.

With changing climatic conditions, technological innovations are crucial for better adaptability, resilience, and meeting the ever-increasing food demand. Technology advancements in the AgriTech sector and its supply chain will be vital for tracking and tracing food products and reducing waste and degradation.

Digital initiatives like e-NAM have aimed to transform agricultural markets in India. Can you highlight the impact of such initiatives on improving market access and price realization for farmers, and elaborate on how challenges related to broader adoption are being addressed?

A significant challenge for majority of smallholder growers in India is their inability to fetch right prices for their produce. This is primarily due to limited access to markets, prevalence of middlemen, price volatility, information asymmetry & post-harvest losses. These challenges can be mitigated through technology-driven agricultural markets such as e-NAM (National Agriculture Market), which is a pan-India electronic trading portal that networks the existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. eNAM is a “virtual” market, but it has a physical market (mandi) at the back end. eNAM promotes uniformity, and streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets removing the information gap between buyers and sellers, and promotes real-time price discovery based on actual demand and supply in the market. It provides transparency in the auction process and access to a nationwide market for both parties. eNAM seeks to address and reverse this process of fragmentation of markets, ultimately lowering intermediation costs, wastage, and prices for the final consumer. The eNAM portal provides a single window service for all APMC-related information and services, including commodity arrivals, prices, bids, and offers.

This is the era of Agri-Tech. The integration of traditional physical mandis with virtual platforms like eNAM and ONDC is transforming Indian agriculture into an organized industry.

Climate change poses a significant threat to agriculture globally. How can India's agricultural practices enhance climate resilience and sustainability? What are your views on promoting Climate-Resilient Crops to enhance Indian agriculture?

Yes, Climate change does pose a significant threat to agricultural produce & thus the income. So, it is high time that rationale of climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) is valued and implemented more rigorously.

As per a report by ICAR, agriculture itself contributes 28% to climate change (source of GHG emissions) in India. This is only going to get worse in years to come as the future climate is likely to be warmer. 

Keeping the challenges in view, the Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture, and Farmers Welfare and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has taken several proactive policies that are being implemented at the village level. One of the many initiatives was when our honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 35 climate resilient crop varieties to fight against climate change.

India has established the National Action Plan for Climate Change with 10 sub-missions to address climate change, including the National Mission of Sustainable Habitat, the National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change, and the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. However, to attain the goals of a climate-resilient planet and long-term sustainable growth, India must ensure greater involvement at the regional, state, national, and international levels. Public health communication strategies are essential to address health challenges related to food insecurity and climate change. It can increase public awareness, engagement and support for policies and actions that promote sustainable food systems and mitigate the impacts of climate change on food security.

Syngenta India, in collaboration with its value chain partners, has initiated a Climate Smart Initiative in the northern states of Haryana and Punjab to address the climate change challenges affecting rice production.

Looking ahead to the next decade, what transformative changes do you envision for the Indian agricultural sector, and what steps should stakeholders take to achieve these changes?

Future of agriculture is an important question for the planners and all other stakeholders. Government and other organizations are trying to address the key challenges of agriculture in India, including small holdings of farmers, primary and secondary processing, supply chain, infrastructure supporting the efficient use of resources and marketing, reducing intermediaries in the market. There is a need for work on cost-effective technologies with environmental protection and on conserving our natural resources.

Small and marginal farmers will also be using these technologies with the help of private players, government, or farmer producer organizations (FPO). Use of GPS technology, drones, robots etc. controlled by smart phones can make life of farmers easy and exciting with better results.

I firmly believe that all these efforts will collectively empower our farmers & improve their profitability. Thereby making India more self-reliant and a significant contributor in feeding the world.