With the changing environment, farmers in India will need to adapt to continue producing crops and raising livestock. They may need to change the crops they grow, the timing of important farming activities, how they manage their water use, and what shelter or shade they provide for animals. According to the agriculture sector, currently valued at US $ 370 billion, is one of the major sectors in the Indian economy.
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Understanding Future Markets For Farmers
With the changing environment, farmers in India will need to adapt to continue producing crops and raising livestock. They may need to change the crops they grow, the timing of important farming activities, how they manage their water use, and what shelter or shade they provide for animals. According to the agriculture sector, currently valued at US $ 370 billion, is one of the major sectors in the Indian economy.
The Economic Survey 2020-21 suggests that the GDP contribution by the agriculture sector is likely to be 19.9% in 2020-21, increasing from 17.8% recorded in 2019-20. Digital innovation has also been transforming Indian agriculture, leading to increased production and improved farmer incomes.
For example, using irrigation, farmers who used to grow 30 or 40 tons of sugarcane per acre are now growing up to 80 tons of sugarcane. Despite these advancements, farmers in India have been facing challenges. The declining productivity and the low income generated from farming have brought farmers to the streets for the past few years, as it accounts for barely a sixth of the country's GDP even though more than half of the Indian population work in farming.
Key trends expected
1. Changing demand due to rising incomes, globalisation and health consciousness is affecting production and will affect it even more in the future. The demand for fruit and vegetables, dairy products, fish and meat will increase in the future.
2. Research, technological improvements, protected cultivation of high quality greens and other vegetables will increase. There will be more demand for processed and affordable quality products.
3. There will be more competition among private companies to provide innovative products, better seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, customised farm machinery and animal feeds, etc. in a cost-effective manner at competitive prices, so that there will be a better return on farmers' investments. The use of biotechnology and breeding will be very important in developing environmentally friendly, disease resistant, climate resilient, more nutritious and palatable crop varieties.
4. Some technologies will be common and widespread in the future and some will catch on in a short time, while others will take time to mature. The same products will be produced in other ways to use resources wisely and to use new resources such as hydroponics, plastics and bioplastics in production.
There will be more vertical and urban agriculture and in the long term there will also be efforts to find new areas for production, such as barren deserts and seawater.
5. Precision agriculture, with decisions based on soil testing and automation with artificial intelligence, will focus on the precise application of inputs in agriculture. Sensors and drones will be used for precision, quality and environment in a cost-effective manner.
Small and marginal farmers will also use these technologies with the help of private players, government or Farm Producer Organisations (FPOs). The use of GPS technology, drones, robots, etc., controlled by smartphones, etc., can make farmers' lives easy and exciting and deliver good results. These advanced devices will make farming more profitable, easier and environmentally friendly.
6. The use of nanotechnology to improve food quality and safety and to use inputs efficiently will be possible in the near future. Nanomaterials in agriculture will reduce waste in the use of chemicals, minimise nutrient losses in fertilisation and be used to increase yields through pest and nutrient management. IFFCO has already conducted successful tests with nano-fertilisers.
7. India has remarkably improved its digital connectivity and market access has become very easy. The number of internet users is estimated at 666.4 million by 2025. Farmers will behave smarter with mobile phones in hand and will be able to get better information and connect with various stakeholders. The government will use digital technology extensively to sensitise farmers, share information and implement government programmes using digital technology for direct cash transfers.
The intervention of the Private Sector
Modern agricultural technologies are widely used in developed countries, but they need to be adopted in developing countries like India. The private sector has played an important role in advancing agricultural technologies and now the same needs to happen in India. The government too needs to play an active role and encourage farmers to adopt modern techniques through incentives. With the vision of 'Make In India', the government's participation and the innovations and investments it encourages are increasing. Now it is the manufacturers of modern agricultural equipment and machinery who have to bring innovations and new agricultural techniques to the modernised agricultural areas of India.
In the seed sector, the growing need for research and development has evolved along with developments in agrochemicals such as the increasing use of biofertilizers and smart bio-release fertilisers.
However, the agricultural equipment sector has yet to develop into a major market segment, and tractors remain an important area of investment. The irrigation sub-sector also needs to evolve for Indian agriculture with major investments.