Describe the impact of globalisation on Indian agriculture.

Under globalisation, the farmers in India have been exposed to new challenges.

(i)Despite being an important producer of rice, cotton, rubber, tea, coffee, jute and spices our agricultural products are not able to compete with the developed countries because of the highly subsidised agriculture in those countries.

(ii)Today, Indian agriculture finds itself at the crossroads. To make agriculture successful and profitable, proper thrust should be given to the improvement of the condition of marginal and small farmers. The green revolution promised much. But today it’s under controversies. It is being alleged that it has caused land degradation due to overuse of chemicals, drying aquifers and vanishing biodiversity. 

(iii)A few economists think that Indian farmers have a bleak future if they continue growing foodgrains on the holdings that grow smaller and smaller as the population rises. Indian farmers should diversify their cropping pattern from cereals to high-value crops. This will increase incomes and reduce environmental degradation simultaneously. Because fruits, medicinal herbs, flowers, vegetables, bio-diesel crops like jatropha and jojoba need much less irrigation than rice or sugarcane. India’s diverse climate can be harnessed to grow a wide range of high-value crops.