NotesCaféAgriculture and Food SecurityContents
UPPCS Mains
2026 Edition
General Studies Paper III
Smart Notes

Agriculture and Food Security

English Medium
5
Chapters
20
Topics
65
Figures & Maps
11
Tables
What's Inside
  1. 01Crops, Irrigation, Allied Sectors and Farm Productivity
  2. 02Agricultural Marketing, Credit and Farm Technology
  3. 03MSP, Farm Subsidies, PDS and Food Security
  4. 04Food Processing and Related Industries
  5. 05Land Reforms
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Agriculture and Food Security
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Agriculture and Food Security
UPPCS Mains · Smart Notes

Contents

Agriculture and Food Security · General Studies Paper III
  1. 01Crops, Irrigation, Allied Sectors and Farm Productivity6 topics
    1. 1.1Major Crops and Cropping Patterns
    2. 1.2Agricultural Productivity: Causes of Low Yields and Remedies
    3. 1.3Green Revolution and Small and Marginal Farmers
    4. 1.4Irrigation: Types, Rainfall Dependence, Centre–State Roles and PMKSY
    5. 1.5Horticulture and Agroforestry: Growth, Issues and Missions
    6. 1.6Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries
  2. 02Agricultural Marketing, Credit and Farm Technology4 topics
    1. 2.1Storage, Transport and Marketing of Farm Produce: Reforms
    2. 2.2Agricultural Credit and Crop Insurance
    3. 2.3E-Technology and Digital Agriculture
    4. 2.4Technology Missions in Agriculture
  3. 03MSP, Farm Subsidies, PDS and Food Security5 topics
    1. 3.1Farm Subsidies: Direct and Indirect Subsidies, Fiscal Burden and WTO Rules
    2. 3.2Minimum Support Price and Procurement: CACP, Coverage and Reform
    3. 3.3Buffer Stocks and Food Management
    4. 3.4Public Distribution System: Functioning, Limitations and Revamping
    5. 3.5Food Security: NFSA Framework, Challenges and Reforms
  4. 04Food Processing and Related Industries3 topics
    1. 4.1Food Processing Industry: Scope, Significance, Location and Constraints
    2. 4.2Supply Chain Management: Upstream and Downstream Requirements
    3. 4.3Government Policies and Schemes for Food Processing
  5. 05Land Reforms2 topics
    1. 5.1Land Reforms since Independence: Measures, Bhoodan and Outcomes
    2. 5.2Land Records, Tenancy Reforms and the Unfinished Agenda
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Agriculture and Food SecurityChapter 01 · Topic 1
Chapter 01

Crops, Irrigation, Allied Sectors and Farm Productivity

Agriculture and Food Security · 6 topics
Topic 1

Major Crops and Cropping Patterns

Chapter Overview

India now grows more horticulture than foodgrains and leads the world in milk, yet about 44% of its gross cropped area still depends on rain (Economic Survey 2025-26). This chapter covers what India grows, why its yields stay low, what the Green Revolution meant for small farmers, how irrigation is built and shared between the States and the Centre, and the fast-growing horticulture, livestock and fisheries sectors.

Topic 1 sets out the major crops and cropping patterns. Topics 2 and 3 explain low productivity and the gains and costs of the Green Revolution. Topic 4 covers irrigation, rainfall dependence, Centre–State roles and PMKSY. Topics 5 and 6 turn to horticulture, agroforestry, dairy and fisheries; livestock and fisheries are now the fastest-growing parts of farming.

Topic Flow
  1. 1Major Crops and Cropping Patterns
  2. record output, but low yields
  3. 2Agricultural Productivity: Causes and Remedies
  4. the biggest yield jump came with
  5. 3Green Revolution and Small Farmers
  6. which rested on
  7. 4Irrigation and PMKSY
  8. water also lifts
  9. 5Horticulture and Agroforestry
  10. alongside the other fast-growing segment
  11. 6Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries

India’s foodgrain output touched a record 376.56 million tonnes in 2025-26 (MoA&FW, Third Advance Estimates), while agriculture and allied sectors formed 18.0% of GVA (MoSPI, 2026). A cropping pattern is the share of area under different crops at a point of time, and the sequence and method of growing them.

Status, World Rank and Leading States

  1. Weight in the economy: agriculture and allied sectors produce 18.0% of GVA on the 2022-23 base yet employ 43.0% of all workers, the largest share of any sector; e.g. MoSPI, 2026; PLFS 2025; real growth 4.2% in 2024-25 and 3.0% in 2025-26 (MoSPI, 2026).
  2. Constitutional basis: agriculture is a State subject and trade in foodstuffs a Concurrent subject, so the Centre works through schemes, price support and funding; e.g. Entry 14, State List; Entry 33, Concurrent List; Article 48 asks the State to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern, scientific lines (Constitution of India).
  3. Record harvests: rice and wheat lead the foodgrain basket, maize grew fastest and pulses recovered, but oilseeds stayed flat as soybean fell; e.g. rice 1,540.24, wheat 1,206.57, maize 550.93, pulses 274.09 and oilseeds 430.59 lakh tonnes (MoA&FW, Third Advance Estimates 2025-26).
  4. World rank and leading States: India leads the world in rice, pulses and millets and is second in wheat and sugarcane; Uttar Pradesh alone grows nearly half of India’s cane; e.g. UP 48.6% of sugarcane in 2024-25 (MoA&FW, 2025); ranks (PIB, 2026); UP details: see GS-6.
Table 1.1 States are listed from standard sources, not ranked; sugarcane share for 2024-25 (MoA&FW, 2025); world ranks (PIB, 2026).
CropSeasonMajor producing StatesIndia’s world rank
RiceKharif (also rabi in the east and south)West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh1st
WheatRabiUttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan2nd
Millets (bajra, jowar, ragi)KharifRajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra1st
MaizeKharif and rabiKarnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar–
Pulses (gram, tur)Gram rabi; tur kharifMadhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan1st
Oilseeds (mustard, soybean, groundnut)Mustard rabi; soybean and groundnut kharifRajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra–
SugarcaneAbout a year in the fieldUttar Pradesh (48.6%), Maharashtra, Karnataka2nd
CottonKharifGujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana2nd
TeaPlantation (perennial)Assam, West Bengal2nd
Major crop belts of India
Fig. 1.1 Major crop belts of India
Production of major crops, 2025-26 (Third Advance Estimates)
Fig. 1.2 Production of major crops, 2025-26 (Third Advance Estimates)

Cropping Patterns and Why They Shift

  1. Crop seasons: kharif crops are sown with the south-west monsoon, rabi crops in winter on stored moisture or irrigation, and short zaid crops in summer; e.g. kharif rice and cotton; rabi wheat, gram and mustard; zaid moong and watermelon; cropping regions and agro-climatic zones: see GS-1 Geography.
  2. Mono-cropping and mixed cropping: mono-cropping repeats one crop or rotation; mixed cropping sows crops together and inter-cropping in set rows, so legumes add nitrogen and spread risk; e.g. rice-wheat in Punjab; tur with jowar in the dryland Deccan.
  3. Multiple cropping and cropping intensity: multiple cropping grows two or more crops a year on one plot; cropping intensity is gross cropped area divided by net sown area, times 100; e.g. two or three crops a year on irrigated land of the Indo-Gangetic plain.
  4. Shift to rice and wheat: assured MSP (a floor price for notified crops), FCI procurement and irrigation drew area to rice and wheat, away from pulses and millets; e.g. Shree Anna output 185.92 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 (Final Estimates) and 175.84 lakh tonnes in 2025-26 (Third Advance Estimates) (MoA&FW); MSP’s effect: see Ch 3, Topic 2.

Why Crop Farming Matters

  1. Food security and stable prices: domestic harvests feed the PDS and buffer stocks, keep food prices stable, sustain rural demand and leave rice and wheat surpluses for export; e.g. wheat exports of 50 lakh tonnes allowed in 2026 owing to large stocks (PIB, 2026; see Ch 3, Topic 3); food inflation: see Indian Economy Ch 4, Topic 5.
  2. Raw materials and exports: crops supply textile, sugar, edible-oil and food-processing industries and earn foreign exchange; e.g. agricultural exports a record $52.55 billion in 2025-26, rice $11.5 billion (Department of Commerce, 2026).

Issues in India’s Cropping Pattern

Output is at a record, but the crop mix leans on water-hungry cereals, which strains aquifers and leaves India short of pulses and edible oils.

  1. Rice-wheat lock-in: the rotation mines groundwater and soil in the north-west, and burning paddy stubble adds to winter air pollution; e.g. Punjab and Haryana; crop-residue burning: see Environment Ch 2.
  2. Import gaps: pulses and oilseeds are mostly rain-fed and low-yielding, so India still imports more than half of its edible oil; e.g. edible oil import dependence 56.25% in 2023-24 (Economic Survey 2025-26).
  3. Skewed price signals: procurement favours rice and wheat in a few States, so growers of other crops lack price assurance; e.g. MSP’s narrow reach, as found by the Shanta Kumar Committee (2015): see Ch 3, Topic 2.

Reforms and Way Forward

  1. Diversification missions: missions to raise pulses, oilseeds and millets cut imports and water use (details: see Ch 2, Topic 4); e.g. NMEO-Oilseeds (2024), Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses (2025), NMEO-Oil Palm (2021); International Year of Millets 2023.
  2. High-value crops: shifting area to horticulture, better cotton and oil palm raises income per hectare, as the Dalwai Committee (2017-18) advised; e.g. Mission for Cotton Productivity (2025); horticulture: see Topic 5.
  3. Viksit Bharat 2047: a developed India needs farm incomes to rise through value addition, exports and allied activities, not grain volume alone; e.g. Agriculture Export Policy (2018) set a $100 billion goal; PM-KISAN (2019) pays ₹6,000 a year.
Steps to a more sustainable crop mix
Fig. 1.3 Steps to a more sustainable crop mix

The Pulses and Oilseeds Missions, with PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana in lagging districts, are the next step to a water-wise and nutrition-rich crop mix.

Based on NCERT, Standard Books references, Keywords from Syllabus and Previous Year question Papers

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Agriculture and Food SecurityChapter 01 · Topic 2
Topic 2

Agricultural Productivity: Causes of Low Yields and Remedies

Record output hides a yield gap: yields of cereals, maize, soybean and pulses still trail world averages, although farm growth has beaten the global 2.9% (Economic Survey 2025-26). Agricultural productivity is output per unit of input, usually yield per hectare of land, and also output per worker or per unit of water.

How Far Indian Yields Lag

  1. Gaps within India: yields vary widely between States, and several big rice producers stay below the national average; e.g. West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha in rice (Economic Survey 2025-26).
  2. Proof that gaps can close: maize yields rose by nearly half in a decade, showing how far better seed and inputs can lift output; e.g. maize 2.56 to 3.78 tonnes a hectare, FY16 to FY25 (Economic Survey 2025-26).

Causes of Low Productivity

The Economic Survey 2025-26 names fragmented holdings, weak marketing and storage, limited quality inputs, low investment and uneven extension; they fall under three heads.

  1. Economic: small holdings: small, scattered plots, split further at each inheritance, limit mechanisation, credit and bulk buying of inputs; e.g. holding sizes and their decline: see Ch 5, Topic 2.
  2. Economic: low investment and inputs: low capital formation, costly credit and poor access to certified seed, machines and balanced fertiliser hold yields down; e.g. 50.2% of farm households in debt, average loan ₹74,121 (NSO SAS, 2019).
  3. Environmental: rain dependence: large rain-fed areas leave pulses, oilseeds and millets exposed to a weak monsoon or an El Niño year (see Topic 4); e.g. soybean yields below 2 tonnes a hectare in many rain-fed districts (Economic Survey 2025-26).
  4. Environmental: soil health: overuse of cheap urea lowers soil organic matter, depletes micronutrients and weakens soil structure, cutting yields (fertiliser balance: see Ch 3, Topic 1); e.g. excess nitrogen also leaches nitrate into groundwater (Economic Survey 2025-26).
  5. Institutional: extension and research: thin extension (farm advisory services) and slow research-to-farm transfer mean new varieties reach small farmers late; e.g. Krishi Vigyan Kendras strengthened under a ₹1,202 crore scheme (2024).
  6. Institutional: tenancy, markets and storage: unrecorded leasing blocks credit and investment by tenants, while weak marketing and storage lower the reward for higher output; e.g. about 90% of leased area informal (Committee on State Agrarian Relations, 2009); see Ch 5, Topic 2.
Causes of low agricultural productivity in India, by dimension
Fig. 1.4 Causes of low agricultural productivity in India, by dimension

Effects on Farmers, and Women in Farming

  1. Low farm incomes: low yields keep crop income small, so farm households lean on wages and livestock to make ends meet; e.g. monthly income ₹10,218, of which wages ₹4,063 and crops ₹3,798 (NSO SAS, 2018-19).
  2. Feminisation of farm work: as men leave for non-farm jobs, women do more farm work besides unpaid housework, yet rarely hold land titles, limiting credit and extension access; e.g. over 23% of PM-KISAN (2019) beneficiaries are women (PIB, 2026); Krishi Sakhis, SHG women trained as community extension workers; Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) under DAY-NRLM trains women farmers; land rights: see Ch 5, Topic 2.

Issues in Raising Yields

Yields can rise, but heat stress, skewed input subsidies and the gap between yield and income work against the gains.

  1. Heat and climate stress: rising temperatures and heat waves cut yields and farm incomes, adding to the monsoon risk of rain-fed crops (see Topic 4); e.g. ICAR’s National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA, 2011), which promotes climate-resilient farming, rated 109 of 573 mainly agricultural districts very highly and 201 highly vulnerable (ICAR, 2024); extreme temperature shocks cut kharif farm incomes by 4.3% (Economic Survey 2017-18); climate change: see Environment Ch 2.
  2. Skewed input subsidies: subsidies favour urea and cheap farm power over potash, micronutrients and water saving, so input use drifts away from what soils need; e.g. urea pricing and the Economic Survey 2025-26 reform idea: see Ch 3, Topic 1; farm power: see Topic 4.
  3. Yield is not income: the Dalwai Committee (2017-18) tied farm income to productivity, lower costs, high-value crops and better markets, so yields alone are not enough; e.g. its strategy for doubling farmers’ income also covered livestock, credit and risk management.
Nitrogen used per unit of potash, against the 4:2:1 benchmark
Fig. 1.5 Nitrogen used per unit of potash, against the 4:2:1 benchmark

Reforms and Way Forward

  1. Soil Health Card: testing farm soils shows each farmer which nutrients are short, the first step to restoring soil health (balanced dosing: see Ch 3, Topic 1); e.g. Soil Health Card (2015): about 26 crore cards and 8,313 labs (PIB, 2026).
  2. Lagging districts and advice: PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (2025) converges 36 schemes in 100 low-productivity districts, while AI advisories in local languages widen extension; e.g. ₹24,000 crore (PIB, 2025); Bharat-VISTAAR AI tool (Union Budget 2026-27).
  3. Seeds, machines and collectives: climate-resilient seed, custom hiring centres, FPOs and women’s SHGs give small farmers scale (GM crops: see Science and Technology Ch 4, Topic 2); e.g. 10,000 FPOs scheme (2020), see Ch 2, Topic 1; Namo Drone Didi (2023-24) drones for 15,000 women SHGs; over 39,000 custom hiring centres under AIF (Economic Survey 2025-26).
Remedies for low farm productivity
Fig. 1.6 Remedies for low farm productivity

Soil Health Cards and PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana in the 100 lagging districts are the next steps to turn record output into high yields.

Based on NCERT, Standard Books references, Keywords from Syllabus and Previous Year question Papers

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