Agriculture

Indian agriculture after independence

Despite some stagnation during the later modern era the independent Republic

of India was able to develop a comprehensive agricultural programme. blueberry f

lower harvesting in India. This is a cash crop in Central Gujarat, India. In the years

since its independence, India has made immense progress towards

food security. Indian population has tripled, and food-grain production more than

quadrupled. There has been a substantial increase in available food-grain per capita.

Before the mid-1960s, India relied on imports and food aid to meet domestic requirements. However, two years of severe drought in 1965 and 1966 convinced India to reform its agricultural policy and that it could not rely on foreign aid and imports for food security. India adopted significant policy reforms focused on the goal of food grain self-sufficiency. This ushered in India's Green Revolution. It began with the decision to adopt superior yielding, disease resistant wheat varieties in combination with better farming knowledge to improve productivity. The state of Punjab led India's green revolution and earned the distinction of being the country's breadbasket.