Strategies for increasing production potential of horticul-Tural and field crops through improving nutrient-Use efficiency for doubling farming income: A review

Agriculture is a primitive science as well as art being practiced over the globe since unmemorable time. Agriculture sector is facing intolerable population pressure due to its exponential growth and additive growth in agriculture production. It resulted continuous increase in inputs to achieve more and more yield due to which great ecological imbalance and diminishing return have been observed after green revolution. As a result of various positive efforts, the production has been enhanced s but many long term effectsin the form of deterioration in soil health and nutritional imbalance have been recorded. Slowly and slowly share of agriculture in gross domestic product (GDP) was also reduced. In the history of India, there was a year of dissatisfaction for agricultural development in 2002–03 where contribution of agriculture in GDP became negative. However, during 2008–09 it reached to maximum i.e. near to 4% against 10% from non-agricultural sector. Due to increasing population, average size of land holding is decreasing as the number of marginal farmers has increased from 66.4% in 1980–81 to 67% during 2010–11, which establishes that there is no scope for horizontal expansion in agriculture and the vertical enhancement is the only way out. Nutrient depletion and imbalanced use of fertiliser, inappropriate tillage and rain-water management practices often result in land degradation. Declining soil health contributes to climate change through loss in soil productivity, biodiversity, soil carbon, and moisture and ecosystem services. In order to address declining soil health, government of India has launched a soil health card (SHC) scheme aimed at need base use of chemical fertilisers. Doubling rural income in nominal terms is possible only by increased agriculture output with improved input use efficiency &Minimum Support Prices (while keeping inflation below 5%), though the doubling rural income in real terms would be a daunting task considering increasing agriculture output by 12% every year with no additional land likely to be utilized for agricultural activity. However, a long term solution remains faster execution of policies that could develop infrastructure to support irrigation system and reduce the dependency on rains. There is every possibility not only to double the income of farmers through enhancement in productivity, changes in cropping pattern, inspire additional income through many supplementary activities but also provide stability in farmers’ income. There is need to think beyond food security and give our farmers a sense of income security. It is clear that agriculture is becoming non-profitable venture which insisted youth from villages to move towards cities in search of employment. Agriculture is presently not a means of sustainability of life but it has to produce more from less and high value commodities therefore, mandate of agriculture needs to be redefined in modern era resulting food and nutritional security along with sustainability, expanding upon the production exponentially. Various strategies has been proposed as per the vision of Government of India including per drop more crop, improving seed replacement rate, distribution of soil health card, large investment in Warehousing and cold chain, facilitation of processing and value addition industry, creation of national agriculture market. Policy supports in recent cost revealed that growth rate in annual income of agriculture is only 3.9% whereas, the maximum growth rate was achieved in livestock sector i.e. 14.9% as compared to cultivation including horticulture i.e. only 4.3%. Therefore, balanced harmonies among all sectors are necessary in the form of farming system module to double the farmers’ income in our country.