Sustainability concern in Indian agriculture: Needs science-led innovation and structural reforms

Agriculture in India is facing several challenges which together are manifested into the sustainability issues. The broad contours of the agricultural production system in the country have been defined by the need to achieve food security which calls for close attention to rice-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) whose sustainability is under threat. Degradation of natural resources, severe biotic and abiotic stresses specially drought, floods, pest infestations with accompanying impacts on biodiversity and agricultural productivity are the major constraints to agricultural development. Further, climate change has gained significant global attention over the past decade due to concerns of deleterious long-term impacts on agriculture, water supply, human welfare, regional and political stability. All the related issues need to be addressed on priority, with particular emphasis on soil-carbon through a holistic approach. As the strategy brings focus on income of farmers, the agricultural technology needs to move from “Production oriented-Green Revolution” to “Farmer's Income oriented-Revolution” and environmentally sustainable farming. Therefore, for long-term sustainability in agriculture, 4 pillars/components (good agricultural practices, climate-change mitigation and adaptation, diversification of high-value crops and biodiversity management) needs to be addressed properly, more importantly good agricultural practices (GAP). The GAPs are based on the principles of risk prevention, risk analysis, sustainable agriculture, and integrated crop management (ICM), which are of utmost importance in present time. The GAPs for agricultural sustainability are reduced tillage, conservation agriculture, resource-conservation technologies (RCTs), erosion-control measures, diversified cropping system, micro-irrigation, balanced fertilization, manuring, watershed management, organic farming, and integrated farming systems etc. Now that the vision is to impart income security to the farmers of the country, diversification of the system across all the sub-sectors of agriculture assumes importance which is, indeed a de-risking mechanism capable of negotiating both endogenous and exogenous risks associated with the system. The effective and efficient management of agro-biodiversity is also essential through management of genebanks, science-led innovations; livelihood, food and nutrition security though crop diversification, use of lesser-known crops and wild relatives in crop improvement; dealing appropriately with quarantine, bio-safety and bio-security.