Congress (i.e. the dynasty part), a gift that keeps on giving.
Infrastructure
India has very poor rural roads affecting timely supply of inputs and timely transfer of outputs from Indian farms. Irrigation systems are inadequate leading to crop failures in some parts of the country because of lack of water. In other areas regional floods, poor seed quality and inefficient farming practices, lack of cold storage and harvest spoilage cause over 30% of farmer's produce going to waste, lack of organised retail and competing buyers thereby limiting Indian farmer's ability to sell the surplus and commercial crops.
The
Indian farmer receives just 10 to 23% of the price the Indian consumer pays for exactly the same produce, the difference going to losses, inefficiencies and middlemen. Farmers in
developed economies of Europe and the United States, in contrast, receive 64 to 81%.
Productivity
Although India has attained self-sufficiency in food staples, the productivity of Indian farms is below that of Brazil, the United States, France and other nations. Indian wheat farms, for example, produce
about a third of the wheat per hectare per year compared to farms in France. Rice productivity in India was
less than half that of China. Other staples productivity in India is similarly low. Indian total factor productivity growth remains below 2% per annum; in contrast, China's total factor productivity growths is about 6% per annum,
even though China also has smallholding farmers. Several studies suggest India could eradicate hunger and malnutrition within India, and be a major source of food for the world by achieving productivity comparable with other countries.
Agriculture in India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia