Answer:

Causes of low productivity

♤ Overcrowding in agriculture: Disguised unemployment and low marginal productivity because too many people are directly dependent on farming. Increased population led to sub-division and fragmentation of holdings thus there was a decline in the area of land available for cultivation per capita.

♤ Discouraging rural atmosphere: Very few farmers are quick in following modern technology exposed to them; but vast majority of farmers are not motivated to learn and try new ways. However, this has steadily changed in recent years.

♤ Inadequate Farm Credits: Farm Credits have been inadequate despite the efforts of the government and RBI to increase it.

♤ Small Size of Holdings: The average size of holdings in India is very low and they are fragmented and small. Since they are small, scientific cultivation techniques cannot be adopted. Small sized holdings lead to great waste of time, labour and cattle power, difficulty in proper utilization of irrigation facilities and consequent litigation among farmers etc.

♤ Inadequate irrigation facilities: Indian agriculture is mostly dependent on rainfall and very few farmers avail the facility of artificial irrigation. Though over the time, more area was brought under irrigation, still there is a great scope for improving the irrigation facilities

Improvement measures

♤ There should be necessary programmes which demonstrate the technology and show the importance of crop rotation, multi-cropping etc. to the farmers.

♤ An Agricultural Mechanization Corporation can be established which can help an average farmer who cannot manage with hired labour.

♤ Greatest importance should be given to the promotion of transport, marketing facilities and consolidation of holdings.

♤ Improvement in storage facilities, providing tenant security, implementing the recommended projects in rural areas for improving the irrigation facilities for supplementing better quality seeds and for increasing awareness among the people about hybrids, varieties, disease resistant varieties, drought resistant varieties, etc. are the other major aspects to be concentrated upon.

♤ There is little scope for increasing the area of cultivation in future but through multiple cropping, relying on irrigation facilities, high yielding varieties, etc. we can raise the agricultural productivity.