‘More Crop Per Drop’ in India

Modifying the methods of plant establishment and water management, changing agricultural practices, and creating more favourable growing conditions for crops, both above and below the ground, farmers have begun producing more crop per drop of water, more crop per acre of land and more crop per unit of work.

P rime Minister Modi’s recent challenge to India’s agricultural scientists and farmers to produce ‘more crop per drop’ is fully justified by the country’s economic, social and environmental conditions, both present and foreseeable. As the Prime Minister pointed out, when speaking at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR’s) 86th-anniversary celebrations, India’s land resources are limited whereas the demand for food keeps growing. India, thus, needs to produce more crops per unit of land and also per day or hour of labour: Kam zameen, kam samay, zyaada upaj.

Meeting this challenge has been made more difficult and more urgent by the disruptive effects of climate change, which is making water supply less sufficient and less reliable. This constraint is magnified by the continuing degradation of land and water, and by the decline in soil health and water quality from the overuse of fertilizers and agro-chemicals.

Fortunately, farmers in many states of India, over the past decade, have already begun producing more crop per drop of water, more crop per acre of land and more crop per unit of work, by changing their agricultural practices. By modifying their methods of plant establishment and water management, farmers can create more favorable growing conditions for their crops, both above and below the ground. This is especially true for rice and is applicable to many other Indian crops also.

Modifications in crop management while using water more sparingly and carefully can lead to larger, better-functioning root systems and also to more beneficial soil organisms that live symbiotically around, on, and even inside plants’ roots and leaves. Complex microbial communities and the plant-soil micro-biome contribute positively to the growth and health of plants, in much the same way that the human microbiome is proving to be essential for our own well-being.