Energy Use in Indian Agriculture
Energy Use in Indian Agriculture P.Kataria and A.S.Joshi Department of Economics Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, India INTRODUCTION East and South Asian regions, with a population of over 2.75 billion and booming economic growth, are going to play an increasingly important role in the global economic matters and energy markets. China and India are by far the largest in terms of population, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and land area in this region. These two countries also account for more than 80 per cent of the energy consumption in this region. Hence, the future of the energy markets in the region will be driven to a large extent by what is happening in China and India (Jaswal & Gupta, 2006). Indian agriculture has, since Independence, made rapid strides. Over 200 million Indian farmers and farm workers have been the backbone of India's agriculture. In taking the annual food grains production from 51 million tonnes of the early fifties to 213 million tonnes at the turn of the century, it has contributed significantly in achieving self sufficiency in food and in avoiding food shortages in our country. All this has been made possible by bringing additional area under cultivation, mechanizing the agriculture, extending the irrigation facilities and adopting the use of better crop management techniques. All these developments over the years have brought about changes in the energy use pattern of Indian Agriculture. The present paper is a modest effort to delve into the trends in energy use in India’s crop production scenario. CHANGES IN ENERGY USE IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE India is located in southern Asia and has a total area of 3 287 590 km2. It is the world's largest peninsula and the seventh largest country in the world. It is bordered in the northwest by Pakistan, in the north by China, Nepal and Bhutan, and in the northeast by Myanmar and Bangladesh (Pachauri, 1998). The total cultivable area is estimated at 183.95 million ha, or about 56 percent of the total area. Agriculture contributes about 25 percent to GDP (US$ 505 billion) and employs more than 66 percent of the labour force and is the primary source of livelihood in rural areas. India is blessed with abundant natural resources. The Indian agriculture is characterized by agro-ecological diversities in soil, rainfall, temperature and cropping system. Besides favourable
solar energy, the country receives about 3 trillion m3 of rainwater. As many as 14 major, 44 medium and 55 minor rivers share about 83 % of the drainage basin. About 210 billion m3 water is estimated to be available as ground water. The establishment of an agrarian economy which ensures food and nutrition to India's billion people, raw materials for its expanding industrial base and surpluses for exports, and a fair and equitable reward system for the farming community for the services they provide to the society, has always been the mainstay of reforms in the agriculture sector. Despite having achieved national food security, the pattern of growth of agriculture has, however, brought in its wake, uneven development, across regions and crops as also across different sections of farming community and is characterized by low levels of productivity and degradation of natural resources in some areas. Contributors of Farm Power in India Intensive cultivation, as a result of introduction of high yielding varieties in mid 1960’s and the urgent need for securing the food security for India’s teaming millions, required high energy inputs and better management practices. Land preparation, harvesting, threshing and irrigation are the operations, which utilize most of the energy used in agriculture. The table that follows takes a quick look at the contributors of farm power in India Table 1. Source-wise Contribution to Farm Power in India
Year
Total Power, kW/Ha
Power Sources Agricultural Worker
Draught Animal
Tractor
Power Tiller
Diesel Engine
Electric Motor
% contribution 1971-72
0.295
15.11
45.26
7.49
0.26
18.11
13.77
1981-82
0.471
10.92
27.23
19.95
0.33
23.79
17.78
1991-92
0.759
8.62
16.55
30.21
0.4
23.32
20.9
2001-02
1.231
6.49
9.89
41.96
0.54
19.86
21.26
2005-06
1.502
5.77
8.02
46.7
0.6
18.17
20.73
The farm power used in India has increased by 5 times to 1.502 Kw/ha. in 2005-06 from 0.0295 Kw/ ha. in 1971-72.The contribution of human power therein has decreased from 15 % in 1971-72 to 5.8 % in 2005-06. The share of draught animal power has also shown a downward trend from 45 % in 1971-72 to 27 % in 1981-82 and to a considerably lower share of 8 % in 2005-06.For desired
cropping intensity with timeliness in field operations, animate energy sources have no longer been deemed sufficient. Therefore, farmers opted for mechanical power sources to supplement human and animal power. There has been a substantial change in the structure of energy consumption in Agriculture, with a huge shift from animal and human power towards tractors for farming operations and electricity and diesel used largely for groundwater irrigation. Out of the mechanical power sources, tractor has been the major contributor. The contribution of tractive power to total farm power has increased from 7.5 % in 1971-72 to as high as 47 % by 2005-06.It is startling to note that in 11 years period from 1992 to 2003, the tractor population has nearly doubled from 12.2 million 23.6 millions. The state of Uttar Pradesh alone has 6.7 million tractors followed by Punjab with 3 million tractors. The table that follows provides the information on the tractor density in some of the states, which are crucial for the food security of the country. Table 2. Tractor Density in Some of the States in India
States
Number of tractors per 1000ha
Punjab Haryana Uttar Pradesh Tamil Nadu Gujarat Rajasthan West Bengal Orissa
71.4 (Highest) 60.1 28.0 12.3 12.3 9.8 1.5 1.3 (Lowest)
All India
13
The tractor density (Number of tractors per 1000ha) at the country level has been recorded at 13. The state of Punjab with second highest number of tractors in the country has the highest tractor density of 71 followed by Haryana at 60. Orissa has the lowest tractor density of 1.3. Correlates of Farm Power Availability and Agricultural Productivity In this section, an effort has been made to see the association between farm power availability and the agricultural productivity. Here agricultural productivity has been taken as synonymous with food grain productivity.
Table 3. Farm Power Availability and Average Productivity of Food grains in Indian States, 2000-01 States
Farm Power Availability, kw/ha.
Food grain Productivity, kg./ha
Punjab Haryana
3.50 2.25
4032 3088
Uttar Pradesh
1.75
2105
Andhra Pradesh
1.60
1995
Bihar
0.80
1622
Madhya Pradesh
0.80
907
Orissa
0.60
799
All India
1.35
1723
Source: www. developmentfirst.org/NewDelhi/EnergyManagementAgriculture_Nawab.pdf
The State of Punjab, with the highest farm power availability (3.50 Kw/ha.) has recorded the highest food grain productivity (4032 kg/ha). Orissa with lowest farm power availability has the productivity level as low as 799 kg /ha. The farm power availability and food grain productivity have been found to be positively correlated (r=0.973). Impact of Irrigation Scenario on Energy Usage India has been facing the daunting task of increasing its food production and reaching towards the goal of sustainable agriculture has rendered a crucial role to water (Kumar 1998). Empirical evidence suggests that increase in agricultural production in India mostly has taken place under irrigated conditions; close to three fifths of India’s grain harvest comes from irrigated land (Brown 2003). India’s irrigated area expanded at a steady rate during the last few decades. The net irrigated area has increased from 20 million hectares to 48 million hectares during 1950-51 to 1990-91 and further to 55 million hectares by 2003-04. Over the past, increase in irrigated area has mainly taken place from groundwater source. The ground water sources accounted for 64 % of the net irrigated area in2003-04 as compared to only 29 % in 1950-51. (Table 4.) Table 4. Irrigated Area in India by Source
Year
Net Irrigated Area Million Hectares
Sources Canals
Tanks
Tudewells & other Wells
Others
% of Net Irrigated Area
1950-51
20.58
40.3
17.5
29.1
14.4
1960-61
24.66
42.1
18.5
29.6
9.9
1970-71
31.10
41.3
13.2
38.2
7.3
1980-81
37.72
40.5
8.4
46.9
6.8
1990-91
48.02
36.3
6.1
51.4
6.1
1995-96
53.40
32.1
5.8
55.6
6.5
1996-97
55.05
31.4
6.1
56.0
6.6
1997-98
54.99
32.0
5.0
57.4
5.5
1998-99
57.08
31.0
5.1
58.1
5.7
1999-00
56.78
30.1
4.5
60.3
5.1
2000-01(P)
54.84
29.5
4.5
61.0
5.0
2001-02(P )
55.89
29.2
4.1
61.8
4.9
2002-03(P)
53.16
28.0
1.6
63.7
4.9
2003-04 (P)
55.13
27.6
3.5
63.8
5.0
Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI
There are two main reasons for higher expansion of groundwater irrigation. First, due to slow down in the growth of public investments in large-scale irrigation infrastructure and incompletion of on going projects, the surface irrigated area has not increased in the 1990’s. The most severe problem facing Indian canal irrigation, however, is the rapid deterioration of systems that have already been created. Maintenance is being woefully neglected, leading to poor capacity utilization, rising incidence of water logging and salinity and lower water use efficiency (WUE). On the whole large canal based irrigation is threatening to become unsustainable physically, environmentally as well as financially (Gulati et al. 1999). In the absence of new large-scale surface irrigation schemes, and the availability of low cost electric and diesel pumps coupled with little or no electricity charges, the groundwater has been a major driver in the irrigated area expansion. Second, yields in areas irrigated by groundwater are often substantially higher than the yield from surface water sources. FAO research indicates that yields in groundwater irrigated areas are higher by one third to one half than in areas irrigated from surface sources, and as much as 7080% of India’s agricultural output may be groundwater dependent (FAO 2005). Higher yields from groundwater-irrigated areas are in large part due to increase in the reliability of water supply.
Groundwater irrigation in India developed during the period of green revolution and contributed much in increasing the gross irrigated area of the country. In the last five decades, groundwater irrigation has increased from 6 million hectares in 1950-51 to 35million hectares by 2003-04. Figure 1 illustrates the growth in groundwater in the period 1950-51 to 2003-04. The groundwater irrigated area has increased unabatedly whereas surface water irrigation has declined. The figure also highlights the groundwater irrigation expansion relative to that of the net irrigated area; and not much difference in the slopes of the two curves is reflected in the last few decades. The increase in the groundwater irrigation has increased the energy input enormously. Fig. 1. Expansion in Ground Water Irrigated Area in India
60 50 40 30 20 10
Ground Water Irrigated
Surface Water Irrigated
2003-04 (P)
2002-03(P)
2001-02(P )
2000-01(P)
1999-00
1998-99
1997-98
1996-97
1995-96
1990-91
1980-81
1970-71
1960-61
1950-51
0
Total Irrigated Area
Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI
Fertiliser Usage The increase in irrigated area has been accompanied by matched increase in the fertilizer usage. India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilisers in the world after China and the USA. Against 8 million tonnes of fertiliser nutrients (NPK) consumed during TE 1985-86, the nutrient consumption has increased to 18.5 million tonnes during TE 2005-06 (Table 5). The consumption
of major fertilisers namely, Urea, DAP, MOP, SSP and Complexes are estimated to be 22.2, 6.8, 2.6, 2.8 and 6.7 million tonnes respectively during 2005-06. India is, by and large, self sufficient in respect of Urea and about 90 per cent in case of DAP. The all-India average fertiliser consumption is 105 kg./ha of NPK nutrients, though there is wide variation from state to state varying from 210 kg./ha in Punjab, 167 kg./ ha in Haryana to less than 5 kg./ha in States like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, etc. Considering the skewed pattern of fertiliser use, Government of India is promoting balanced and integrated use of fertiliser nutrients through various initiatives. Table 5. Overtime Growth in Consumption of Nitrogenous, Phosphatic and Potassic Fewrtiliser Fertiliser Consumption, ’ 000 Tonnes Nitrogenous Phosphatic Potassic TOTAL 68.6
TE 1953-54
6.6
3.9
502.0 (631.8) 5450.4 (985.7) 11838.1 (117.2)
132.6 65.7 (1908.6) (1571.2) 1874.0 807.3 TE 1985-86 (1313.6) (1128.2) 4650.6 2023.9 TE 2005-06 (148.2) (150.7) CGR, %/ annum 1951/52 - 65/66 17.77 28.18 27.42 1966/67 - 85/86 10.31 10.76 10.23 1986/87-05/06 3.74 4.02 4.23 Figures in parentheses indicate percentage change over the previous triennium Source: Statistical Abstract of India, various issues TE 1965-66
79.1 700.3 (785.0) 8131.7 (1061.1) 18512.6 (127.7) 19.63 10.40 3.85
The fertiliser consumption has increased unabatedly over the years (Table 5.) as it’s the most important source of energy input, that goes into crop production. As is clear from the Table 6, the energy input due to fertilizers has increased from 584 MJ/ha in 1965-66 to as high as 3673 MJ/ha by 2001-02, but the share of fertliser in total energy input has increased from 98 % to 99.3 % suggesting the importance of fertliser in India’s crop production scenario. Table 6. Share of Fertiliser in Energy Input in Agricultural Production Input Energy Input 1969-70 2001-02 MJ/ha
%
MJ/ha
%
Seed
2
0.34
9
0.24
Fertiliser Agro-Chemicals
584 10
97.99 1.68
3672 17
99.30 0.46
Total
596
3698
Source: www. developmentfirst.org/NewDelhi/EnergyManagementAgriculture_Nawab.pdf
Issue of Energy Productivity Defined broadly, the agriculture sector has as its primary goal the delivery of food on the table for the population or for export. During the last five decades, energy consumption pattern in agriculture from both animate and inanimate sources has increased drastically. With the increase in the availability of energy in agriculture, chances of its improper use due to mismanagement are high. Thus, any measure that will reduce the energy consumption while delivering the food service is in principle a potential candidate for analysis as a mitigation option. It is therefore imperative to go in for energy auditing in crop production in different cropping sequences. In the table that follows, the energy use and productivity of different crops has been presented. The results revealed that rice – wheat cropping systems was observed to the most energy intensive. Wheat cultivation consumed a total of 14657MJ/ha followed by paddy, which consumed 13076MJ/ha. The consumption of energy by pulses ranged from 3870 MJ/ha for Black Gram to 5464 MJ/ha. for Bengal Gram. Sugarcane cultivation consumed 59192 MJ/ha. An effort has been made to ascertain the relationship between energy use and productivity by working out Energy Productivity .The Energy Productivity measured as kg/ MJ has been recorded as the highest (1.171) for Sugarcane crop, the same for paddy , wheat and maize being 0.239, 0.196 and 0.215 respectively in that order. This analysis can be used for the judicious selection of crop rotation depending upon the energy usage so as to minimize energy inefficiencies.
Table 7. Energy Use and Energy Productivity of Major Crops of India
Cash Crops
Oilseeds
Pulses
Cereals
Crop
Productivity, kg/ha
Total Energy, MJ/ha
Paddy Wheat Maize Sorghum Green Gram Black Gram
3125 2873 2140 950 510 406
13076 14657 9956 4745 4315 3870
Energy Productivity, kg/MJ 0.239 0.196 0.215 0.200 0.118 0.105
Bengal Gram Mustard Soybean
596 960 1092
5464 8051 6382
0.109 0.119 0.171
Sugarcane
61500
59192
1.039
Cotton
938
9972
0.094
Potato
15520
31352
0.495
Source: www. developmentfirst.org/NewDelhi/EnergyManagementAgriculture_Nawab.pdf
It becomes pertinent to mention here that several committees appointed by the government to review energy policy In India from time to time have emphasized the need for a nationally coordinated approach to energy policy formulation. As a result, sporadic efforts have been made to bring together various departments or ministries dealing with energy for the purpose of arriving at a unified and integrated approach. With rapid growth of the economy and increase in demand for energy, issues of energy security, efficiency of the entire energy system, and the effects of energy production, conversion, and consumption on the environment require policies that optimize some of these variables on an integrated basis, rather than by specific source of energy or by specific sector of the economy. There is, therefore, a growing imperative for India to articulate a forward-looking integrated energy policy and look for the approaches to efficient use of energy in general and agriculture, in particular, that could in its own right lead to considerable energy savings.
REFERENCES Brown Lester R (2003): Outgrowing the Earth: The Food Security Challenge Gulati, A, Ruth Meinzen-Dick and K.V.Raju 1999. From Top Down to Bottoms Up: Institutional Reforms in Indian Canal Irrigation. Delhi: Institute of Economic growth Jaswal P. and M. Das Gupta. 2006. Energy Demands and Sustaining Growth in South and East Asia. Session 2: Challenges and Risks to Development in Asia Parallel Group 2A: Topic Paper. www.asia2015conference.org Kumar, P (1998): Food Demand and supply Projections for India. Agricultural Economics Policy Paper 98-01 .IARI, New Delhi. Pachauri R K. 1998. Economics of energy use in agriculture .Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics 53(3): pp. 213-222 Pachauri. R. K. and P .Bhandari. 2004 . National energy policy: India .Encyclopedia of Energy 4: 141-157
solar energy, the country receives about 3 trillion m3 of rainwater. As many as 14 major, 44 medium and 55 minor rivers share about 83 % of the drainage basin. About 210 billion m3 water is estimated to be available as ground water. The establishment of an agrarian economy which ensures food and nutrition to India's billion people, raw materials for its expanding industrial base and surpluses for exports, and a fair and equitable reward system for the farming community for the services they provide to the society, has always been the mainstay of reforms in the agriculture sector. Despite having achieved national food security, the pattern of growth of agriculture has, however, brought in its wake, uneven development, across regions and crops as also across different sections of farming community and is characterized by low levels of productivity and degradation of natural resources in some areas. Contributors of Farm Power in India Intensive cultivation, as a result of introduction of high yielding varieties in mid 1960’s and the urgent need for securing the food security for India’s teaming millions, required high energy inputs and better management practices. Land preparation, harvesting, threshing and irrigation are the operations, which utilize most of the energy used in agriculture. The table that follows takes a quick look at the contributors of farm power in India Table 1. Source-wise Contribution to Farm Power in India
Year
Total Power, kW/Ha
Power Sources Agricultural Worker
Draught Animal
Tractor
Power Tiller
Diesel Engine
Electric Motor
% contribution 1971-72
0.295
15.11
45.26
7.49
0.26
18.11
13.77
1981-82
0.471
10.92
27.23
19.95
0.33
23.79
17.78
1991-92
0.759
8.62
16.55
30.21
0.4
23.32
20.9
2001-02
1.231
6.49
9.89
41.96
0.54
19.86
21.26
2005-06
1.502
5.77
8.02
46.7
0.6
18.17
20.73
The farm power used in India has increased by 5 times to 1.502 Kw/ha. in 2005-06 from 0.0295 Kw/ ha. in 1971-72.The contribution of human power therein has decreased from 15 % in 1971-72 to 5.8 % in 2005-06. The share of draught animal power has also shown a downward trend from 45 % in 1971-72 to 27 % in 1981-82 and to a considerably lower share of 8 % in 2005-06.For desired
cropping intensity with timeliness in field operations, animate energy sources have no longer been deemed sufficient. Therefore, farmers opted for mechanical power sources to supplement human and animal power. There has been a substantial change in the structure of energy consumption in Agriculture, with a huge shift from animal and human power towards tractors for farming operations and electricity and diesel used largely for groundwater irrigation. Out of the mechanical power sources, tractor has been the major contributor. The contribution of tractive power to total farm power has increased from 7.5 % in 1971-72 to as high as 47 % by 2005-06.It is startling to note that in 11 years period from 1992 to 2003, the tractor population has nearly doubled from 12.2 million 23.6 millions. The state of Uttar Pradesh alone has 6.7 million tractors followed by Punjab with 3 million tractors. The table that follows provides the information on the tractor density in some of the states, which are crucial for the food security of the country. Table 2. Tractor Density in Some of the States in India
States
Number of tractors per 1000ha
Punjab Haryana Uttar Pradesh Tamil Nadu Gujarat Rajasthan West Bengal Orissa
71.4 (Highest) 60.1 28.0 12.3 12.3 9.8 1.5 1.3 (Lowest)
All India
13
The tractor density (Number of tractors per 1000ha) at the country level has been recorded at 13. The state of Punjab with second highest number of tractors in the country has the highest tractor density of 71 followed by Haryana at 60. Orissa has the lowest tractor density of 1.3. Correlates of Farm Power Availability and Agricultural Productivity In this section, an effort has been made to see the association between farm power availability and the agricultural productivity. Here agricultural productivity has been taken as synonymous with food grain productivity.
Table 3. Farm Power Availability and Average Productivity of Food grains in Indian States, 2000-01 States
Farm Power Availability, kw/ha.
Food grain Productivity, kg./ha
Punjab Haryana
3.50 2.25
4032 3088
Uttar Pradesh
1.75
2105
Andhra Pradesh
1.60
1995
Bihar
0.80
1622
Madhya Pradesh
0.80
907
Orissa
0.60
799
All India
1.35
1723
Source: www. developmentfirst.org/NewDelhi/EnergyManagementAgriculture_Nawab.pdf
The State of Punjab, with the highest farm power availability (3.50 Kw/ha.) has recorded the highest food grain productivity (4032 kg/ha). Orissa with lowest farm power availability has the productivity level as low as 799 kg /ha. The farm power availability and food grain productivity have been found to be positively correlated (r=0.973). Impact of Irrigation Scenario on Energy Usage India has been facing the daunting task of increasing its food production and reaching towards the goal of sustainable agriculture has rendered a crucial role to water (Kumar 1998). Empirical evidence suggests that increase in agricultural production in India mostly has taken place under irrigated conditions; close to three fifths of India’s grain harvest comes from irrigated land (Brown 2003). India’s irrigated area expanded at a steady rate during the last few decades. The net irrigated area has increased from 20 million hectares to 48 million hectares during 1950-51 to 1990-91 and further to 55 million hectares by 2003-04. Over the past, increase in irrigated area has mainly taken place from groundwater source. The ground water sources accounted for 64 % of the net irrigated area in2003-04 as compared to only 29 % in 1950-51. (Table 4.) Table 4. Irrigated Area in India by Source
Year
Net Irrigated Area Million Hectares
Sources Canals
Tanks
Tudewells & other Wells
Others
% of Net Irrigated Area
1950-51
20.58
40.3
17.5
29.1
14.4
1960-61
24.66
42.1
18.5
29.6
9.9
1970-71
31.10
41.3
13.2
38.2
7.3
1980-81
37.72
40.5
8.4
46.9
6.8
1990-91
48.02
36.3
6.1
51.4
6.1
1995-96
53.40
32.1
5.8
55.6
6.5
1996-97
55.05
31.4
6.1
56.0
6.6
1997-98
54.99
32.0
5.0
57.4
5.5
1998-99
57.08
31.0
5.1
58.1
5.7
1999-00
56.78
30.1
4.5
60.3
5.1
2000-01(P)
54.84
29.5
4.5
61.0
5.0
2001-02(P )
55.89
29.2
4.1
61.8
4.9
2002-03(P)
53.16
28.0
1.6
63.7
4.9
2003-04 (P)
55.13
27.6
3.5
63.8
5.0
Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI
There are two main reasons for higher expansion of groundwater irrigation. First, due to slow down in the growth of public investments in large-scale irrigation infrastructure and incompletion of on going projects, the surface irrigated area has not increased in the 1990’s. The most severe problem facing Indian canal irrigation, however, is the rapid deterioration of systems that have already been created. Maintenance is being woefully neglected, leading to poor capacity utilization, rising incidence of water logging and salinity and lower water use efficiency (WUE). On the whole large canal based irrigation is threatening to become unsustainable physically, environmentally as well as financially (Gulati et al. 1999). In the absence of new large-scale surface irrigation schemes, and the availability of low cost electric and diesel pumps coupled with little or no electricity charges, the groundwater has been a major driver in the irrigated area expansion. Second, yields in areas irrigated by groundwater are often substantially higher than the yield from surface water sources. FAO research indicates that yields in groundwater irrigated areas are higher by one third to one half than in areas irrigated from surface sources, and as much as 7080% of India’s agricultural output may be groundwater dependent (FAO 2005). Higher yields from groundwater-irrigated areas are in large part due to increase in the reliability of water supply.
Groundwater irrigation in India developed during the period of green revolution and contributed much in increasing the gross irrigated area of the country. In the last five decades, groundwater irrigation has increased from 6 million hectares in 1950-51 to 35million hectares by 2003-04. Figure 1 illustrates the growth in groundwater in the period 1950-51 to 2003-04. The groundwater irrigated area has increased unabatedly whereas surface water irrigation has declined. The figure also highlights the groundwater irrigation expansion relative to that of the net irrigated area; and not much difference in the slopes of the two curves is reflected in the last few decades. The increase in the groundwater irrigation has increased the energy input enormously. Fig. 1. Expansion in Ground Water Irrigated Area in India
60 50 40 30 20 10
Ground Water Irrigated
Surface Water Irrigated
2003-04 (P)
2002-03(P)
2001-02(P )
2000-01(P)
1999-00
1998-99
1997-98
1996-97
1995-96
1990-91
1980-81
1970-71
1960-61
1950-51
0
Total Irrigated Area
Source: Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI
Fertiliser Usage The increase in irrigated area has been accompanied by matched increase in the fertilizer usage. India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilisers in the world after China and the USA. Against 8 million tonnes of fertiliser nutrients (NPK) consumed during TE 1985-86, the nutrient consumption has increased to 18.5 million tonnes during TE 2005-06 (Table 5). The consumption
of major fertilisers namely, Urea, DAP, MOP, SSP and Complexes are estimated to be 22.2, 6.8, 2.6, 2.8 and 6.7 million tonnes respectively during 2005-06. India is, by and large, self sufficient in respect of Urea and about 90 per cent in case of DAP. The all-India average fertiliser consumption is 105 kg./ha of NPK nutrients, though there is wide variation from state to state varying from 210 kg./ha in Punjab, 167 kg./ ha in Haryana to less than 5 kg./ha in States like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, etc. Considering the skewed pattern of fertiliser use, Government of India is promoting balanced and integrated use of fertiliser nutrients through various initiatives. Table 5. Overtime Growth in Consumption of Nitrogenous, Phosphatic and Potassic Fewrtiliser Fertiliser Consumption, ’ 000 Tonnes Nitrogenous Phosphatic Potassic TOTAL 68.6
TE 1953-54
6.6
3.9
502.0 (631.8) 5450.4 (985.7) 11838.1 (117.2)
132.6 65.7 (1908.6) (1571.2) 1874.0 807.3 TE 1985-86 (1313.6) (1128.2) 4650.6 2023.9 TE 2005-06 (148.2) (150.7) CGR, %/ annum 1951/52 - 65/66 17.77 28.18 27.42 1966/67 - 85/86 10.31 10.76 10.23 1986/87-05/06 3.74 4.02 4.23 Figures in parentheses indicate percentage change over the previous triennium Source: Statistical Abstract of India, various issues TE 1965-66
79.1 700.3 (785.0) 8131.7 (1061.1) 18512.6 (127.7) 19.63 10.40 3.85
The fertiliser consumption has increased unabatedly over the years (Table 5.) as it’s the most important source of energy input, that goes into crop production. As is clear from the Table 6, the energy input due to fertilizers has increased from 584 MJ/ha in 1965-66 to as high as 3673 MJ/ha by 2001-02, but the share of fertliser in total energy input has increased from 98 % to 99.3 % suggesting the importance of fertliser in India’s crop production scenario. Table 6. Share of Fertiliser in Energy Input in Agricultural Production Input Energy Input 1969-70 2001-02 MJ/ha
%
MJ/ha
%
Seed
2
0.34
9
0.24
Fertiliser Agro-Chemicals
584 10
97.99 1.68
3672 17
99.30 0.46
Total
596
3698
Source: www. developmentfirst.org/NewDelhi/EnergyManagementAgriculture_Nawab.pdf
Issue of Energy Productivity Defined broadly, the agriculture sector has as its primary goal the delivery of food on the table for the population or for export. During the last five decades, energy consumption pattern in agriculture from both animate and inanimate sources has increased drastically. With the increase in the availability of energy in agriculture, chances of its improper use due to mismanagement are high. Thus, any measure that will reduce the energy consumption while delivering the food service is in principle a potential candidate for analysis as a mitigation option. It is therefore imperative to go in for energy auditing in crop production in different cropping sequences. In the table that follows, the energy use and productivity of different crops has been presented. The results revealed that rice – wheat cropping systems was observed to the most energy intensive. Wheat cultivation consumed a total of 14657MJ/ha followed by paddy, which consumed 13076MJ/ha. The consumption of energy by pulses ranged from 3870 MJ/ha for Black Gram to 5464 MJ/ha. for Bengal Gram. Sugarcane cultivation consumed 59192 MJ/ha. An effort has been made to ascertain the relationship between energy use and productivity by working out Energy Productivity .The Energy Productivity measured as kg/ MJ has been recorded as the highest (1.171) for Sugarcane crop, the same for paddy , wheat and maize being 0.239, 0.196 and 0.215 respectively in that order. This analysis can be used for the judicious selection of crop rotation depending upon the energy usage so as to minimize energy inefficiencies.
Table 7. Energy Use and Energy Productivity of Major Crops of India
Cash Crops
Oilseeds
Pulses
Cereals
Crop
Productivity, kg/ha
Total Energy, MJ/ha
Paddy Wheat Maize Sorghum Green Gram Black Gram
3125 2873 2140 950 510 406
13076 14657 9956 4745 4315 3870
Energy Productivity, kg/MJ 0.239 0.196 0.215 0.200 0.118 0.105
Bengal Gram Mustard Soybean
596 960 1092
5464 8051 6382
0.109 0.119 0.171
Sugarcane
61500
59192
1.039
Cotton
938
9972
0.094
Potato
15520
31352
0.495
Source: www. developmentfirst.org/NewDelhi/EnergyManagementAgriculture_Nawab.pdf
It becomes pertinent to mention here that several committees appointed by the government to review energy policy In India from time to time have emphasized the need for a nationally coordinated approach to energy policy formulation. As a result, sporadic efforts have been made to bring together various departments or ministries dealing with energy for the purpose of arriving at a unified and integrated approach. With rapid growth of the economy and increase in demand for energy, issues of energy security, efficiency of the entire energy system, and the effects of energy production, conversion, and consumption on the environment require policies that optimize some of these variables on an integrated basis, rather than by specific source of energy or by specific sector of the economy. There is, therefore, a growing imperative for India to articulate a forward-looking integrated energy policy and look for the approaches to efficient use of energy in general and agriculture, in particular, that could in its own right lead to considerable energy savings.
REFERENCES Brown Lester R (2003): Outgrowing the Earth: The Food Security Challenge Gulati, A, Ruth Meinzen-Dick and K.V.Raju 1999. From Top Down to Bottoms Up: Institutional Reforms in Indian Canal Irrigation. Delhi: Institute of Economic growth Jaswal P. and M. Das Gupta. 2006. Energy Demands and Sustaining Growth in South and East Asia. Session 2: Challenges and Risks to Development in Asia Parallel Group 2A: Topic Paper. www.asia2015conference.org Kumar, P (1998): Food Demand and supply Projections for India. Agricultural Economics Policy Paper 98-01 .IARI, New Delhi. Pachauri R K. 1998. Economics of energy use in agriculture .Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics 53(3): pp. 213-222 Pachauri. R. K. and P .Bhandari. 2004 . National energy policy: India .Encyclopedia of Energy 4: 141-157
