Impact of Aatmanirbharta (Self-reliance) Agriculture and Sustainable Farming for the 21st Century to Achieve Sustainable Growth

Abstract

Purpose: Indian Agriculture is 3^rd most significant contributor to GDP and more than 50% of the population is dependent on agriculture, Indian agriculture accounts for15% of the country’s Gross Value added to the economy, and agriculture policies and schemes implemented by the government to increase the production, income level of farmers, employment, growth of the rural area, provide Digital agricultural stack in area of IoT, block chain, Geographic Information System(GIS) Kisan Drones, Big data, as per the report of NITI Aayog AI in agriculture would be worth $ 2.6 bn and Agri-Startups promote the circular economy with sustainable farming in the area of Millet, organic farming and vertical farming. It is an important pillar of sustainability and it is recognized as 7 out of 17 Sustainable development goals. Sustainable agriculture farming is the order of the 21^st century in India which currently has 4.43 million organic farmers, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23, and a much-needed alternative to conventional for protecting the well-being of the farmers and Society, Economy and Ecosystem. India is Self-reliant in the production of Sugar, Rice, Wheat and food grains. Due to Government Schemes like Atmanirbhar, Minimum Support Price(MPS),  PM Kisan Scheme, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), PM Gati-shakti, National Agriculture Market(e-NAM), Young –Entrepreneurs Accelerator Fund for Agri-Startups, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PMVY), establishing more Farmer producers  Organizations(FPO), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Agricultural Technology Management Agency(ATMA), NABARD in providing finance for farm and non-farm sector, PM-PRANAAM for protecting mother earth. These initiatives are to increase the investment opportunities in agriculture, efficiency, and productivity in agriculture for doubling the income of the farmers.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The research article is a descriptive study with exploratory research and secondary data collected from News articles, Journals, Government websites, Books, magazines, and reports for the analysis.

Findings: Organic farming and sustainable agriculture is good for the economy and environment. The study reveals that in India Sustainable green revaluation in Agriculture Technology and moving towards achieving sustainable development goals (SDG).

Type of Paper: Case Study.