Access to Modern Agricultural Technologies for Rural Upliftment

The development and dissemination of improved agricultural technologies is observed as a way to increase crop productivity.Since the mid 20th century the international community has devoted a significant amount of resources to develop the technologies that increase farm production, reduce exposure of environmental shocks, produce more nutritious food, reduce human labour and promote long-term sustainability.It is necessary to adopt the new technologies on a large scale for achieving the desired impact. Quality food supply is the major issue in the present era. The demand of food has increased twice as per the growth rate of population. According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), about 10 per cent of the global population or 815 million people are malnourished and do not have healthy food to live a healthy life. Use of modern farming has supported the farmers in many ways.It has been observed that with the adoption of modern agricultural technologies, production and productivity of crops have increased. Modern technologies have also helped to reduce the cost of cultivation and made farming much easier. Improved agricultural technologies have always been promoted by the government and development organisations to increase the farm productivity and reduce the poverty. However, the rate of adoption of new technologies remain slow. It has been observed that farmer education, household size, land size, access to credit, access to extension services, organisation membership etc.effect the adoption of modern agricultural technologies. The use of modern agricultural technologies is transforming rural communities and reshaping traditional farming systems. It has been observed that precision farming, biotechnology and farm mechanization contribute significantly to increase farm productivity.

- DR. BANARSI LAL

Agriculture is the significant sector in the Indian economy. This sector contributes immensely to create income, employment, foreign exchange, food and many other sectors. Agricultural sector is the basic catalyst and accelerator of growth and development of the industrial and services sectors. It is helpful to mitigate the basic needs of the increasing population and to achieve the food security objectives by expanding the areas under agriculture. But this problem can be solved by increasing the agricultural productivity by utilizing the innovative agricultural technologies. Agricultural research and technological improvements are therefore crucial to increase farm production and productivity and thus can reduce the poverty and meet the demands of food without irreversible degradation of natural resources. Technological uses are greatly impacted by the technical trainings, meetings, campaigns, demonstrations, trials, oral transmission and credibility on technician and belief level on technology. Adoption of new technologies varies differently for the progressive, young and educated farmers. Generally the farmers are having positive perception of technologies but they face numerous problems in technology adoption due to lack of capital, guidelines and compensation policy. State and Central Governments are providing support to the farmers in increasing their crops yields through the use of various new technologies and schemes. An increase in agricultural productivity is a prevailing motive for the Indian farmers and a driving force in India's agricultural policy. The success of modern technologies can be obtained by knowing how to apply fertilizers, pesticides and take care of plant for its healthy growth. A farming system is the result of a complex interaction of a number of interdependent components such as soil, water, crops, livestock, labour and other resources within an environmental setting. The total environment can be divided into two elements: technology