Economy · Sub-pillar 4.4
Agriculture and food
Farm incomes and productivity, sustainable water use in farming, and the chain from farm to food processing to market.
What is agriculture and food?
Agriculture and food is sub-pillar 4.4 of the 47 BH framework for a developed Bharat by 2047, the fourth of nine sub-pillars under the Economy pillar. It asks whether farm incomes and productivity are rising, whether farming uses water sustainably, and whether the chain that carries food from the farm through processing to the market works for farmers and consumers alike.
Why it matters for 2047
More than four in ten Indian workers depend on farming, and every Indian depends on what they grow. A developed Bharat cannot have a prosperous city and a struggling countryside; the income of the farm household is the income of the country's largest occupation.
India feeds itself and exports a surplus, which was unthinkable two generations ago. The next test is different: whether farming can pay a decent living to fewer people on smaller plots, whether it can do so without emptying the aquifers beneath it, and whether less of the harvest is lost between field and plate.
Water is the quiet constraint. Indian agriculture draws most of the country's groundwater, and in parts of the north-west and south the water table has fallen for decades. Farming that depletes its own foundation is not productive, however high this year's yield.
Where India stands
- Rs 10,218
was the average monthly income of an agricultural household in 2018-19, up from Rs 6,426 in 2012-13, according to the NSO's Situation Assessment Survey, the most recent available.[1]
- 357.7 MT
of foodgrains were produced in 2024-25, a record, up from 265 million tonnes in 2013-14; horticulture produced 369 million tonnes and agricultural exports reached US$51.1 billion.[2]
- 10.8%
of India's groundwater assessment units were over-exploited in 2025, down from 17.2% in 2017; the country extracted 247 billion cubic metres a year, 60.6% of what is extractable.[3]
- 6-15%
of fruit, 5-12% of vegetables and 4-6% of cereals are lost after harvest, according to the NABCONS study of post-harvest losses for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.[4]
On output, India's farms have never produced more: record foodgrain and horticulture harvests, agricultural exports above US$50 billion, and irrigation reaching over half the cropped area. [2] Groundwater stress has eased on the national measure, with the share of over-exploited units falling by more than a third since 2017, although the worst-hit districts remain in deep trouble. [3]
On income, the farm household still earns far less than the rest of the country. The last official survey put the average at Rs 10,218 a month in 2018-19, and a large part of that came from wages and livestock rather than crops; no newer survey has been published, so 47 BH cannot yet say how incomes have moved since. [1]
On the chain from farm to market, a tenth or more of fruit and vegetables is lost before it reaches a consumer, which is income the farmer never sees and food the country grows twice. [4] A note on the numbers: production figures are government estimates built from state reports; the groundwater assessment is a joint exercise of the Central Ground Water Board and the states, published yearly; the income survey is seven years old and its replacement is overdue.
On the 47 BH report card
Every 15 August, 47 BH reports how far India has come on each sub-pillar. For this sub-pillar, the headline indicators are:
- Average monthly income of agricultural households (NSO Situation Assessment Survey).
- Share of groundwater assessment units over-exploited, and stage of extraction (Central Ground Water Board).
- Post-harvest losses by commodity group (NABCONS for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries).
Two lenses on agriculture and food
City and village
47 BH asks whether a small farmer in a rain-fed district earns a living comparable to a worker in the nearest town, and whether a city consumer pays a fair price for food that reached her with less waste. The water question is rural; the food price and quality question is shared.
Learn, avoid, protect
- Learn
- What can India learn from countries that raised farm incomes by moving to higher-value crops, cold chains and processing, and from its own states that cut groundwater use through pricing, crop choice and micro-irrigation?
- Avoid
- Which mistakes should it avoid, such as measuring agriculture by tonnes of grain alone, subsidising the very inputs that deplete water and soil, or protecting farmers with prices while leaving them without markets?
- Protect
- What of its own should it protect, such as the knowledge of millions of small farmers, the diversity of crops and seeds built up over centuries, and the food security system that kept the country fed through the pandemic?
What this sub-pillar does not cover
Each topic has one home in the framework. These related topics sit elsewhere:
- Hunger and the safety net as questions of poverty: Economy: Poverty and inequality
- Moving workers out of agriculture into other work: Economy: Productivity and structural change
- Rivers, groundwater and water quality as environmental questions: Nature: Air and water
- Soil health, forests and biodiversity: Nature: Land, forests and biodiversity
- Village roads, connectivity and services: Economy: Cities, towns and villages
Questions about agriculture and food
How much does an Indian farmer earn?
The average agricultural household earned Rs 10,218 a month in 2018-19, up from Rs 6,426 in 2012-13, according to the NSO's Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households, the most recent available. [1]
How much food does India produce?
357.73 million tonnes of foodgrains in 2024-25, a record, up from 265.05 million tonnes in 2013-14, and 369.05 million tonnes of horticultural produce, according to the Press Information Bureau. Agricultural exports were US$51.1 billion in 2024-25. [2]
Is India running out of groundwater?
Nationally, extraction was 60.6% of extractable resources in 2025, and 10.8% of assessment units were over-exploited, down from 17.2% in 2017, according to the Dynamic Groundwater Resource Assessment 2025. The national average hides severe depletion in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and the southern peninsula. [3]
How much food is wasted after harvest in India?
The NABCONS study for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries estimated losses of 3.9-5.9% for cereals, 5.7-6.7% for pulses, 6-15% for fruits and 4.9-11.6% for vegetables. [4]
Why is water part of an Economy sub-pillar?
Because farming cannot be productive for long if it depletes the water it depends on. 47 BH measures the health of rivers and aquifers under Nature, and here asks whether farming's own use of water is sustainable.
Sources
- Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, "Overall Development of Agricultural Sector", Rajya Sabha written reply, Press Information Bureau, 2 December 2025, citing NSS 77th round (Situation Assessment Survey 2018-19). https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2197698®=3&lang=2
- Press Information Bureau, "Empowering India's Annadatas", backgrounder, 5 June 2026. https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2026/jun/doc202665884101.pdf
- Ministry of Jal Shakti, "Dynamic Groundwater Resources Assessment, 2025", Press Information Bureau, 29 January 2026. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2220203®=3&lang=1
- Ministry of Food Processing Industries, "Post Harvest Food Loss", Rajya Sabha written reply citing the NABCONS study (2022), Press Information Bureau, 20 December 2022. https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1885038®=48&lang=2
47 BH cites every figure so that it can be checked. If you find an error, it will be corrected openly and the date below will change.