The history of agriculture in India dates back to the Rigveda. Despite being an agricultural-based economy, the agriculture sector still remains less explored in India. Each component of the agri-food value chain provides immense opportunities for research and innovation through inclusive and interactive approach. In this article, Radhika Sharma and Astha Gupta present an overview of the existing barriers as well as opportunities for clean energy applications in the agriculture sector.
Agriculture is the most common practice done since ages for the development of human civilization. It involves the use of natural resources such as plants to produce commodities including food, fibre, forest products, horticultural crops, and their related services to sustain and enhance human life. In India, about 60 per cent of the population including several million small farming households is dependent on agriculture as a principal income source. The net sown area in India is about 140.8 million ha wherein only about 37 per cent of net sown area is under irrigation and 67 per cent is predominantly rainfed. Agriculture remains the second highest energy consumer and accounts for 18.03 per cent of the total energy consumption in India. Energy use in this sector is in the form of diesel and electricity for operation of mobile and stationary equipment and off the farm for the manufacture of inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides. Besides energy, water is an essential component in the agriculture sector and is largely (approximately 80 per cent) used in the irrigation sector followed by domestic use, industries, power development, and other activities.
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