India's agriculture sector remains the backbone of rural livelihoods and national food security, contributing substantially to economic growth and employment. However, farmers continue to encounter a wide range of structural and socio-economic barriers, including small and fragmented landholdings, heavy reliance on monsoon rains, inadequate technological adoption, post-harvest inefficiencies, financial vulnerabilities, and unstable market prices. Additional constraints such as rising labour expenses, low levels of mechanization, limited irrigation coverage, and insufficient knowledge of sustainable practices further limit agricultural productivity. This review paper explores these complex challenges in detail while assessing the effectiveness of major government programmes designed to address them. Key schemes—such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), PM-Kisan income support, Soil Health Card initiative, e-NAM digital marketplace, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanisms, and emerging digital agriculture efforts—are evaluated for their role in improving productivity, farmer income, and risk management. The study identifies notable policy successes as well as areas requiring improvement, emphasizing the need for integrated, technology-oriented, and farmer-focused strategies.
Shinde et al. (Thu,) studied this question.