Agriculture development means providing assistance to the crop producers with the help of various agricultural resources. Providing protection, assisting in the research sphere, employing latest techniques, controlling pests and facilitating diversity all fall within the purview of agriculture development.

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Agriculture development includes the following:

• Irrigation Facilities: Crop productivity depends not only on the quality of input but also on the irrigation facilities. Therefore, canals, tube wells should be constructed to provide better irrigation facilities for the security of crops. Extensive flood control measures should be adopted to prevent the devastation caused by floods.
• Institutional Credit: To save the farmers from the clutches of moneylenders, adequate credit facilities should be made available at reasonable cheap rates in rural areas.
• Proper Marketing Facilities: Marketing infrastructure should be widened and strengthened to help the farmers to sell their products at better prices. There should be proper arrangements for unloading of the produce in the markets.
• Supply of Quality Inputs: The farmer in the country should be supplied with quality inputs at proper times and at controlled prices. To protect the farmers’ exploitation, effective steps are needed to be taken to check the sale of adulterated fertilizers.
• Transport Facilities: To facilitate the farmers to produce new farm inputs and enable them to sell their product in markets, villages should be linked with mandies. It would help to raise their income which in turn stimulates the farmer’s interest to adopt better farm technology with sufficient income.
• Agricultural Education: In a bid to guide and advise the farmers regarding the adoption of new technology arrangements should be made for agricultural education and extension services. It would assist the farmers to take proper crop-care leading to increase in crop productivity.
• Land Reforms: It is also suggested that efforts should be made to plug the loopholes in the existing land legislations so that the surplus land may be distributed among the small and marginal farmers.
• Development of Cottage and Small Scale Industries: In rural areas, more emphasis should be made to set up cottage and small scale industries. This will raise the income of the peasants and keep them busy during the off season.
• Co-operative Farming: To check the sub-division and fragmentation of holding, the movement of co-operative farming should be launched. Co-operative farming would result in the adoption of modern technology on so-called big farms.

Role of NGOs in agricultural development:

As economic reform and liberalization saw the Government vacating several areas to let private sector entrepreneurship flourish and contribute to the high growth rate of the economy in recent years, a similar paradigm shift is needed to transform NGOs from their dependence on aid and grants from within and outside for transforming the rural scenario in the country.

This is sought to be achieved for the NGOs through engaging them in micro-finance, micro insurance, and micro-entrepreneurship activities for the overall development of the rural areas and to promote the welfare of the people of rural India. Some of the important roles played by NGO are:

• Livelihood Enhancement: Contribute to livelihoods by creatively marketing “value-added” cultivated and wild agricultural biodiversity.
• Conservation: Conserve local seed diversity, promote an increased reliance on biodiversity-based ecological agriculture, and use these as foundations for endogenous growth and development of rural communities.
• Sustainable production: Connect the natural elements—soil, water, air, sunlight, and seed—to ensure an abundance of nutritious food and other basic community needs.
• Training farmers: Enhancing the Ability of Farmers to Perform Task by Providing Ample Knowledge about various tasks.
• Create a gender-sensitive environment that enhances women’s leadership skills.
• Skill development: Working On Skill Development to Empower Farmers With New Skills
• Digital marketing of produce: To help farmers by Showing the Right Channel of Market and Contacting Digitally.
• Creating awareness: Taking active role in Creating awareness On Different Government Schemes & Techniques for Helping Farmers
• Continue to nurture community participation and assist in building robust community institutions like SHGs, FPOs, Co-operative societies etc.
• NGOs have also developed innovative dissemination methods, relying on farmer-to-farmer contact, whether on a group or individual basis
• NGOs’ rapport with farmers has allowed them to draw on local knowledge systems in the design of technology options and to strengthen such systems by ensuring that the technologies developed are reintegrated into them

A host of NGO’s across the globe are involved in the above tasks for agricultural development. In the Indian context, few of the notable NGOs are DHAN, NERD, MYRADA, National Agro Foundation, REPCO Foundation for Micro Credit, SEVA etc.

Some of the major initiatives taken up by the NGOs are Watershed development program, Vermi-composting, Bio-fertilizer production training, Micro-finances, Agricultural Co-operatives, Farm Produce Organizations, Extension services etc.

Conclusion:        

Agriculture development should be such that it brings about a revolution in the agriculture industry to give birth to an agriculture which is profit giving and at the same time eco friendly.