Day 58 | RAS Mains 2025 Answer Writing | 90 Days

 Impact of Modern Technology on Farming

The farming sector forms only about 20.2 percent of India’s GDP despite employing almost 50 percent of the total workforce. Despite significant improvement in food grain production, there are several challenges to tackle as the government aims to increase agricultural production as a share of GDP.

Farming in India is largely dependent on nature, but climate and global warming issues make farming unpredictable. The need of the hour is to educate farmers in the use of modern technology and innovative approaches to increase productivity and raise profitability.

Technology has a major role in farming and agriculture practices; and with the advent of digital technology, the scope has widened. Innovation in agriculture is leading an evolution in agricultural practices, thereby reducing losses and increasing efficiency. This is positively impacting farmers. Use of digital and analytic tools is driving continuous improvement in agriculture, and the trend is here to stay, resulting in improving crop yields and helping to increase the income of the farming community. Refined things have evolved and brought forth modern technology into the field of agriculture. From the earliest time, ancient people have already engaged in some form of agricultural technology used in planting, collecting or even gathering. But unfortunately such technological tools are inadequate to bring out the best in agricultural industries.

Technology in farming affects many areas of agriculture, such as fertilizers, pesticides, seed technology, etc. Biotechnology and genetic engineering have resulted in pest resistance and increased crop yields. Mechanization has led to efficient tilling, harvesting, and a reduction in manual labor. Irrigation methods and transportation systems have improved, processing machinery has reduced wastage, etc., and the effect is visible in all areas.

The importance of technology in farming gives a dynamic force for world’s development-an economic backbone. New-age technologies focus on robotics, precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, block chain technology, and more.