Indicators for Assessment of Agricultural Sustainability in India: A Review

Abstract

The concept of sustainability and its dimension in agriculture system is complex in nature and there is no common understanding among the researchers about the dimensions of agriculture sustainability. Various parameters have been proposed by the researchers for the measurement of agricultural sustainability. There should be a formal system for the assessment of agricultural sustainability that will further help in designing policies and programs and help in achieving sustainable agriculture development. This article reviews some aspects of agricultural sustainability and its dimensions and provides a set of indicators for assessing agricultural sustainability at regional and district levels involving environmental sustainability, social security, and economic security in India based on theoretically proposed and practically applied indicators by researchers. The indicators to be used for assessment of agriculture sustainability should be location specific for better understanding and should also be constructed according to the ecological and socioeconomic situation.