Indian Farmers Agony
Genesis extricated from the globe because of unavailability to sate their vital need. Existence of human life extremely depends upon agriculture. Food is inevitable for human life. Numerous record and vocal famines in human history, have accounted millions of millions premature deaths.
Therefore, foodstuffs have ever been primary concern of humanity. Therefore, our dependence upon agriculture is of utmost importance. Golden epoch of farmers and career Agriculture; backbone of economy: Farmers is an axle, around which all agricultural and industrial activities revolve. There is higher correlation between agriculture and developmentwhether it be household consumption, industrial, and governmental utilization or need to earn foreign cash to import national necessities.
Nervous farmer; of late, nobody wants farming as profession cheerfully. It is very unfortunate to know that ‘ANNADATA’ (Provider of food) under arrest of serious financial stress, many farmers in India, have committed suicide owning to debt. Crime Records Bureau of India in its 2012 annual report acknowledged 13,755 farmers suicide (11.2%) of overall suicides committed in India. Although The National Mental Health Association of the USA States ”No matter the race or age of the person; how rich or poor they are, it is true that most people who commit suicide have a mental or emotional disorder”.
Suicide is not a matter of economics. Same inference drained by the data released by World Health Organization in 2011.whereas agrarian country ,India’s suicide rate was 13 per 100000; at the same time as that of industrialized nations,were often higher or comparable, South Korea 28.5, Japan 20.1.,etc. All above reports seems to be partially true; only to small extent. It is practical, financial stress can fetch not only mental agony but also in various cases, emotional stress as well. Financial paucity is core cause of, numerous political- socio-economical -psychological disorders. It is just a matter of time when these theories diminish and go to a nightmare.
Climate change; price – output paradox: Most of the farmers in India are marginal farmers. Government of India’s annual report 2016-17 Estimated average size of holding, 1.15 hectare. Farmer’s heavy reliance on weather brings uncertainty of yield. Weather plays vital role for especially marginal farmers. If typical weather is friendly, harvest is good; otherwise, almost poor output is predictable. Most suicide of farmers had reported from water- scarce states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh etc.
Increasing input cost of production: Agriculture input cost is increasing, rather than output revenue. Management and hiring laborers and latest tools and techniques is costlier to the farmers. Apart from this, usual seeds and crop protecting insecticides and machineries to grow crop and harvesting, such as-tractors to plow, tube- wells to irrigate are nightmare for farmers. Thus, horrific scenarios worry farmers.
Marketing of agricultural production: Majority of farmers are still illiterate. They are neither strong enough to fight with strong gamut of intermediaries, traders and corrupt marketing machineries nor organized to do so. Their crop in the mandis or market place sold manipulatively before their eyes and they are mere spectator.
Thus, primarily twist their arm and force farmer to rush localized moneylenders for debt and fulfill their urgent need of time. Climate change plays vital role in farmers well being. Dilemmas of farmers been portrayed as…. Influence of population; there is very crucial correlation between agriculture and population. Condorcet and Godwin produced such works, which promised to create heaven on earth. Mercantilists as well as Physiocrate, Mirabeau, had always regarded numerous population advantageous .
Godwin was so confident and optimistic that he proclaimed, “Government even in its best state is an evil”. He anticipated such a society in which after breaking the bonds of property, of passions and marriage would live happily on only half a day’s work. Such optimism have some force, and hold true even after a long time. After a rapid growth in the population over the years, there is plenty of food grain in the world, if managed , distributed, skillfully and impartially, keeping humanity above all cast, creed and beyond geographical boundaries , to the needful of every people of the earth.
Farmers have always obtained either semi- crop, due to several explicit and implicit factors. Semi- prices due to socio- economical and political reasons. He is always lagging behind in the facilities of education, health and transportation even after a long time of independence. Meanwhile tries to minimize input cost of labor, this comes at the cost of engaging whole of his family members for the sake of survival of the family, resulting uneducated, unskilled progeny.
During the next cycle of division of farms among the heir of farmer’s, descendants work either as manual labor or just a marginal farmer to be anxious, wait and watch, hoping government help and waivers. In Such a horrible scenario, after toiling day and night, it becomes very burdensome to earn bare- bread without butter .Coming out from the vicious cycle of poverty is not possible without welfare and sensitive government. Thus, government intervention to revive farmer’s economic condition is urgent need of time and always solicited.
Government efforts and intervention: Our government has ever been reacted positively on farmer’s woes and wounds.Relief packages; As and when required government-provide relief packages to the needy farmers. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, or Gujarat or any states of India all helped sometimes or any other.
Debt- waiver schemes: At the time of crop failure, due to any natural calamities, such as over pouring and scanty precipitation or drought, respective state governments and Indian government or both many times waived off farmer’s loan.
Soil health card: For better productivity, soil health card issued to the farmers for their farms.Integrated scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) effective since 01.04.2014National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)Model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS)Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS)
As discussed above, it is obvious that, farmers suffer a lot, from vicious cycle of climate change and price determination mechanism of input and output. If Climate favors, brings fortune in the form of good productivity and yield of crops. All together, due to weaker retaining power of their farm product; bring their bumper crops at a time in the market increase supply, resulting poor pricing; due to application of demand and supply laws of economics; connivance of intermediaries, scheming traders and bureaucracy; what is the outcome of this all-copious crop? Farmers bitter experience of unproductive farming, securing semi price for abundant crop. Half- baked price for full- baked rice. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address farmer’s despair in India.
Following measures may taken to embalm their miseries:
- Rainwater should be harvest with full vim and vigor on large scale. Rainwater harvesting tools and techniques should be subsidized and easily available to the farmers.Education and advertisements, Should imparted among the citizens of India to save even single drop of water. Although, this is herculean task and need a lot of finance, yet would prove very fruitful in long run.
- Twenty -four hours subsidized electricity for irrigation should be provided to the farmers
- Dependence on chemical fertilizers should gradually mitigated and be substituted with organic fertilizers to sustain fertility and productivity of land.
- Ceiling of minimum farm size norm, for cultivation should be determined. Below this farm size limit, cooperative farming should be mandatory.
- Farmland must be saving essentially from any misuse. Every possible attempt should carry out to save agricultural land. High- rise buildings in place of independent dwellings be preferred and permitted like China, to save extra land. Agricultural land should not utilize rather saved from industrial and residential land misuses.
- It is evident ,due to unawareness and self esteemed.
