The Future of Farmers in India and what are the Contributing Factors for Farmers Suicides today.

The Future of Farming and Farmers in India: Agriculture is a largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio economic development of our country. More than 80 percent  of  the  farmers  working in  this sector  are  marginal and small scale farmers. India  is an  agricultural country with  agriculture  as  a  predominant  occupation  of  two third of working population  living the rural area. Agriculture is not only an  important occupation of our people, but also a way of life, culture and custom. Most of the Indian customs  and  festivals  are  observed  in  consonance  with  agriculture  seasons,  activities and  products.  The  rural  Indians  are  dependent  on  agriculture  as  a  main  source of livelihood. There  are  many  challenges  facing  today’s farmers. The nature and scale of these challenges vary according to whether they  farm  large  tracts  of  land  with  mechanized  cultivation of high  yield mono-culture crops  boosted  by  petrochemical  fertilizer, pesticides and herbicide inputs or farm small land areas with  hand  tools and  without the use of any petrochemical inputs that  results  in degraded  soil  fertility;  or  if  they  practice  a variety  of  farming  methods between these  extremes. Without change, the global food system will continue to degrade the environment and compromise the world’s capacity to produce food in the future, as well as contributing to climate change and the destruction of biodiversity. There are widespread problems with soil loss due to erosion, loss of soil fertility, salination and other forms of degradation; rates of water extraction for irrigation are exceeding rates of replenishment in many places; over-fishing is a widespread concern; and there is heavy reliance on fossil fuel-derived energy for synthesis of nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides. In addition, food production systems frequently emit significant quantities of greenhouse gases and release other pollutants that accumulate in the environment. Understanding the needs and critical role of  farmers  in advancing  sustainable development  requires  recognizing  the  commonly  shared  and  the  distinctively  different  conditions  and  capabilities  that  exist  in  the  developing  and  developed  world  countries. There are 196 countries in the world. But in no country, other than India, a farmer is coerced to commit suicide for financial bankruptcy. There are many Contributing Factors for Farmers Suicides today. Failure of  crops due to  the failure of  rainfall, drought, destruction of crops due to pests and use of low quality seeds. Increasing prices–The prices of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides have gone up and prices of crops have been pushed down to the extent even below the cost of production. The  farming  community  experiences  the financial  stress  due to price crash of agricultural products and as a result there is increase in the debt burden. Unwilling  to  adopt  scientific  practices  in  farming  also  make  the  farmers  face  the problems. due to failure of rainfall, failure of bore wells, sharp decrease in ground water table. Improper supply of electricity by different electrical companies’ indifferent regions of the state results in the inability of the farmers to supply water to the fields. Inadequate  services  by  the agricultural  departments  to  provide  proper  counseling on farm technologies. Failure of the governmental institutions to meet out the needs and aspirations of the farming community. The farmers’ varieties are not only used by the world community for consumption, but  also  by  the plant  breeders  for  developing  new  varieties. This  shows  the  dual  role  played  by  farmers  towards  food  security  on  the  one  hand,  and  their  role  as  contributors  to agro diversity,  and  thus a  sustainable environment on the other. They also ensure food safety, as the varieties they conserve, preserve and develop are in tune with nature, and thus  not  harmful  to  the health of living  beings. The crucial challenges faced by the Indian farming sector in particular and developing nations in general due to poor socioeconomic conditions, lack of technical knowledge, illiteracy, and awareness, small land holdings including modernization leading to barren land and calamities. These are ultimately leading the nation to rural poverty.  Farming equipment and infrastructure are scarce in the exteriors of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Because many of the farms are small, the farmers are unable to afford irrigation systems that would increase productivity. Most big farms are owned by the families which run and may or may not take advantage of economies of scale – the concept that the cost per each unit comes out to be as output quantities increase, because the ill presence problem off land in big farms which prevents the farming of land to increase the rate if productivity because the subject who cultivates the land is careless for its development or productivity.

certain solutions that can help the farmers:

They need to be educated about various facets of farming

Centres of excellence need to be set up to help them

Agricultural universities need to discover new science-based practices and technologies Insurance is needed

They need to be given better access to credit and at better terms and conditions

Landholdings should be consolidated

Organic manure should be used

Mechanization is needed

Markets should be regulated

Direct provision of capital to farmers by government

Encouraging integrated, contract, and cooperative farming

Developing water sheds

---

Featured Image Credit: thelogicalindian. com

 

 

Advertisement