Crisis in Agriculture

[dahiyars]

India is experiencing an unprecedented agrarian crisis. All sections and spheres are affected by the crisis. Peasant suicides are increasing. Starvation deaths are taking place in different parts of the country. Unemployment is growing. Poverty is spreading to newer sections and newer areas. Migration of agricultural workers and peasants is taking place causing serious economic and social problems. The rate of growth of agricultural production and particularly foodgrain production is declining, India is fast moving towards food shortage and famine and again India has to depend on import of wheat from foreign countries, the prices of agricultural commodities are falling and fluctuating. There is severe shrinkage of institutional credit facilities and peasants have to depend on moneylenders who charge exorbitant rates of interest. The insurance schemes are inadequate and fail to give any protection. Serious ecological changes are happening. The impact of the natural calamities are increasing year by year.

The crisis is the result of the wrong policies of the government. The government has reduced investments in agriculture, dismantled the procurement system, opened up Indian agriculture to the exploitation of the world market forces, reversing land reform measures, privatising the resources such as electricity and water, giving up priority for foodgrains production – all contributed to the emergence of the present situation.

The recommendations of Dr M S Swaminathan Commission have not been implemented by the UPA government. We should debate for

1.More public investments for increasing productivity and production

2.Ensuring remunerative price for agricultural commodities

3.Instituting a price stabilisation fund in order to ensure remunerative price for agricultural commodities.

4.Expansion of credit facilities

5.Reintroduction of quantitative restrictions on imports

6.Expansion of crop insurance

7.Scrapping of Knowledge Initiative Agreement with America

8.A comprehensive protective legislation for agricultural workers

9.Passing of the Scheduled Tribe (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill with amendments

10.Census of suicides and All India Debt Survey

11.Forming national and state level Farmers’ Commissions

R.S.Dahiya

[scsheorayan]

Dear Ranbir,
You are absolutely right about the problem but do not start digging a well after the house catches fire. By then it is too late. Change Government or policies if you can, which may or may not happen and take decades. However there is another angle of looking at this problem. Back to basics, India is industrialising and it offers tremendous opportunities for skilled category and infrastructure development. Jats can not rely on agricultural income alone. Educate, diversify and prosper or wait for some one to help you survive. The choice is clear and those who are smart enough to see the reality are acting on it. Time is to see new dawn rather than trying to move back the clock which may not happen. Any practical ideas which can help in resource optimisation and capability enhancement will go some way in addressing this immediate problem. Take stock of what we have and how best can we use it that may be a good start at micro level. Policies and planning is fine but experience has shown that politicians outsmart public including jats. If we still believe that politicians will solve rural problem it is nothing more than day dreaming at best and fatalistic at worse.

[narenderkharb]

Subash ji and Ranbir ji

How can we influence and ensure that a remunarative MSP price is paid to farmers.

While we have to look for new avenues but we can't ignore the main source of income for rural population.

[scsheorayan]

Dear Narender,
It is not easy in current WTO environment when farm subsidies in developed countries and international oil prices are beyond our control. Farmers are not even able to achieve farmer friendly policies in Jat dominated state. What are the chances of achieving at national level.It should not discourage those who know how it can be achieved. What I believe, jats could achieve is diversify in industrial sector and develop crops which do not rely on MSP. We need to appreciate that Global village is a reality and we can not ignore Global trading patterns and keep growing crops which can not sustain us. In open market every product has a life cycle and life cycle for wheat growing in North India may have peaked. Intelligent decision would be to develop other products and services which could supplement the income. Our fore fathers did it by joining armed forces or finding some other occupations. It worked then and it will work again if we are sincere about it. Obvious solution would be to think of alternatives while struggling to get fair MSP. Another aspect of farmer's plight which is easier to control is, unnecessary expenses. Within last few decades the focus has shifted from "simple living, high thinking " to "show off and petty thinking". If the supply is affected demands can not be met unless they are controlled. It is not easy, but worth considering for long term solutions, as alternative is not pretty. Part of the problem is the mentality shift from long term to short term objectives. People have been sacrificing long term objectives in favour of short term gains, for example excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides without crop rotation with resultant drop in soil quality and even greater use of fertiliser to make up for loss of soil potency. It is a vicious circle and population explosion does not help either. There are no easy solutions and an attempt to gain higher MSP is an over simplification. We have to consider the bigger picture at National and International levels and consider our options carefully. If we do not move with time and learn from rest of the world, we only have ourselves to blame for fast deteriorating situation.

[narenderkharb]

Thanks Sheorayan Saheb for your valuable inputs.

Certainly we have to see for greener pastures and bring a qualitative change in our traditional thinking.

Agriculture is a not a remunarative option in India that makes me wonder how it is so in foreign countries where man power is very costly.

Can you explain this taking example of Australia.

[scsheorayan]

Dear Narender,
My experience with Australian farming is limited to what we watch on TV or read in the press. Basic difference in Australian farming is level of mechanisation and size of land holdings. Inspite of both these factors in favour of Australian farmers, they are not immune to draught and crop failure. Some existing farmers find it hard to get their children to stay on the farm and take over from elderly parents. Youngsters prefer to live in cities which would indicate that life on the farm is not as cosy. Farmers in India also face similar problems when children move to cities, but still have cheap labour available for farm work. With increased industrialisation it is a matter of time before farm labours become scarce. This gap could hopefully be filled by mechanisation. Bottom line is that in current environment working hard alone does not guarantee a decent life style to Indian farmer, he has to work smarter as well as harder than ever before.

[dndeswal]

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To some extent, our peasantry is also responsible for some of these problems. Most of our farmers are illiterate and hence, their speed of learning the modern techniques is slow. Moreover, even after adoption of some modern techniques (such as in Punjab), situation has become more acute, despite achievement of higher yield per acre. Our kisans are not aware of adverse effects of pesticides and excessive use of fertilizers. While a 50-KG bag of urea should be sufficient for one acre of wheat crop, instances have come to notice when illiterate farmers have been noticed using 3-4 bags just to capture more yield. Thus, the fertilie land is becoming barren, apart from environment hazards and quality of produce (wheat etc.) going down and harzardous to human health. The crop-friendly insects and worms in the soil are vanishing due to these chemical fertilizers, so also the birds which eat-up the dead insects in a farm where pesticides have just been used.

Excessive use of fertilizers means more water to be used for irrigation. The ground-water level in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi has gone down to a dangerously low level. Crop yield has reached a saturation point. Ironically, India is importing pulses from Australia and other places. Crops like chana and bajra have almost vanished and the poorman's diet (pulses) has become a scarce commodity for the poor man, thus affecting the health of common citizens. Even edible oil is being imported, a commodity in which we were self-sufficient.

The wrong policies adopted in the past are showing their results now - only wheat, rice and sugargane production has risen due to green revolution. Dozens of important crops (varieties of pulses, oilseed crops etc.) have shrunk to a small area (arid zones).

Farmers are also over-spending in agricultural equipment and cattle-breeding. By cooperative farming, 3-4 farmers owning small holdings can own a common tractor and a common tubewell and the agricultural yield from their fields can be distributed proportionately. Similarly, 3-4 families can keep a few buffalos or cows, making common investment and distributing the milk equally among the families. But today, even those who have 1-2 acres of land, possess a tractor after obtaining bank-loans. Social evils like overspending in marriages, alcoloholism etc. are also rampant among the farming community.

Who will educate our poor illiterate farmers? The literate ones are leaving the villages and shifting to towns and cities. Government alone cannot do all this.
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