Essay on Farmers’s Stir: More than a loan waiver : Agriculture in India has been the biggest employer with about 50% of the population being directly or indirectly involved with it. Farmers form the backbone of Indian economy and their progress is considered vital in sustainable economic development of the country. The emotional bonding with the land, numerous activities and festivals associated with seasons are the permanent feature of Indian hinterland for centuries. But with the advent of globalization and Indian markets undergoing a massive change, these connections are slowly breaking down. With profiteering and market competitions becoming the norm of every sector, the agriculture sector which is mired with numerous uncertainties is bearing the brunt. This has caused numerous socio-economic problems in recent times and if not addressed has the potential to disrupt the lives of people in years to come.
Essay on Farmers’s Stir: More than a loan waiver
Agriculture
in India has been the biggest employer with about 50% of the population being
directly or indirectly involved with it. Farmers form the backbone of Indian
economy and their progress is considered vital in sustainable economic
development of the country.
The emotional bonding with the land, numerous
activities and festivals associated with seasons are the permanent feature of
Indian hinterland for centuries. But with the advent of globalization and
Indian markets undergoing a massive change, these connections are slowly
breaking down. With profiteering and market competitions becoming the norm of
every sector, the agriculture sector which is mired with numerous uncertainties
is bearing the brunt. This has caused numerous socio-economic problems in
recent times and if not addressed has the potential to disrupt the lives of
people in years to come.
Current
State of Farmers in India
Central
government and state governments have collectively taken several efforts to
improve the conditions of farmers. The highly subsidized rates of fertilizers,
more cultivable land under irrigation, a pan-India market like National
Agriculture Markets (NAM) to reduce the influence of middlemen and most
importantly securing basic minimum prices for the yields through Minimum
Support Prices (MSPs) are in place.
Despite
all these efforts, the farmers have not been able to come out of debt traps
which have led to their suicides becoming an epidemic in regions with water
shortage. The droughts for two years in succession along with limited farm
insurance penetration have created a situation where farmers have no one to
turn to in case of distress.
Changing
Dynamics of Villages
The
caste and sub-castes play a major role in functioning of villages in which
certain occupations are associated traditionally with certain castes. The
landowners who were at the top of echelon are now facing threatened with the
new power dynamics in villages. This is evident in the rise of caste related
unrests like of Jats, Patels and Marathas. The demand for reservations stems
out of many factors but agriculture becoming a non-viable option due to increasing
uncertainties is one of the major factors.
Reasons
for Farmers' Distress
The
changing consumer behavior and rising living standards have made the life of
farmers a tough one. Even the farmers prefer their children to migrate to
cities in search of better opportunities in the fields of education and
employment. The farming patterns before the British arrived was subsistence
type of agriculture but they focused on plantation crops which fetched good
value for money but did not address day the food security. This resulted in
widespread famines starving millions to death.
After
independence, steps were taken to increase the yield and riding on the
irrigation facilities in Punjab and Haryana along with intervention of chemical
fertilizers and high yielding variety seeds, Green Revolution was ushered in.
But overexploitation of these farming lands over the years has reduced its
output creating insecurity among farmers of these regions.
With
cultivation of rice and wheat not giving great returns, the farmers have turned
to horticulture for earning profits. But cold storage infrastructure along with
processing industries are too sparse which add the burden of cost of production
on the farmers and when the crops fail or they fail to get proper value for
their produce, it becomes difficult for them to sustain the next cycle.
The
problems of erratic environment conditions due to global warming have changed
the rain patterns and season patterns. This has become a cause of concern for
the farmers and policymakers alike. Wastage of crops due to untimely rain and
hail has become a common feature and pest attacks have repeatedly destroyed the
crops before ripening.
The
problems for farmers have compounded due to depleting water table levels,
fragmented land holding, deteriorating soil quality and lack of literacy among
majority of farmers to make use of scientific technology. With these multiple
problems posing huge hurdle in agriculture, farm loans have become a potent
tool to avoid explosive situations
Loan
Waivers: Not a long term solution
Farmer
distress has been made an economic issue where there is a belief that a bumper
crop can set the things right for farmers. Elections are fought on waiving
these debts of farmers in agricultural sector. The subsidies on fertilizers,
electricity, seeds have become a huge burden on public exchequer and can
rightly be described as economists' nightmare.
More
spending on agriculture means less spending on social sectors; more government
borrowings crowd out the private borrowings and disrupt the flow of credit and
investment in the economy. These measures can ensure short term peace but as
the recent agitations show they cannot be a solution for the problems ailing
agricultural sector. After waiving loans of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, there
has been similar demand from other states, which if fulfilled will derail the
economy and create economic crisis.
More
than a Loan Waiver
The
farmers repeated agitations in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh on account of
crop failures is seen as cry of help to waive loans from the banks. But it is
more than what meets the eye. It is a struggle to stay relevant in the age
where the markets are flooded with goods from bigger organizations which have
reduced the production costs. With WTO pushing India to make amendments to its
existing farming structure of procurement of grains, in a highly globalized
world the farmers in India are becoming more insecure by the day. They want the
social security along with certain standard of life which sustains their
aspirations. But the growing disparities in income have made it difficult to
become a farmer in the country with their dignity and self-respect intact where
debts have sucked the life out of them. These agitations want to create a sense
of urgency among various stakeholders of society to come together and address
the problem and strike at its roots rather than taking cosmetic measures.
Steps
towards long term goals
Sustainable
agriculture is the long term goal for farmers to produce crops without putting
lot of stress on resources like water and soil. Scientific research in
minimizing water wastage - Israeli technique of drip irrigation, using of bio
pesticides and fertilizers to prevent soil degradation, giving more protection
to farmers by covering wide range of ways which can destroy crops along with
increasing private investment in farming can help reduce the farmer suicides
and their agitations to be heard.
Therefore,
being mindful of the fact that as our population grows, so does the need to
feed them and farmers with their knowledge and skill need to be in best of
spirits so that we harvest not only a bumper harvest but also a good life.
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