Farming : source of subsistence for majority of farmers

Farming has lost its ability to be the source of subsistence for majority of farmers.

        The rise in farmer suicides has once again brought back the focus on agricultural distress in India. When farmers desire that their pedigree should take up any other vocation but not farming it is a clear indication of the sorry state of affairs in the sector. Farming has become synonymous with poverty and subsistence. Farming distress has been aggravated due to economic, ecological and global challenges. However, it is not too late to take remedial measures and rejuvenate the ailing sector.

        Indians have been cultivating since the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. Farming and agriculture has not only been a vocation but a tradition in India. Numerous seasonal festivals such as Pongal, Makar Sankranti, Lohri, etc are celebrated across India as a tribute to the bountiful harvest . However, in the past decade the agricultural sector has witnessed stagnation and a low growth rate of around 3%.

        When India attained independence, the agricultural sector contributed around 56% of total GDP. This contribution has steadily decreased and stood at around 15% by 2013. While this trend has been witnessed in the well-developed nations as well, what makes the Indian case worrying is the lack concomitant migration of labor away from the sector. Agriculture still employs around 50% of the labor market. The sector is also plagued with seasonal and disguised employment.

        Numerous causes such as lack of skill, unwillingness to migrate for better employment, absence of adequate secondary and tertiary industries have been blamed for the stagnation in agricultural labor. The government had launched Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to provide for 100 days of guaranteed employment as a poverty alleviation initiative. MGNREGA had twin goals. On one hand, it provided the people with wage employment to cope with distress. On the other hand, it aimed to tackle the factors that contributed to environmental factors that led to chronic poverty.                                                .

        Farming in India has become a high risk, low return occupation. The cost of inputs has been increasing constantly, while the returns on output have not seen a similar rise. Infrastructural bottlenecks along with lack of connectivity has caused scarcity and plenty to co-exist. Farmers have not been able to transform their bumper harvest into proportionate gains. The problem of excess supply has caused prices to fall and the absence of smooth connectivity and favorable policies has hindered them from finding profitable markets elsewhere.

        Agriculture was placed under the state list in the Indian constitution for effective localized policies. However, lack of capacity/willingness on the part of states has been a major hindrance in the sector. State action is imperative for impactful outcome in the sector. States have often indulged in short sighted behavior for short term political gains. They have raised artificial barriers and fragmented the Indian Agricultural Markets. The once hailed Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) have degraded into monopolistic cartels which eat away huge chunk of the farmers share.

        Green revolution, which enabled the boom in agricultural productivity, has accelerated ecological degradation. The increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides has decreased farm fertility necessitating more fertilizers and chemicals trapping the farmers in a vicious cycle. The government has provided farmers with Soil Health Cards which provide the nutritional status of the land and prescribe the amount and type of fertilizer to be used for a particular crop.

        The rise in extreme weather events caused by climate change has increased uncertainties for the farmers. There have been unseasonal rains and unexpected droughts. Increasing unpredictability has increased distress to farmers. The government has introduced Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana, a insurance scheme with a subsidized premium to shield the farmers from huge losses. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture has also been launched with special focus on dry land agriculture, increasing access to information and making effective use of technology.

        The high risk associated with farming has caused farmers to shy away from agriculture. It has added to distress migration towards urban India. The government has tried to induce predictability and guarantee a stable income from farming. Sustainable practices such as organic farming and crop rotation have been pushed in order to decrease dependency on fertilizers and make farming sustainable.

        Crop-livestock integration can help farmers to attain efficient farm management. Non-farm income avenues as well the economic advantages of animal rearing should be propagated for awareness. Integrated Water Management practices along with aquifers recharge by rainwater harvesting can help arrest the falling water tables and increasing salinity of the land.

    Apart from a few well off farmers with deep pockets to absorb extreme shocks the rest have been battered by the adversities. Farmers have been pushed into vicious debt because of consequent crop failures. Numerous demands for crop loan waivers have been witnessed in recent times. There is an urgent heed to bring back the lost greenery to farming sector. Climate- proofing of agriculture and adoption to innovate technological advancements such as Green house farming may be needed to cope up with future uncertainties. There needs to be a proactive and responsive holistic approach to usher in an evergreen revolution to increase productivity and profitability without ecological degradation. The government should eradicate the ills plaguing the sector and facilitate to transform farming into a low risk, high return vocation.