IT'S BEEN 74 YEARS SINCE INDIA GAINED INDEPENDENCE. EVEN TODAY, THE GIST OF THE INDIAN ECONOMY LIES IN ITS FARMLANDS. HERE'S HOW.
Decades have now passed since Nehru emphatically announced India's tryst with destiny. The world since has witnessed the rise of a divergent, vibrant, modern & often divisive nation. In all this chaos & humdrum, the farmers of the nation have silently toiled towards food security & productivity securing food for millions on the way.
Agriculture is still the largest employer in the nation. All the industrialisation, modernisation & digitalisation could not change that. After all, the majority of modern India is still in reality rural. It seems to me as if the rural folks of this vibrant nation are oblivious to all events of various magnitude in the more developed part of the country. The people here live a starkly different life full of obscurity, festivity, societal norms and most importantly peace. Serene peace.
So what can the Indian government do for the farmers of the nation?
My suggestions:
1.Improve Irrigation
In a peninsular country like India, an efficient & accessible irrigation system is a must to enhance land productivity. Climate change has made the monsoon uncertain all around the globe with India being no exception. In a country were water scarcity is a real issue for farmers, the importance of irrigation is paramount. The two maps below show how regions having good irrigation system have higher yield of rice (which requires large quantities of water). On my analysis some other crops requiring more water like sugarcane, wheat & maize have shown similar pattern of harvest across the country.
In my opinion, by improving irrigation in certain areas like Punjab the per hectare yield can improve dramatically. Also with the added security of water supply, farmers can practice multi-cropping & i
improve their economic condition.
2. Reduce intermediaries
Due to poor infrastructure (lack of all concrete roads) in rural areas, the farmers cannot sell their produce directly to the consumers. Hence they have to give away a part of their earnings to middlemen who transport the harvest & sell it on to vendors or wholesellers.
Thus a large part of the farmers' profit is carved out by these middlemen. A remedy would be to encourage formation of co-operatives to sell harvest in bulk & have bargaining power. The government should also regulate MSP more strictly to ensure a fair share of farmers.
3. Lack of Infrastructure
I touched upon the lack of proper roads in the previous paragraph. Indian agriculture also suffers from limited warehousing, cold storage (which inhibits the ability of farmers to affect demand-supply market forces to their advantage), electricity supply, modern equipments (due to economic condition of farmers) & irrigation as stated before. The government should form a separate Ministry of Agriculture to focus on these issues.
CONCLUSION
Agriculture is still the backbone of Indian economy. The government should do more than just giving subsidies & loans.
The Green Revolution worked wonders for the Indian economy. However, India is in a dire need of a more modern infrastructure oriented agricultural reform.
Improving Indian agriculture will subsequently enhance the industrial sector of the economy as well as demand for modern resources like tractors, cold storage, solar panels & modern water sprinklers will be generated with rise in aggregate income of farmers.
AN ODE TO INDIAN FARMERS
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