Farmer is the most prestigious
person in any country. He cultivate more basic need of our life that is food,
without it no one live. Today in the cities or in the village or in any corner
of country we will get something to eat. We can eat meat mostly five to six
days but thereafter we must want food that is sum up of crops. That is
cultivated by farmer in his field. By this effort of agriculture, they provide
food to entire humanity by this they make our life satisfactory. Apart from
this the condition of our food provider is very worst. Nearly 80% of farmer in India
belongs to marginal (less than 1ha) or small farmer (1-2 ha) category. The
agriculture supports, 50% of employments of our country but contribute only 15%
to GDP. Everyday farmer suicide news come from different parts of country.
The policy makers sitting in air
conditioner room to alleviate the problems faced by farmers who work under
burning sun, rain and in cold. That is the reason, they will not understand the
problems of farmers. I have heard about the policies was made after
consultation of farmers but, I never seen or heard to any person came to
village to take view points of farmer.
The total geographical area of India
is 328.7 million hectares in which 140.3 million hectares is used for
agriculture purpose and 193.7 million hectares is gross cropped area according
to Annual Report 2009-10 Ministry of Agriculture.
In India agriculture is one of the
strongholds of economy and contributes about 17 -18% to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as per
the Economic survey 2017-18. This year growth is merely in range 2.1 to 2.3% in
agriculture sector alone and predicted by present government to double the
farming income by 2022, that must be able to grow at 12% per year in upcoming
four years.
India has around 1,129,866,154
people surprisingly nearly 3/4th of it engaged in feeding the
nation. Major agricultures are wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, jute, potatoes,
oilseed etc.
A SNAPSHOT OF INDIAN FARMER
The farmers of India are very
laborious person of the country. They are always busy in forming the crops by
working continuously day and night. They work under the sun light, rain and in
cold season. They don’t have the fear of any season but have fear of their
crops will grow good and fantastic.
The use to get up early in the
morning before the sun rise and many times they have to work late night. The
get best sleep because the work hard whole day. They use to plough the land and
in that they sows the seeds for growth of the crops. By their mind the good
crop is gold of them.
They grow the real gold that is
crops. They do watch on their crops same as the parents take care his child, in
day as well as night. They become the guardians of crops and cattle that
staying with them.
After sometimes crops grow and
convert into the plants and crops start coming out from the plant then again
the start the guard from the thieves those are come to harvest the crops. When
the crops get ready they reap the crops and collect it in their home. The
child/children and wife of former get help him in all activities which is
possible to them.
TYPICAL INDIAN FARMER
Around 75% of Indian population depend
on agriculture to earn their livelihood. The Indian farmer has no or we can say
very less work in about six months of the year. So it is imagine that poverty
is very much in Indian farmers.
A very huge population of India is
engage in agriculture thereafter they don’t have any active and huge union of
farmer that could leave impact on government about their condition. The main
reason behind it is that the population engage in this field is mostly
illiterate. They have not any knowledge what is the power of a union in
democracy. If they have a union then it is possible, their candidate will be in
parliament to represent him and their situation. They have lots of idle time
but they don’t understand these laws very clearly.
The slogan of our second prime
minister of India JAI JAWAN JAI KISAN
As it felt like die for formers with
the death of our 2nd prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri because
people have lots of time to discuss in many topics but they let that to speak
about farmer condition is bored topic. Our system is also very smart to collect
data of destroyed crops and its impact on country’s economy but failed to
realise their impact on farmer’s life. Thereafter our system starts to do fun
with farmer in the name of
Though the farmer works the hardest
he does not get what he gets out from the soil. The tools and implements he
employs are pre-historic in design. There is no scientific agriculture in
India. The moral of it is that he is poor and method suggested to better his
condition is more expensive.
The Indian farmer lives in a small
village where life proceed in very slow pace as compare to cities and towns.
There is hardly any medical aid available. The condition of school is not much
good and they have not good facilities as compare to cities. That’s make his
life so dull and slow.
Such then is the life of Indian
farmer. What the farmer wants above everything is enough food to feed himself
and his family. It is this simple, primary need of Indian farmer that is highly
patriotic government of India failed to satisfy during its regime. Under no
circumstances a person who feeds the whole nations, a farmer be allowed to
starve.
INDIAN FARMER: SOCIO-ECONOMIC
PROFILE
The typical farmer is poor. They are
unable to provide more than the basic needs for their families. The condition of
farmers in India has not changed much even after independence. They are still
dependent on rain water and politicians for fixing price of their crops.
The prices at which crops of farmer
is bought is very less as compare to the price at which they are sold.
Ex: During the potatoes season the
potatoes are bought at 5 to 7 rupees per kg and sold at 20 to 30 rupees per kg.
As per survey of CSDS –
36% of farmers live either in a hut
or kuchha house. 44% are live in mixed house. Only 18% have their own pakka
house.
28% farmers were found to be
illiterate, 14% passed class x and only 6% entered in college degree.
In past one year approximately one
in every ten farmers said that their family had to remain without food on few
occasions.
Most famers household (61%) have two
meals in a day. 2% have only a time meal in a day and 34% have more than two
times.
Only 10% farmers are member of any
organization.
ECONOMICAL STANDING
A typical farmer is poor, for him to
get his meal daily is very difficult task. His living condition is very sad, he
does not have money to aid in his forming. Sometime he does not have money to
sustain himself when there is no crop.
According to CSDS survey, in terms
of assets, seven out of ten farmers said that they have mobile phone and more
than one in two farmer households have a television.
Nearly three fourths of farmers
according to survey have their bank account or post office account.
According to NSSO 2014 report 40%
farmers get loan from moneylender at the rate of 24 to 50% interest. In India
every farmer has 47000 average loan.
FARMER CRISIS
One of the most common crisis faced
by farmer is lack of infrastructure and money. The method of farming is still
ancient which effect the production and yield of crops. In fact poverty,
ignorance and immobility to use modern form machinery and technics go hand in
hand with our farmers. Without the power of purchasing how can farmer get
modern machinery.
In March 2018 Indian farmers
protested in Mumbai thousands of them walked more than 100 miles to protest the
country’s agrarian crisis. In report of CSDS, found that majority of farmers in
country would refer to take up some other work instead of farming. Poor income,
bleak future and stress are some main reason of why they want to give up
farming. Around 80% respondent surveys said that, this why because of family
pressure that they are continuing with farming.
The CSDS report says that benefits
of government schemes and policies are being mostly given to big farmers having
land 10 acers (4.05 ha) and above. Only 10% of poor and small farmers having
land average of 1-4 acers (0.4-1.6 ha) have benefited from government schemes
and policies. The farmers blamed the central and state governments for their
present condition as 74% of those interviewed alleged they do not get any
farming related information from officials of agriculture department.
FARMER SUICIDE
Approximately 70% farmers said that
their crops have been destroyed in last three years. Main reasons of
destruction of crop are uncertain rainfall, drought and flood, destruction by
birds/animals and lack of irrigation.
NOTE: All composition in per cet.
Most of the farmers have burden of
loans from bank and money landers, which they are unable to return and hence,
have to take extreme step like suicide.
As per report of conducted by
Chennai based institute and leading English daily “THE HINDU” which state that
“2.5 lacks farmers across the India committed suicide due to agriculture
related problems in between years 1997 to 2009.
The number of farmers, who committed
suicide from 2001 to 2017 is 26,339 of them 12,805 killed themselves due to
unproductive land, indebtedness and unable to return loan ‘Revenue Minister
Chandrakant Patil told the legislative assembly.
In April 2007 an NGO named Green
Earth Development Consulting brought out a report after doing an audit of state
and central government relief package in Vidarbha. The conclusions were-
Farmers demands were not taken into
count while preparing the relief packages. Neither were civil society
organisations, local government bodies, panchayats etc consulted.
The relief packages were mostly
amalgamation of existing schemes. Apart from the farmers helpline and direct
financial assistance, there was scarcely any thing new offered. Adding extra
fund in existing schemes to showing that no new idea applied to make their
situation better than before.
The farmer helpline does not give
any sustainable help to farmer. The basis for selection of beneficiaries under
the present scheme was not well define. Also type of assistance to be given to
led the like a farmer needing as a farmer has no access to water source being
given pump etc.
When asked to people about the
reason behind suicide of farmers its came out that a large chunk of respondents
reports domestic problems 41%, fallowed by credit loan 35% and crop failure
14%.
Basic minimum requirements like
education, health and employment emerge as major responsibilities that worry
India farmer. 39% of respondents were not worried about the repayment of
money/loan. Housing and marriage in the household also seem to be a reason for
worry among Indian farmers.
CONCLUSION
India is known for agriculture even
though this sector is very underdeveloped. The farmer that feeds whole nation
is hungry himself.
