DIFFICULTIES OF A FARMER
ADIL RASHEED a famous urdu poet once said :
halāl rizq kā matlab kisān se pūchho
pasīna ban ke badan se lahū nikaltā hai
I think This sher of adil sahab sums up all life of a farmer. The difficultues he face during farming 🧺 . Whether it is cold 🥶 hot 🔥 or rain 🌧️ the farmers first priority is to take good care of his farms , crops. Not only adil sahab but many urdu shayar have written about the life of a farmer.Literature has had respectable space for social issues one of which concerns the case of Farmers. Poets in particular, have engaged with this in their own ways. In fact, Urdu poets have celebrated their worth and spoken against their exploitation. This selection brings a variety of perspectives on these issues.
so jaate haiñ fōtpath pe aḳhbār bichhā kar
mazdūr kabhī niiñd kī golī nahīñ khāte
ASHRAFUL HAQ MAJAJ once write a poem on farmers life.
mehnat se ye maanā chuur haiñ ham
ārām se kosoñ duur haiñ ham
par laḌne par majbūr haiñ ham
mazdūr haiñ ham mazdūr haiñ ham
go aafat o ġham ke maare haiñ
ham ḳhaak nahīñ haiñ taare haiñ
is jag ke rāj-dulāre haiñ
mazdūr haiñ ham mazdūr haiñ ham
banñe kī tamannā rakhte haiñ
miTne kā kaleja rakhte haiñ
sarkash haiñ sar ūñchā rakhte haiñ
mazdūr haiñ ham mazdūr haiñ ham
har chand ki haiñ adbār meñ ham
kahte haiñ khule bāzār meñ ham
haiñ sab se baḌe sansār meñ ham
mazdūr meñ ham mazdūr haiñ ham
jis samt baḌhā dete haiñ qadam
jhuk jaate haiñ shāhoñ ke parcham
sāvañt haiñ ham balvañt haiñ ham
mazdūr haiñ ham mazdūr haiñ ham
go jaan pe lākhoñ baar banī
kar guzre magar jo jī meñ Thanī
ham dil ke khare bātoñ ke dhanī
mazdūr haiñ ham mazdūr haiñ ham
ham kyā haiñ kabhī dikhlā deñge
ham nazm-e-kuhan ko Dhā deñge
ham arz-o-samā ko hilā deñge
mazdūr haiñ ham mazdūr haiñ ham
ham jism meñ tāqat rakhte haiñ
sīnoñ meñ harārat rakhte haiñ
ham azm-e-baġhāvat rakhte haiñ
mazdūr haiñ ham mazdūr haiñ
This poem expresses very unabridgely the difficulties of farmers working in his field.
There are many problems faced by our farmers. Some of them are
1 : Insufficient Water Supply. ...
2: Less Use of Modern Farming Equipment. ...
3: Over Dependence on Traditional Crops.
4 : Poor Storage Facilities. ...
5 : Transportation Problems. ...
6 : High Interest Rates. ...
7: Government Schemes are yet to reach Small Farmers.
Now we will discuss in details about them.
Even in 2021 the majority of Indian farmers use traditional tools for agriculture such as plough, sickle, etc. This leads to the wastage of energy and manpower and less yield per capita labour force. Only little use of the machine is seen in irrigation, harvesting
The seemingly abundance of net sown area of 141.2 million hectares and total cropped area of 189.7 million hectares (1999-2000) pales into insignificance when we see that it is divided into economically unviable small and scattered holdings.
The average size of holdings was 2.28 hectares in 1970-71 which was reduced to 1.82 hectares in 1980-81 and 1.50 hectares in 1995-96. The size of the holdings will further decrease with the infinite Sub-division of the land holdings.
2. Seeds:
Seed is a critical and basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of assured quality seed is as critical as the production of such seeds. Unfortunately, good quality seeds are out of reach of the majority of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers mainly because of exorbitant prices of better seeds.
3. Manures, Fertilizers and Biocides:
Indian soils have been used for growing crops over thousands of years without caring much for replenishing. This has led to depletion and exhaustion of soils resulting in their low productivity. The average yields of almost all the crops are among t e lowest in the world. This is a serious problem which can be solved by using more manures and fertilizers.
4. Irrigation:
Although India is the second largest irrigated country of the world after China, only one-third of the cropped area is under irrigation. Irrigation is the most important agricultural input in a tropical monsoon country like India where rainfall is uncertain, unreliable and erratic India cannot achieve sustained progress in agriculture unless and until more than half of the cropped area is brought under assured irrigation.
5. Lack of mechanisation:
In spite of the large scale mechanisation of agriculture in some parts of the country, most of the agricultural operations in larger parts are carried on by human hand using simple and conventional tools and implements like wooden plough, sickle, etc
6 : loss of agricultural land
The main problem facing the agriculture sector is the loss of agricultural land because as more land is lost, it will become more difficult to produce the amount of food required to feed the growing human population. When discussing the area of land, the term hectare is used, and this term is a unit of area that is equivalent to 10,000 square meters, or around 2.5 acres.
Lack of infrastructure in the agriculture sector
The major problem responsible for low agricultural productivity is that the soil is contaminated by the increasing level of river and canal pollution which is mainly caused by high industrial effluents and toxic metals day by day. Soil erosion which is one of the significant causes of land degradation is also taking place at a rapid pace by ravine and gully formation, waterlogging, and shifting cultivation. Inappropriate use of fertilizers and pesticides causes a lack of nutrients in the soil that are necessary for healthy agricultural productivity. India lacks a modernized infrastructure for promoting agriculture.
8 :. Duplicate seeds
The seed is a basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of assured quality seed is as critical as the production of seeds. Good quality seeds are out of reach of the majority of farmers, particularly small and marginal farmers mainly because of exorbitant prices of better seeds.
To solve this problem, the Government of India established the NSC (National Seeds Corporation) in 1963 and the SFCI (State Farmers Corporation of India) in 1969. Thirteen State Seed Corporations (SSCs) were established to augment the supply of improved seeds to the farmers. High Yielding Variety Programme (HYVP) was launched in 1966-67 as the main thrust plan to increase the production of food grains in the country.
The Indian seed industry had exhibited impressive growth in the past and is expected to give further potential for growth in agricultural production. The role of the seed industry is not only to produce an adequate quantity of quality seeds but also to achieve varietal diversity to suit different agro-climatic zones of the country.
Manures, fertilizers, and biocides
Indian soils have been used for growing crops over thousands of years without caring for replenishing. This has led to depletion and exhaustion of soils resulting in low productivity. The average yields of almost all the crops are among the lowest in the world. This is a serious problem that can be solved by using manures and fertilizers.
Manures and fertilizers play the main role with soils as good food with the body. Just as a well-nourished body is capable of doing any good job, a well-nourished soil is capable of giving good crop yields. It has been estimated that about 70 percent of plant growth in agricultural production can be attributed to increased fertilizer application. So, an increase in the consumption of fertilizers is a barometer of agricultural prosperity. The practical difficulties in providing sufficient manures and fertilizers in all parts of a country. And, cow dung provides the best manure to the soils.
But its use as such is limited because much of cow dung is mainly used as kitchen fuel in the shape of dung cakes. Reduction in the supply of firewood and increasing demand for fuel in the rural areas due to the increase in population has complicated the problem. Chemical fertilizers are costly and are beyond the reach of the poor farmers. Then, the fertilizer problem is, therefore, both acute and complex.
9 :. Irrigation problems
The irrigation-agriculture helped to enhance agricultural production and ensured more income to the Indian farmers. Compare to the pre-irrigation period a significant majority of the farmers’ income has increased but due to several hurdles, farmers are not able to get income that commensurates with expenditure.
The main issues and challenges in the irrigation sector in India are as follows;
Rainfall and Water availability has huge Regional Imbalance in India
Farmers suffer from Sub-optimal utilization of created facilities
India’s Irrigation Efficiency is very poor
We have a faulty Groundwater Policy
Competing demand for water is increasing rapidly
Overexploitation of surface water leading to some drainage problems
Water Resources Face challenges from Climate Change
Lack of mechanization
In case if you miss this: Organic Apple Farming, Cultivation Practices.
10 : lack of mechanization.
Lack of mechanization.
Mechanization is a crucial input for agricultural crop production and has been neglected in the context of developing countries. Increasing levels of agricultural mechanization do not necessarily mean big investments in tractors and other machinery. Farmers need to select the appropriate power source for any operation depending on the work to be done and on who is performing it. Women play an important role in farming based communities, and in some countries, up to 80 percent of the total farm labor comes from women. Then, this implies that power sources need to be adapted to such necessities from an ergonomic, social, cultural, and economic point of view.
Little or no use of machines is made in plowing, seed sowing, irrigating and pruning, weeding, harvesting, and transporting the crops. This is the case with small and marginal farmers. It results in huge wastage of human labor and low crop yields per capita labor force. There is an urgent need to mechanize the agricultural operations so that wastage of labor force is avoided and farming is made convenient.
Soil erosion
Soil erosion is a gradual procedure that occurs when the impact of water or wind detaches and removes soil particles, causing the soil to deteriorate. Soil deterioration and low water quality due to erosion and surface runoff have become problems worldwide.
Large tracts of fertile land suffer from erosion by wind and water. This area should be properly treated and restored to its original fertility.
Agricultural marketing
Agricultural marketing plays a main role not only in stimulating production and also consumption. Its dynamic functions are of main importance in promoting economic development. It has been described as an important multiplier of agricultural development.
Optimization of Resource use and Output Management
Increase in Farm Income
Widening of Markets
Growth of Agro-based Industries
Price Signals
Employment
Addition to National Income
Agricultural marketing is important in the creation of the various types of utility-like form utility, place utility, time utility, and possession utility.
Major problems of agricultural marketing
Too Many Intermediates
Defective Weights and Scales
Illiteracy and Lack of Unity among Farmers
Lack of Financial Resources
Lack of Organised Marketing System
Lack of Transport Facilities
Lack of Store Houses
Lack of Standardization
Lack of Awareness of the Market
Corrupt Policies of the ‘Mandis’
Distress Sale
Lack of Market Intelligence
Lack of Organization
Poor quality of product
The problem of Produce collection
Scarcity of capital
Agriculture is an important industry and like all other industries, it requires capital. The role of capital input is more and more important with the advancement of farm technology. Agricultural sector marketing continues to be in bad shape in rural India. In small villages, the farmers sell their produce to the moneylender from whom they usually borrow money.
Inadequate transport
One of the major handicaps with Indian agriculture is the lack of cheap and efficient means of transportation. Even at present, there are lakhs of villages which are not well connected with roads or with market centers.
Inadequate transport is one of the handicaps with post-harvest issues. The lack of a rural agriculture market and unorganized linking of villages leads to wastage of the produce. Proper management would benefit the farmers economically and feed the ones in need.
Illiteracy and lack of awareness about recent developments in the field of agriculture, and the poor socio-economic background of the farmers are some of the fundamental reasons for continuously decreasing agricultural productivity. Inadequate finance, untimely finance, and inconsistent policies of government have aggravated farmers’ problems severely
Now we will talk about the schemes government has taken and sould take to help farmers instead of these nonsense farm bills.
Government schemes::
The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and the Ministry of Agriculture have been renamed as the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare respectively. With a view to focus on the issues of farmers welfare, the DAC&FW has created a separate Division called 'Farmers Welfare' under the charge of a senior officer. The Government believes, that farmers' welfare will improve if there is increase in net income from the farms. With this end in view, the approach is to reduce cost of cultivation, enable higher yield per unit and realize remunerative prices. Some of the important new initiatives in this context are:
Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme by which the farmers can know the exact nutrient level available in their soils which will ensure judicious use of fertilizer application and save money. The balanced use of fertilizer will also enhance productivity and ensure higher returns to the farmers.
Similarly, Neem Coated Urea is being promoted to regulate use urea, enhance its availability to the crop and cut on cost. The entire quantity of domestically manufactured is now neem coated.
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is being implemented with a view to promoting organic farming in the country. This will improve soil health and organic matter content and increase net income of the farmer so as to realize premium prices.
The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) is another innovative scheme to expand cultivated area with assured irrigation, reduce wastage of water and improve water use efficiency.
In order to promote reforms of the agricultural marketing sector and to provide a common electronic platform deployable in selected regulated markets across the country, national scheme called 'National Agriculture Market' (NAM) has been introduced.
The proposed new National Crop Insurance Scheme will protect the interest of farmers with a broader coverage towards crop losses and other such natural calamities. This is an intervention to cover the risks involved in farming.
The State Governments are primarily responsible for development of the agriculture sector. However, the Government of India supplements the efforts of the States through appropriate policy measures and budgetary support. Various programmes/ schemes/missions for the development of agriculture sector are being implemented in a decentralized manner with flexibility to State Governments to formulate and implement appropriate projects to suit their specific requirements. Some of the important schemes/programmes implemented as Centrally Sponsored Schemes are National Food Security Mission (NFSM); Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH); National Mission on Oilseeds & Oil Palm (NMOOP); National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA); National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology ; Unified National Agriculture Markets; and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana .
Other measures taken for the benefit of the farmers include enhancement in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) to eliminate distress sale of agricultural produce by farmers, support to the farmers from time to time like debt waiver/relief, interest subvention on crop loans, revival package for strengthening Short Term Rural Cooperative Credit Structure, etc
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