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agriculture

The rhetoric on international territories number of farm suicides is evidence to reason is that budgetary provision for
and global supremacy lose its meaning failure of economics in agriculture. The agriculture has come down signifi-
if there is internal unrest and food pro- increasing cost of farm inputs and stag- cantly. It’s only about 2 per cent. The an-
ducer of the country is losing right to nation in the commodity prices has cre- nual spending on irrigation is just 0.35
decent living. There is an urgent need ated a wide gap between cost and return per cent. So while communication was
to mobilise discussions on the plight of on agriculture and this issue really needs getting 13 per cent, agriculture, on which
farmers and put in accelerated efforts in an immediate attention. 68 per cent of the population is depend-
ameliorating the productivity, profitabil- The Economic Survey of 2017 (the ent, was getting only 2 per cent.”
ity and sustainability of small farmers latest available Economic Survey is of The Green Revolution resulted in self-
(marginal and small farmers constitute 2017 as there was no Economic Survey sufficiency in food and helped farmers
about 80 per cent of the total agricultural in 2018) confirms that farmers’ income reaping the gains because there was a
landholdings in India). At the same time, remained stagnant. Though hundreds collaboration of technology, input avail-
there are landless farmers and agricul- of farmers have committed suicides due ability and assured market at financially
tural labourers, who are terribly impov- to financial pressure, no official statistics rewarding price. In present situation, in
erished and completely unaware of their are available on farmers’ suicides dur- the contrary, the political parties have
entitlements. ing the last three years. While there is been more inclined towards freebees
The studies conducted by independ- so much of unrest among the farming in the form of debt waivers but are not
ent agencies contend that in the last five community and the issue of agricultural educating the farmers on how to make
years, more than four crore jobs have indebtedness and suicides of farmers has judicious use of technology and bank
been lost. The average agriculture growth credit. The low level of education among
has remained about 2.9 per cent dur- farmers is one of the reasons for falling
ing this period. Taking into perspective There is an urgent into debt trap. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal
the announcement made by Modi led Bima Yojna has also remained a lack-
NDA government regarding doubling of need to mobilise lustre affair as the benefit to the farmer
farmers income, the investigation at the talks and put in has been superseded by the corporate
ground level provides a dismal picture. greed of the private insurance play-
It was on 28 February 2016 that Nar- accelerated efforts ers. Lack of transparency and access to
endra Modi announced with a fanfare his in ameliorating insurance officials has drained the hard
government’s ambitious plan of doubling earned income of farmers in insurance
the farmers’ income in six years. History the productivity, premium with no aid in the wake of
testifies it that transfer of workforce from profitability and crop failure.
agriculture to other sectors of the econ- While no political party has touched
omy mainly manufacturing and indus- sustainability of this issue, the international forums have
try is a prerequisite for raising the level small farmers raised the alarm bells on climate change,
of income of farmers. This happened in global warming and its impact on Indi-
Europe and America when the indus- an agriculture. The Intergovernmental
trial revolution spurred the demand for been vehemently raised by the farmers’ Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has
labour due to expansion of factories. As outfits and non-governmental organi- warned that India is currently the fourth
a consequence, the surplus labour in sations, the effort on the part of gov- highest emitter of carbon dioxide in the
agriculture switched over to industry ernment to study the issue adopting a world and will be among the countries
and this further resulted in consolida- pertinent methodology is conspicuously affected worst by climate change. The
tion of small farms making agriculture a absent. agricultural incomes are predicted to be
profitable profession. The Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna 2019, immensely affected due to lower rain-
The effort on the part of policymak- rolled out in run-up-to the general fall and increasing temperatures, the
ers to create avenues for the surplus la- elections cannot solve the problems of coastal communities will in a peril from
bour in agriculture is has remained half- agriculture for agriculture has remained flooding and rising sea-level. Hence, a
hearted. Even the NSSO Survey recorded neglected in past so many years. An projected decline in crop output and
that 40 per cent of the farmers want to extract of an interview of Sharad nutritional value of food will result in
quit agriculture as they are under acute Pawar, the incumbent Union Minister for decay of population.
debt stress and farming is not remunera- Agriculture to India Today in June 2007, Such warnings have made no impact
tive. This has been widely debated and provides a testimony to the persistent on the political aspirants as their head-
there has been almost a consensus that neglect of agriculture by the successive long rush for power is the only motto in
small landholdings are unviable in mar- governments in India. The minister had the garb of service of nation.
ket driven economies, thus cannot sus- reportedly said, “Agriculture decelera-
tain a family of four or more. The rising tion had started in 1995-96. The main letters@tehelka.com

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