Farmer’s Distress in India

Submitted bySujit Kumar 2013UCE1729Nitin Kumar 2013UCE1333

Submitted toDr. Preeti Bhatt Department of Humanities and Social Science

● Contributes 13.7% to GDP

● Provides food to 1.25 Billion people

● Sustains 60% of the population

● Produces 51 major Crops

- Rice, wheat, maize, etc

● Seventh Largest agricultural exporter worldwide

● Huge bio-diversity : 46,000 species of plants &

86,000 species of animals

Indian Agriculture- Some Facts

Huge Challenge AheadCurrently• 52% of our population is involved in Agriculture, yet it

contributes just 13.7% to India’s GDP.

By 2050• Global population will rise to 9 billion….out of which 1.7

billion will be in India alone.• Food grain production would need to increase by 5.5 MT

annually.• Total calorie requirement will go up from 2495 to 3000.• Demand for high-value food commodities will go up by

>100% due to migration of people into cities, increased wealth, shift towards diets rich in protein.

Status of The Indian Farmers

Contrasting Reality

Big farmers or landholders Top 15 % Land > 2 ha Modern machinery &

technology Rich & self-dependant

Small or poor farmers 85 % small landholders Land < 2 Ha Poor & dependant on external help High density regions - Kerala, West-Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh They cultivate 44% of the land and

contribute 50% to farm output.

● 12,360 suicides in 2014.

● Farmer suicides account for 11.2% of all suicides in India

Farmer’s Suicide

Immediate reasons of Farmer’s distress● Issues of weather and climate - erratic weather - rainfall does not happens at right time - difficult to obtain irrigation water● Decreasing size of landholding - Division of land - Less area less income - Mechanisation and automation becomes difficult - Rely on labour● Lack of farm labour - Construction and Industries - Urban migration - Interested in education

Immediate reasons of Farmer’s distress

● Unsatisfactory realisation of prices - inability of most farmers to sell their produce in regulated market - middle man enjoys profit - get less price

● Inadequate storage facilities - lack of cold storages - 30 to 40 % agriculture is damaged - Low price selling● Quality of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers - poor quality reduces fertility - high price of good quality seeds - use cow dung as fertilizer (ineffective) - inability to buy chemical fertilizers.● Absence of mechanisation

Factors Causing Agrarian Distress in Long-run

Consequences of Green Revolution

● Degradation of soil quality due to reckless chemical use

● Increased weeds & pests resistance● Water table decreased & quality deteriorated● Inter-Crop imbalances● Increase in inequality among farmers

Extreme politicization of Farmers

● Shrinking landholding size clearly indicates the need to bring farmers into services & manufacturing

● Huge voter bank (about 60 %)● Every political party sympathies with farmers ● Farmers are made sacred cow● Rural economic diversification hampered● Unproductive farmers don’t quit farming

Income Tax Exemption

● Farmers don’t maintain their accounts● Assessing credit potential is an onerous task for the

bank loan officers● So bank loan officers in India rely on informal networks

to get info about the borrowers● Thus big farmers get optimal credit & small landholders

approaches private moneylenders

Electricity bill subsidy for water pumps

● Practice leads to over-exploitation of groundwater.● Water table drops in the long run.● Causes excessive salination of soil.● Local ecosystem gets adversely affected.● Agricultural productivity decreases

Loan Waiver Trend

● Every election manifesto talks about loan waiver for farmers.

● Not a solution, but a remedy.● However, it leads a negative perception among

farmers.● Unproductive farmers remain adhered to the farming.● Studys shown that it has a negative impact in long run.

Fertilizer Subsidy Policy

● Fertilizer subsidy (40,000 crores) is the second-biggest subsidy after food subsidy

● Reckless black marketing increases prices at user level● Fertilizer use depends on soil type & require proper

knowledge● Illiterate farmers do more harm to their fields by using

available fertilizers

FDI in Retail sector

● Intense protest over FDI in retail sector until recently

● 60 years after independence wasted● Biggest loss was to the farming sector● Domestic food processing industry could not

develop● Foreign players will boost agricultural infrastructure

Conclusion

● We need to focus on both the visible & direct causes as well as the indirect one.

● Integrated policy for agriculture must be adopted.

Thank You