India experiences various seasons during a year which makes it favorable for conducting agriculture activities. Various revolutions, technological advancement, mechanization and credit facilities provided by the government further contributed to making India an agricultural nation.
It is not at all right to say that India is leveraging every scarce resource efficiently. Being a developing country, India's majority of the population reside in rural areas where agriculture is the only source of earning. And the living standard of farmers remains as it was ten years ago - this is because agriculture is not a profit-making activity in India anymore. Farm outputs are purchased by middlemen at low prices from farmers and sold in the market with massive commissions which leave farmers in loss eventually. Such exploitations are leaving farmers with no choice than altering their earning source. If this keeps on happening, the consequences will take a huge toll on India as farm outputs alone contribute to 17-18% of GDP. Challenges of farmers need immediate attention and efforts must be taken in the favor of feeders of the nation.
Today, let's bring five major ground-level problems faced by farmers into the spotlight:
1. Poor Irrigation Facility:
Good irrigation facility helps farmers to conduct agri-activities timely. Only one-third of the total land of India has proper irrigation facilities. One of the reasons for good irrigation facilities is the availability of water throughout the year from water reservoirs. Punjab has the highest irrigated land in India of about 98%, followed by Haryana.
The scenario is not the same in all over India, states that experience less rainfall have to depend on monsoon, which is uncertain, for agriculture operations. Proper irrigation facilities must be implemented to use water effectively without wasting it.
2. Dealing with middlemen and traders:
Farmers who are unaware of the market fluctuations and prices, sell their outputs to traders with negligible profit. Traders, who have good knowledge of the market, in-turn make handsome profits. It also happens that, after the conclusion of agricultural activity, no one is ready to purchase the farm outputs due to less demand for the produced crop. Moreover, farmers, who have the burden of repayment of loans, seek cash and thus sell crops at less or no profit at all. All such exploitations make farming a less demanding field for profit-making.
3. Scarcity of Credit/Capital:
Fertilizers, seeds, agri-tools, pesticides, etc. are the prime necessities for running agri-operations smoothly. Majority of the Indian farmers are poor and don't have enough capital to invest in agriculture. This further impedes the agricultural progress of the nation. Efforts only from the government's side are not enough for providing credit facility, active participation of start-ups and private institutions will make a difference and bring positive change in the lives of farmers.
4. Scattered or Small Holdings of Land:
Indian farmers are poor. They either own a small amount of land or have multiple scattered pieces of land. It becomes arduous for farmers to harvest in such scattered lands as it is time-consuming to shift resources from one place to another. According to a survey, the average size of holding of land is decreasing every year. The main reason for this is the inheritance law of India. If a man holding a land dies, his land will be distributed to his sons, but this does not guarantee the entailment of land. Hence, most of the farmers of India have scattered or less amount of land.
5. Less Infrastructure and Use of Technology:
Even when urban areas of India are touching the realms of progress, situations remain almost unchanged in rural India. Unavailability of electricity 24/7, no transportation facility, saturated development in one area, no sources of credit, ineffective irrigation plans, etc. obstructs the growth of agriculture to reach its potential.
Moreover, with farmers having little knowledge of technology, it becomes difficult to make them aware of various modern equipment's. This affects production negatively, and resources like manpower and time cannot be utilized effectively. Use of various modern inventions will not only make the operations less time-consuming but will also increase the production capacity.
Now that we have undergone the surface and unleashed the ground-level challenges which are making farmers irresponsible for conducting agri-activities, effective steps should be taken from the sides of both, government and private institutions, to make the lives of farmers better.
We at KhedutPay ensure that the needs of farmers are fulfilled hasslefree. We have created a technology-based e-commerce platform where farmers can reach and sell rural products to the masses. We also offer necessary supplies for farming to farmers at affordable prices. For more information, visit us at www.khedutpay.com or give a missed call at (+91)9081813881.
