Wanted, Nano-like solutions for Indian farming!
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It is election time once again and various political parties are doing their calculations on how the biggest group of voters — those engaged in agriculture in some form or the other — will vote. The UPA government did its bit for the farmer though the mega loan waiver in the last Budget. But despite schemes and sops, at any period of time, those engaged in farming in India are an unhappy lot. A chat with a few people involved in agricultural activity in and aro und Coimbatore drove home, once again, that the biggest problem plaguing agriculture is the shortage of labour.
A few weeks ago, when visiting the textile towns of Tirupur and Karur in this textile belt, one had recorded the huge loss of jobs in this sector as exporters of knitwear and home-mades were getting few or no orders from buyers in the US and Europe. To the obvious question where those who had lost their jobs gone, the standard reply was: “Back to their villages and to agriculture.”
But guess what? Agricultural activity, particularly working on the farms, continues to be shunned by most young people, even during these recessionary times.
Labour shortage
Senthilkumar, who owns 40 acres of land about 40 km from Coimbatore city, says the biggest problem he faces as a farmer in Tamil Nadu today is shortage of labour. “All we are able to get are women above the age of 40-45 years, and they are not able to put in the required physical work. Because of labour shortage I am forced to go in for short-term crops such as onions, chillies, brinjal, etc.”
He says farmers like him face a perennial shortage of labour as aspirations among youngsters have gone up. “One aspect is that agricultural workers cannot wear pants; and the other thing is that young men today are no longer prepared to work for long hours in the sun.” Ideally they want to work in an office or “some kind of factory/mill. They even prefer to work as coolies in urban areas where a job may open up in some factory or mill”.
Mr B. Rajasekar, Proprietor of Sri Uzhavan Agro Marketing, owns about 40 acres of land in Sancharimalai, about 40 km from Coimbatore, where he grows coconut, maize, beetroot and onions. He says there is little charm left in agriculture today, even for landowners, leave alone farm labourers.
“Let’s face it, agriculture as a profession lost its charm several years ago; for the workers there is no job guarantee round the year. You mentioned loss of thousand of jobs in Tirupur but do you know that many of them will simply roam around in search of another job in a city, rather than return to their villages to undertake harsh labour on the fields?”
He adds that the rural employment guarantee scheme offers a daily wage of Rs 80, and they get that amount after “working for only a few hours, so why should they come and work in agriculture?”
Adds Mr Senthilkumar: “To add to our problems our politicians have started giving them 20-25 kg of rice every month at Rs 1or 2, not to mention free colour TV and gas connections, so why should people feel the need to work on farms?”
So how do farmers like him manage?
“Right now, I get workers from remote villages, build huts for them on my land and manage my farming activities. I pay them a daily wage Rs 70, but how long these people will stay I don’t know,” he says.
He adds that despite recession, many textile units in Tamil Nadu continued to provide transport to workers from nearby villages: “They are picked up in air-conditioned video coaches. I’m told that they are paid only around Rs 60 a day but they have the pride of travelling in a comfortable coach, and are happy to do that work.”
He concedes that the government has come out with many welfare schemes for the farm sector “but the problem is in delivery and the corruption involved at various stages.”
Profitability issues
Mr Rajasekar explains that this belt in Tamil Nadu is known for coconut cultivation, but it is not profitable for the farmers to sell coconuts. But if they could contract their trees for toddy tapping, which is not allowed in Tamil Nadu, their income would go up several-fold. He says traditionally a coconut farmer in Tamil Nadu gets between Rs 250-500 annually for every coconut tree, depending on the yield. But in Kerala, where toddy-making is legal, a coconut farmer can earn up to Rs 210 per tree every month.
The result, he adds, is that toddy-making is going on, though illegally, which cuts their income. One of the demands of the farmers from the State government is to legalise toddy-tapping, and this is bound to become an election issue this time.
Another issue before farmers, points out Mr B. Manigandan, Director, Victus Laboratories India, which produces nutrients and other products for the agri sector, is the age-old problem of not upgrading to better paying crops, such as fruits which could bring gains from the the export market. Giving the example of Western Maharashtra, where such districts as Sholapur and Nashik had gone in for profitable fruit farming, he said an organised attempt was needed to educate farmers and help upgrade the value of their produce.
Adds Mr Rajasekar: “For the last 15 years the market price of copra has remained between Rs 30 and 35. But the price of fruits has gone up steeply. Small wonder that none of our children want to go into agriculture.”
Give us a Nano-like solution
Mr Manigandan puts his finger right on the problem when he says that unfortunately agricultural research has not travelled from the research labs to the farms.
“There is absolutely no connect between research and the field; if at all there is some connect, it might be for the huge farms.”
What is sorely required is research that can be applied to small and medium farms as their owners cannot invest in technology. “For instance, we need innovations and equipment that would suit 5-10 acre farms. Actually, we need a Nano-like solution in agriculture.”
Well, till a Ratan Tata-like figure steps into agriculture, this might remain wishful thinking. Meanwhile, Mr Manigandan relates the story of a family friend who can’t get a bride “because he is in agriculture. He is a graduate and very good at using technology in farming and hence gets excellent yields. And yet he can’t get a girl; obviously, people think that farming is a gamble.”
Sighs Rajasekar: “The balance-sheet is not balanced in agriculture.” Agreeing with him is Dr M. R. Sivasami, a medical doctor and President of the Tamizhaga Agricultural Association, which has a membership of 10,000 farmers. He has 10 acres of land, has been a farmer for a few decades and has come to the conclusion that “a farmer always takes a huge risk. Now, things have come to such a head, that if you go in for a crop, you are sure to lose. But if you keep your land fallow, you can escape the loss.”
Term this hyperbole or not, more and more farmers are feeling let down, not only by the government but by their consumers too.
“Food prices are going up, but farmers are not benefiting. Our input costs have gone up, schemes meant to benefit us don’t really help; if anybody in India has a choice, he certainly won’t choose agriculture,” he adds.
(Response may be sent to
rasheeda@thehindu.co.in)
. Despite the economic slowdown, sales of fast-moving consumer goods have been rising briskly, especially in small towns and rural areas. This is hard evidence of rural prosperity.
to subsidise companies! If this amount was used to improve agriculture irrigation and promotion of organic seeds, fertilisers and neem oil , the sector can be turned in less than a Lok sabha five years.
and eventually India will be made into a Banana Republic ala Costa Rica. 