The cost of living is rising, and everything’s becoming expensive. Still, one can meet all their needs and even manage to squeeze out some savings, thanks to the parallel rising incomes. That, however, does not hold true for the farmers who fill our plates. What do they get to save by the end of the month? Saving, in fact, becomes figurative ‘cake’ when the basic question of keeping bread on the table goes unanswered.
Governments have worked on the issue, but so half-heartedly that there is always room for one more farmer welfare scheme to pop every up now and then. With the backlog of schemes rising, hopes from new-comer schemes tend to fall. On top of it, often, when there is some implementation, one finds the proposals themselves were flawed, like in the case of raising MSPs by an unrealistic proportion.
Considering the seething farmers’ issue, earlier this year the present Maharashtra government set a target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022. Doubling it means they would have as much more money in hand as they spend today to eke out a living. It could be saved or invested. Cake. Critics state that the promise of doubling incomes would require more time to be fulfilled and significantly higher annual growth. Yet there are windows of income growth in substantive terms which are in and outside agriculture.
Major Sources Of Growth In The Agricultural Sector:
- Improvement in productivity by use of organic farming techniques
- Resource use efficiency or saving in cost of production by utilising field waste for animals and animal waste for the fields
- Increase in cropping intensity through crop rotation and encouraging community farms
- Diversification towards higher value crops
Sources Outside Agriculture:
- Shifting cultivators from farm to non-farm occupations by creating industrial units and alternatives like apiculture, pisciculture, and more.
- Improvement in terms of trade for farmers or real prices received by farmers by setting up fairs, and providing transport at low rates
It would work out well, if the government actually does what it had aimed for in the schemes announced earlier. Achieving the goals of older schemes would complete over half the work of the present schemes. If only sincere will will allow solutions.
Reduction in cost of cultivation can be addressed by “More crop per drop”, Soil Health Card scheme, and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
Improvement in marketing efficiency of farmers through the National Agricultural Markets and e-platforms (e-NAM).
Management of risks in agriculture and sustainability can be ensured by the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for crop insurance and the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
To shift cultivators to non-farm occupations, there must be a promotion of allied activities like dairy animal husbandry, “Har Medh Par Pedh“, and Fisheries.
All the schemes have a direction towards sustainable growth, unlike the proposals of increasing MSPs indefinitely or waiving loans. Proposing to increase the MSPs is one thing, but doing so without calculating equals erasing whatever little reforms have been done in the sector. The heavier the MSPs are the greater is the probability of them breaking under their own weight. No trader in their right mind would buy produce at MSP rates (which are higher), when produce is available at much lower rates. Thus most of the produce will either go unsold or rot and farmers will protest on the streets, again, demanding loan waivers, giving into which won’t do good either. Taking decisions unilaterally, without considering the cold reality of the market, won’t lessen the magnitude of the approaching disaster, let alone save it.
The target deadline 2022 may as well be the end of the world so that we don’t live to see what remains of the farmer at the month. Will farmers’ incomes really double? If not, no problem. We can conveniently forget about it till the next election.