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The famished farmer

Nisha Jose

Information Technology (IT) has had an impact on most of the major sectors but the Agricultural Sector is not an obvious beneficiary in this list. However, this sector must be nourished while exploiting the potential of the techno-cyber field. Reforms in this sector will benefit the large population of farmers in India. They will be rewarded with not just self-sufficiency but will also make India a surplus food producer. Better farming methods and techniques will make Indian produce competitive in foreign markets. Such a boost will trigger more positive changes in our economy.

When a Member of Parliament drives to office on a tractor, she attracts a lot of attention. However the truth is that there are scores of Indian farmers who cannot even own a tractor. The Indian farmer's plight is sometimes worse than the beggar's on the streets is. With the poor quality of Indian produce, they are unable to find a market for food that is in turn supposed to fetch them food. They are starving of support in the form of policies aimed at alleviating their plight. Reforms in terms of technology being applied will breathe new life into them.

Liberalisation has also tormented the farmer. With the restriction on agricultural imports lifted, agriculture will no longer enjoy the priority it needs. Even IT prosperous states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have ignored the woes of their farmers with their distress actions making headlines in the newspapers. When India imports edible oil, rubber, milk powder etc. the Indian farmer will get further entrenched in his misery for want of adequate policies and technology.

India cannot afford to ignore her food bowl by ignoring her farmers. With more than a billion mouths to feed, India should not be wasting more fruits and vegetables than the United Kingdom eats in a year. While the urbanite frequents fast food joints set up by MNCs, there are scores of people starving on the streets. Why is it that an economy that could thrive on agriculture have so many unfed people? More attention, both at the political and administrative level, should be directed to this issue that needs nourishment.

Improving and increasing agricultural produce will reduce the cost of food, thereby, raising the standard of living. This can be carried out through better water management by evolving a national water network, usage of alternate water like underground water, addition of new storage systems to increase water supply and avoid flooding, and the usage of sprinkle and drip irrigation. With a thrust on the agricultural sector and its allied industries, employment opportunities will also multiply. When there are employment opportunities in rural areas, migration to cities will reduce and so will its attendant maladies like unhygienic living conditions, poverty, unemployment, crime etc.

Agriculture is a relatively 'green' industry if exploited in a sane manner. Unfortunately the advantages of supporting this industry with adequate policies and technology has not received due regard. The Indian farmer is emaciated by the callous attitude of the government. The little that he produces becomes food for rats and pests, or gets rotten in the neglected warehouses of the government. While there is much rhetoric on the subsidies granted to this sector, the true picture is very different. There is hardly any rural area in India that has the required supplies of electricity or water for irrigation.

Agricultural research based on identified agro-climatic zones and co-operative enterprises would yield more returns. Since women play a significant role in agriculture, their contribution cannot be marginalised or exploited. To this end, the policy dwells on recognition of women's rights. Minimum support prices and market intervention will help to ensure remunerative prices for agricultural produce. More emphasis must be given to the development of marketing infrastructure and techniques of preservation so that the farmer can be assured of better returns.

With countries like Brazil, that have been a significant contributor to the global trade of fruits and agro-products, diverting more attention to 'industrial' trade, there is an opportunity waiting to be tapped. But with the unavailability of proper storage facilities and poor logistics, this opportunity would be nipped in the bud itself.

Listen to the farmer to find out what he needs. His farms require adequate and not necessarily the latest technology. This would include better seeds, better pesticides and better farming methods. The Indian agricultural produce can compete with the foreign products flooding the market only if the farmers are provided the necessary infrastructure: roads, modern means of transportation and better means of storage.