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Farmers situation in our country


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Guys,

 

What do you think will be the solution for labor scarcity in our country?

 

Keep in mind small scale farmers while proposing/giving any ideas because they will not be able to afford Machinery etc..

 

Many people are still farming because they don't know doing/have other jobs or they still love it.

 

A small scale farmer after striving hard for one yr is not getting much income in fact at the end they are praying god for a no-profit/loss yr so pity.

 

I asked a guy who is member Vyavasaya Adhyayana Committee of TDP about the stand of TDP in Minimal Price Amount for crops & how TDP will handle subsidies/natural disasters.

 

He said that he personally talked/shared his views with CBN and they are still in process of finding a solution and asked me to suggest any ideas if I have any.

 

So,if you guys have any better idea pls share.

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Most industrialized nations, have been in this situation before. So how did it turn out?

 

Simple, people left agriculture in droves. Only a few remained, but mechanization resolved most of the issues that the farmers faced.

 

Whether we like it or not, this will happen here too? People have to move on.

 

In a democracy, it is next to impossible, for a farmer to fix his own price. Even die hard capitalists will object to the market deciding the prices of "essential" food items. All you IT professionals will be up in arms if you have to buy a bag of rice for 2000 rupees with 10% appreciation every year.

 

Farmers have to wrap their heads around this, and move on. No politician will dare to speak this truth, if he does he will be out of power.

 

The solution is heavily mechanized agriculture on a large scale. It's been reasonably successful in developed nations.

Or

Go back to living off the land while giving up all material comforts. We've done this before.

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agreed but it may take some time for us to reach there

heavily mechanized agriculture on a large scale
..till that time there should be some solution for suffering

 

 

 

PS: Cannot post more..so couldn't comment further in this thread.But plz share ur ideas

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How is TDP going to handle subsidies / natural disasters

 

Crop Insurance against natural disasters, which started out as a life saving scheme for small/medium farmers has become corrupted to the core.

 

I personally know of the corruption in this system. You think farmers are not corrupt, think again.

 

So TDP has to tread very very carefully here. Any hasty statements here, we will be toast again. Just advise them not to touch on it.

 

But if some punk decides to touch upon it, it should be highly constructive. One misstep and you wont be taking it back.

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agreed but it may take some time for us to reach there ..till that time there should be some solution for suffering

 

Unfortunate as it may be, but the suffering is a pre-requisite for people to leave this field.

 

Now, dont write me off as a pessimist, but there is no solution anywhere in capitalisms history. We will be the first to provide one, if we do find one.

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One of the issues is export ban of farming products. In order to keep prices low in India, farmers are not allowed to export produce. This is morally wrong because only farmer is facing the burden of food security. Software Engineer or shop owner is not bearing that burden. So remove the export ban.

 

But that in itself will probably not solve the problem completely either. And any intervention by the government will only prolong the problem. Only solution is for people to move out of farming to industries where there is demand for labour. Just because nobody is hiring typists does not mean we should provide subsidies to typists. Typists have to learn a new skill which has demand and move on. So is the case with farming.

 

Since political parties cannot seem to be doing nothing, govt. should probably subsidize training classes which train farming labour in other skills. But this will result in corruption without doubt. As @AbbaiG said, farmers can also be corrupt. They are also human like rest of the society.

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Most industrialized nations, have been in this situation before. So how did it turn out?

 

Simple, people left agriculture in droves. Only a few remained, but mechanization resolved most of the issues that the farmers faced.

 

Whether we like it or not, this will happen here too? People have to move on.

 

In a democracy, it is next to impossible, for a farmer to fix his own price. Even die hard capitalists will object to the market deciding the prices of "essential" food items. All you IT professionals will be up in arms if you have to buy a bag of rice for 2000 rupees with 10% appreciation every year.

 

Farmers have to wrap their heads around this, and move on. No politician will dare to speak this truth, if he does he will be out of power.

 

The solution is heavily mechanized agriculture on a large scale. It's been reasonably successful in developed nations.

Or

Go back to living off the land while giving up all material comforts. We've done this before.

 

Kudos to you in looking at Facts impassioned way........Not easy.......But you are not a Politician, you are entitled to speak as it is......doing that nice.......

 

Harsh Reality of Life.........one has to be flexible to the changing times, if need a Quality of Life......Come 20 years from now, if we have same percentage of people producing(cultivation) same, we will be left far behind......People have to move to other sectors, sooner the better.......

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How should TDP handle subsidies?

 

To release funds for Upaadi Haami and the yet to be launched food security, the current UPA government had no other way but to cut fertilizer subsidies.

 

Right now, free power for 7 or 9 hrs does not make a difference. Most farmers, have already come up with a coping mechanism. When CBN limited power for 9hrs/day farmers had no option but to go for more borewells. So instead of one borewell running for 15 to 20 hrs, farmers now have 2 borewells running for 7 hours each. So even if TDP promises free power for 24 hours a day, it wont make any difference. People will write it off as a gimmick.

 

But if TDP can promise that fertilizer prices will be brought down to pre 2010 levels, then it will be a whole different matter. It can even take you close to the throne. But do they have the balls?

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IIM grad sells veggies, to build Bihar brand

 

Patna: Selling vegetables on the streets is not what an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) graduate is supposed to do. But that’s what an IIM-Ahmedabad topper Kaushalendra Kumar is doing.

Kaushalendra is selling vegetables in a custom-made refrigerated cart in the streets of Patna. His new vegetable selling concept is already hit among people and he is emerging as the most sought after vegetable vendor in Patna.

Kaushlendra guarantees fresh vegetables, accurate weight, freebie schemes and above all, he is an MBA graduate from IIM-Ahmedabad.

"I come with promotional schemes and at present I am running a scheme that if one buys 2.5 kilograms then I will give one kg of onion free. I started this scheme when it rained for seven days and people stopped coming out to buy vegetables," Kaushalendra says.

Kaushalendra plans to organise vegetable farmers into a cooperative and replicate his model on a mass scale.

He believes that such a cooperative could help the farmers retain a big slice of the country's vegetable retail market, estimated at Rs 16,000 crore a day.

"I have show a dream to them (vegetable vendors). I say you are selling at a low price today but if turned into a brand then the vegetables will fetch a far higher price in the big cities. We must develop a Bihar brand in the vegetable sector'' Kaushlendra says.

Customers are also happy that a street vendor is offering all that the big retail chains promise.

 

"Mummy sent me to buy onions and I have got potato for free," a young boy says.

Another customer says, "The quality of vegetable is very good and even the weighing is accurate."

What has started as a small innovation may someday redefine the way vegetables are traditionally sold.

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How should TDP handle subsidies?

 

To release funds for Upaadi Haami and the yet to be launched food security, the current UPA government had no other way but to cut fertilizer subsidies.

 

Right now, free power for 7 or 9 hrs does not make a difference. Most farmers, have already come up with a coping mechanism. When CBN limited power for 9hrs/day farmers had no option but to go for more borewells. So instead of one borewell running for 15 to 20 hrs, farmers now have 2 borewells running for 7 hours each. So even if TDP promises free power for 24 hours a day, it wont make any difference. People will write it off as a gimmick.

 

But if TDP can promise that fertilizer prices will be brought down to pre 2010 levels, then it will be a whole different matter. It can even take you close to the throne. But do they have the balls?

So you are saying that fertilizer prices should be subsidized more...this will lead to one more race and will ultimately bring down the output value as well...Its best that the market commands the price without any control of government...let it be run like any business...if rice is going to cost 2000 so be it...if people are paying electricity bill of 3000 per month why cant they pay the same for rice....by giving subsidies and all the government is keeping the farmer completely at its mercy....
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I used to ask the paddy farmers in my village (educated and big farmers only) about the use of machinery,.. the answer I get is emi chesina ee nela loki digadudhi bandi...rendodi ballu raavali ante connecting farms vallu oppukovali, kothale order lo chestham....inka ivi emi vaadatam....they dont know about any machinery which is custom made for them....they are ready to use it by buying or renting...but they just dont have the source of information...that is the real problem in using machinery...china kaaru raithulu kuda machines ni rent ki teesukuni vaadukontaru alanti machines vunte...no problem with that...

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Small farmers will be en-dangered species in A.P.

 

In Africa - Europeans and some Indians have bought 1000s of acres from Small farmers and currently doing Horticulture.

 

If Small farmers do not partner and perform cooporative farming, they should sell their holdings and move upstream following Krishna river into Karnataka where the land prices are still very cheap. Lift Irrigation is the way to go. According to my Uncle in Tungabandra, Karnataka during Deva Gouda times have built very good water resources for their farmers.

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Small farmers will be en-dangered species in A.P.

 

In Africa - Europeans and some Indians have bought 1000s of acres from Small farmers and currently doing Horticulture.

 

If Small farmers do not partner and perform cooporative farming, they should sell their holdings and move upstream following Krishna river into Karnataka where the land prices are still very cheap. Lift Irrigation is the way to go. According to my Uncle in Tungabandra, Karnataka during Deva Gouda times have built very good water resources for their farmers.

Small farmers are going out by choice..many of them have no intention of doing agriculture in future...this may be the last generation of small farmers till they push their children to so called while-collar jobs...the farms will get consolidated and agriculture will be done by people who can invest in huge quantity...I am sure of this because there are people who are doing villages together in deltas and more people who have cash are coming forward for these type of investments....advantage for these people is cash will be in rotation rather than buying assets....
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Most industrialized nations, have been in this situation before. So how did it turn out?

 

Simple, people left agriculture in droves. Only a few remained, but mechanization resolved most of the issues that the farmers faced.

 

Whether we like it or not, this will happen here too? People have to move on.

 

In a democracy, it is next to impossible, for a farmer to fix his own price. Even die hard capitalists will object to the market deciding the prices of "essential" food items. All you IT professionals will be up in arms if you have to buy a bag of rice for 2000 rupees with 10% appreciation every year.

 

Farmers have to wrap their heads around this, and move on. No politician will dare to speak this truth, if he does he will be out of power.

 

The solution is heavily mechanized agriculture on a large scale. It's been reasonably successful in developed nations.

Or

Go back to living off the land while giving up all material comforts. We've done this before.

You are correct to a large extent, of course there are other issues.

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So you are saying that fertilizer prices should be subsidized more...this will lead to one more race and will ultimately bring down the output value as well...Its best that the market commands the price without any control of government...let it be run like any business...if rice is going to cost 2000 so be it...if people are paying electricity bill of 3000 per month why cant they pay the same for rice....by giving subsidies and all the government is keeping the farmer completely at its mercy....

 

Some people / experts have been suggesting this for a long time. The problem is no government on the planet, has implemented this model successfully. Many have tried but eventually gave up, because it will lead to social unrest. At least for the staple food items, we cannot hope that Government controls are going away anytime soon.

 

If TDP does not take a stand on this issue, fertilizer subsidy that is, it will leave a gaping hole. The place is going to be taken up by, you know who. Can they afford this. Gajan may promise this, but will eventually fail to fulfill it. But that does not matter. At least an effort should be made, to acknowledge the issue.

 

By the time 2014 rolls in, the input costs for fertilizer are going to take a central stage in agrarian politics. This much I can guarantee you.

Just like the escalating costs of power did in 2004, this can make or break your campaign.

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One last point before I jump off from this thread.

 

What should be TDP's stand towards National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)?

 

This is a very delicate issue. On the face of it, it looks innocent enough.

Some folks like JP from LokSatta have opined that NREGA should be clubbed with the Goverments agricultural policy, and ensure that farmers are helped to some extent.

 

This feels very good to the heart, if you are a Raithu bidda or a sympathizer of the farming community. But if you are a political party like the TDP, this will be your

 

ticket to hell. If you take this position, you will instantly become un-electable.

 

There is a simmering discontent among farm labour, that the big farmers are trying to hijack a scheme that YSR started for them and them alone. You wont read

 

about it in newspapers or hear this form the talking heads on TV. This section of people, suffers silently. They dont come out on the roads shouting slogans.

 

But when it comes to show their might, they will vote you out into oblivion.

 

So this issue has to be navigated very carefully. Dont club the farmers and farm laborers together. Dont take away from one to help the other. This is already leading to a class warfare. Dont add to the confusion, steer clear from this issue.

 

Keep NREGA off the table while speaking about the problems being faced by the farmers.

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Guys,

 

What do you think will be the solution for labor scarcity in our country?

 

Keep in mind small scale farmers while proposing/giving any ideas because they will not be able to afford Machinery etc..

 

Many people are still farming because they don't know doing/have other jobs or they still love it.

 

 

Good brother...You have rised an interesting topic...I will try my best to share my views on it..

 

In the first place, Why is there a scarcity of labour in such a country like India with high density of population? Absolutely NO.. there is no labour scarcity, there is only a shift in labour from Agriculture to other fields, shift in labour from rural to urban sectors in search of livelyhoods..But why is this shift happening again? The reasons were the Govts consistent undermining and downplaying of India's Agricultural sector potential, over-emphasis and prioritizing Industrial sector.

 

Possible solutions;

1. Agriculture and Rural development should be given No.1 priority by the Govts, intellectuals and policy makers..Let there be a more focus on establishing co-operative sectors, rural based industries, establishing schools, hospitals, in rural areas. Let us not forget that our Villages were the nerve-centres of India, totally self-reliant and thriving before we had foreign and borrowed models imposed on our country. We need to revert back to strengthening our rural sector once again...but that requires a strong political will , an educated public opinion and a gradual shift in policy making.

 

chinnaga cheppali ante....prajalni gramaala baata pattinche prayatnaalu ee desam lo jaragaali, aa disaga prabutvaalu, medhavulu krushi cheyyali...prajalu gramallo nivasinchataaniki ememi kaavalo, dhaaniki tagina erpaatlu jarige prayatnam jaragaali.....create all the necessary infrastructure in villages, right from proper drinking water supply, electricity, cable & internet links, roads, a big hospital atleast one for a mandal, schools in villages....

 

 

chaduvukunna prathodu software engineer avvadu...chaduvukunna prathodiki udyogam raavali ante....devudu digi vachchina udyogaalu kalpincha ledhu...inka corporates sangathi pakkani pettandi....dheeniki pariksharam alla, swayam upaadhi rangaalu prothsahincatame....there are many self-employment schemes one can encourage in the rural level,right from poultry, dairy, mini-industries that can convert agricultural produce to useful raw materials and ensure good price for the farmers for their produce.. (meeku marintha clarity raavataniki oka example tho cheppali ante...potato chips, juice making industries, vantivi grama stayilo prothsinchavachchu....evado MNCs vachchi manaki supply cheyyakkaraledhu vaatilni....we need to encourage our rural men to do it. and the same time discourage MNCs (probably through heavy taxation) too to ensure level playing field and support our indigenous industrial sector at the rural level)...

 

Labour problem ante ento ento cheputhunna anukovaddu....ee samasyalaki moolaalu ekkado ekkado unnayi....systematic ga mana balalni manam nirviryam chesaayi palakula guddi vidhaanaalu....eppatikaina Gandhi kalalu kanna Graamena Swarajyam ee desam lo vachchinappude, ee desaaniki pattina enno sangika samasyalu toligipoyedhi.....palletoorlalo labour ki ivvala isthunna roju vaari vethanaalu takkuvemi kaadhu, kaani palletoorlalo undaataniki etuvanti aasa kanapadatam ledhu...akkade prabutvalu pariskhaaralu choopinchaalsindhi...margadarsakatvam vahinchaalsindhi...

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I am very interested to share my thoughts on this topic as this is my favorite topic as well as my stronghold. I have been involved in farming from last 25 years either directly or indirectly. I have seen the farmers, their problems, their way of solving problems both in India and USA. I will try to add my thoughts as points.

1. Size of farms: It is only 3.3 acres in India and it is about 400 acres in USA (some have 3000-4000 acres). Hence, it is almost impossible for the small farmers to buy a planter or harvest combine or any such equipment (approximately $2,50,000 for a 16 row corn planter). Instead, farmers can think of buying as a group and use. There is not much research at university level going on to develop new farm machinery such as small sized planters, harvest combines, fruit pickers, cotton pickers, ginning machines that suits to indian farming situations.

2. Loan availability: It is a big issue in India as most of the farmers are small and as well many farmers are tenant farmers. Even though there is a clear mandate to all banks that they should lend certain percentage of money to farmers, they are not strictly following the guidelines. As well, there is no credit available from Government of India or another institutions for the beginning farmers to start farming or to acquire new piece of land.

3. Lack of Lab to Farm research extension: This is one of my favorite suggestion to solve atleast some problems. There is no proper channel to extend the new research and technologies developed at the lab level to the farmers. In fact we have a very good agricultural extension hierarchy in our state. But sadly, all the resources (employees) are utilized in a wrong way. Most of the times, agricultural officers are limited to conduct surveys on the crop damage by drought or floods as well as distribution of seeds to the farmers. They don't have time to spend with farmers in extending their knowledge. Also, there is no system to train these agricultural officers about the new developments in research. As an example , when I was in Ag.college, Bapatla, we used to visit farmers fields and learn all aspects of agriculture. But most of my classmates chose different paths in their life (software engineers, civil services, banking services and foreign studies etc) and very few remained in agriculture.

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Govt should treat ag as a separate idustry....

 

Dev infrastructure like cold storages, soil testing labs.

 

Since most of the ag machinery is expensive and even it is not very profitable to own & hire by pvt..govt should buy machinery for 2-3 mandals and operate on monetary basis

 

The first and foremost is good quality seeds and pesticides. ..fallowed by decent price and educate farmers on managing the crops based on demand

 

Last but nit least stop giving free govt money to labours...intead give more loans to farmers

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4. Government practices: I have this straight question to everybody who oppose subsidies on fertilizers. When big companies like Brahmini steels, VANPIC, Reliance gets lot of subsidies to start new projects (who already has crores of money) why can't the farmers get subsidies who feed the entire world? when every industrial sector can fix the price of their produce, why can't the farmers?

Government fails in supporting the farmers to get a minimum support price (MSP), providing loans to buy equipment and land, subsidizing the inputs like fertilizers and pesticides, providing crop insurance. Part of this problem lies with farmers as well as they are not organized, split by caste and status. There is not a single true politician to support farmers plights in the parliament. Government should assign some IAS cadre officers who are knowledgeable in agriculture (my 3 classmates are IAS officers) to oversee the whole agricultural system in the state.

Even if tell 1000 reasons for farmers problems, the ultimate solution lies in government hands. Whenever the farming becomes economical and profitable, then only we can expect positive changes in farmers problems.

5. Marketing: Most of the times farmers think that their job ends with harvest and believe in god for the rest. At this point they are cheated by the middlemen, blackmailers, private money lenders. This is all because, there are no marketing facilities, cold storage facilities (for most of the vegetables). In USA, farmers sell/fix the price of their crop even before planting. They trade their produce in a traded market. Irrespective of the price at the time of harvest, they get the fixed price at the time of planting. Government should take responsibility in such matters. As well, farmers should think of marketing as groups especially in terms of vegetables. when a Kg Tomatoes cost Rs. 45 in the open market, farmer gets only Rs.20 on his farm which is only 10 kms away. Why is this? I appreciate CBN in this matter for his vision in establishing Rythu Bazaars which was an excellent idea. In USA, farmers market concept has lot of customers. Farmers can become groups, buy some kind of refrigeration facilities, sell their produce directly to the consumers.

So many thoughts as well so much desperation whenever I think about this topic.

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6. Urbanization: This is becoming a big issue now a days with population pressure and converting agricultural land for other uses. For example, we have 3 acres of land near ongole, which we used to grow crops from the last 60 years. As there is no space in the town/city, they started to buying in my village too. we have been offered of 1.5 crore rupees for an acre of land for which most of the farmers tempted to sell. But, what the farmers do after they sell land? Nothing. They know nothing other than talking about politics, spending money on Drinking (whiskey ,wine, brandy) (thanks to belt shops everywhere), forming groups based on political party, caste, religion. The sad part is that they don't even know how to utilize the money that they got.

I suggest all my friends to consider investing in farmland as there won't be any land in future.

7. Irrigation facilities: There is not even a single new irrigation project constructed after the big dams constructed 50 years ago in the state. YSR spent crores of rupees on Jalayagnam which became JALAGALA YAGNAM at the end and all the politicians and contractors became rich. There is a big necessity to construct new irrigation projects in AP.

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What do you think will be the solution for labor scarcity in our country?

--> India lo agriculture rapid mechanization avvali...Like govt should encourage farmers to buy or rent tractors,combines etc...companies like Mahindra,John Deere,AgCo should be encouraged to come up with cheap and best equipment that suites Indian soil.

I spoke to a farmer here in US : he and his brothers do all the labor needed on their 1500 acre farm in the state of Wisconsin.They use latest technology in everything...They insert probes which measures the moisture levels and winds and sends SMS to their Cell phones. so govt should encourage/help farmers to move to the latest technology.

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8. Education at the school level: I chose agriculture as I don't have an option when I went for EAMCET counselling (my friend got Medicine with 8000 rank and I got agriculture with 2000 rank, as I am the so called OC). My father is a farmer and I was directly involved in agriculture from my childhood, but my father never encouraged me to take up agriculture as a living. That is fine as they see life in a different way. But, my point is regarding the education system. At each level of education we were exposed to get excited to choose a profession in future life. When I studied physics, I wanted to become scientist, when I studied chemistry I wanted to become chemical engineer, when I studied maths I wanted to become computer engineer, when I studied botany and zoology I wanted to become a doctor. But I never studied some thing that inspired me to become an agricultural graduate. As a result of that most of the agricultural graduates do not live with their degree and chose other professions after graduation. Hence, I emphasize that there should be some content in academics at school level that inspires the students to become agricultural scientists rather than as an option.

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