Agriculture Is Crucial For All

 In the recently concluded Monsoon session, our Parliament passed three new farm reform bills, The ‘Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill’, ‘The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill’ and ‘The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill’. While some believe these have the potential to change the face of agriculture in our country, others fear wrecking millions of farmer lives. Newspapers and news channels have been flooded with opinions and analysis by various experts.

A brief about the bills is as follows:

1. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill: This law allows farmers to sell their produce anywhere within the country under the ‘One Nation- One Market’ concept. As per the old laws, farmers were restricted from selling anywhere other than state government operated ‘mandis’ called Agriculture Product Market committees’ [APMC] where they were allowed to sell their produce to traders or middlemen at Minimum Support Prices (MSP) fixed by the government. These middlemen then sold the produce to consumers throughout the country.

The new bill has opened doors for private parties to set up online trading platforms for agricultural commodities. It has also set up a dispute resolution mechanism for buyers and farmers, to be operated by a sub – divisional magistrate. With the new bill in place, the farmers will have a choice of selling their produce either at APMC or to private parties. If the farmers want to, they can go ahead and sell their produce at APMC’s and avail the MSP support. Additionally, they will also have the freedom to sell elsewhere and receive higher prices although at the risk of not having a minimum support price set by the government authorities.

2. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill: This bill aims to provide a national framework where farmers are allowed to and protected when entering into contracts with buyers, wholesalers, exporters, etc. Here farming is carried out on the basis of the agreement between the buyers and the producers. One of the greatest advantages that farmers receive through this bill is the price assurance even before sowing his crops. 

3. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill: The Essential Commodities Act 1955, placed restrictions on the storage (hoarding) of essential commodities to keep a check on artificial scarcity leading to inflation. The recent amendment has removed commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities thus ending the imposition of stock-holding limits except under extraordinary circumstances. The amendment has been done keeping in mind the surplus produce of these commodities now which was not the case during the 1960s.

The government has formulated these reforms with an intention to accelerate growth in the agriculture sector through private sector investment in building infrastructure and supply chains for farm produce in national and global markets. The reforms are supposed to help the small farmers who don’t have means to either bargain for their produce to get a better price or invest in technology to improve the productivity of farms. However, the nationwide protests against the bill suggest that various farmer groups and politicians disagree. While the protests are against all three bills, objections are mostly against the provisions of the first. And although there is no uniform demand among the protesters or a unified leadership, it emerges that their concerns are mainly about sections relating to ‘trade area’, ‘trader’, ‘dispute resolution’ and ‘market fee’ in the first bill. With MSP being abiding for APMC transactions only, the main area of concern for the farmers seems to be price security and the fear of being exploited by big private corporate houses.  

One of the major causes for such a division of common citizens on matters of government policy is an incomplete understanding of the issues (combined with dirty domestic politics). These farm reforms or for that matter any reforms are usually an integration of suggested solutions to problems in the concerned sector and their impact on the economy. Unfortunately, most people neither understand economics nor agriculture. There might be just a handful, who understand any or both. The rest are left ignorant but not unaffected. The question then is; how do we reduce this gap? 

As a teacher I believe, knowledge is the one path to empowerment. We teach math, sciences, languages and social sciences and lay emphasis on standardized testing. But that does not seem to teach our children what it takes to grow food and get it from farms on to their plates. Knowing the basics about farming and the habitat seems necessary, after all one can live without smartphones, not without food. And the best way to learn this is via real life experiences.  Agriculture, in my opinion, should be incorporated as a core subject during schooling years. Let our kids get a flavour of working in soil with bare hands and learn the meaning of hard work, the circle of life and the difference between pets and livestock.

Agricultural education will give students an insight into crop production, livestock management, soil & water conservation and various other climatic and geographical phenomena. But is that knowledge essential for a child who wants to become a lawyer or a computer engineer? Sure, why not. Irrespective of occupation, a person will still eat three meals a day, right? Wouldn’t it be nice when they make informed decisions while purchasing groceries? Don’t we want them armed with facts, so they don’t feel confused due to the misconceptions and biased opinions perpetuated by politicians, activists, food bloggers and the media? The world today is obsessed with concerns over global warming, climate change and environmental degradation. The number of extreme weather related disasters has doubled in the last 20 years. These occurrences are a result of ecological imbalances, in turn disturbing weather cycles thus hitting agricultural yield and ultimately cause food price hikes, income losses, malnutrition and global hunger, issues that circumvent everybody. 

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States had once said, “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.” Introduction to an agriculture curriculum at a young age will teach our kids basic scientific procedures and the applicability of those lessons to daily life. It opens them to understanding how things grow, live and die. It helps them get a perspective of the world around and also equips them with practical life skills for their future personal as well as professional lives. Working together, even if it is in the school gardens will depict the importance of teamwork and providing for the community, thus instilling in them a sense of social responsibility and skills like leadership and team building. Research shows children who grow their food live a socially and physically healthier life. Our ancestors had fitter bodies, stronger immunities and greater stamina and they did not need to go to gymnasiums or trainers for it. Their lifestyle was more active and diet more balanced. And grains that we call superfoods today, ie millets like bajra, ragi, jowar etc were their staple intakes. Being close to the soil will make our children more aware about the various gifts of nature and the knowledge to make healthier choices.     

Agriculture is a multidimensional avenue especially in a nation as well - endowed in geographical diversity as ours. We rank second worldwide in agricultural and its allied sector outputs. Our products range from food staples wheat and rice to pulses, millets, sugarcane, oilseeds, potatoes to non - food items like tea, coffee, cotton, rubber and jute. Despite its overwhelmingly vast size, the sector faces serious productivity and efficiency issues. It is the primary source of livelihood for about 58% of our total population but contributes only 15 – 16 % to our GDP. 

Agriculture in our country is a reservoir of undiscovered and untapped opportunities, and an early exposure to the field will help attract more talent. If explored properly, it has the potential to open new careers in areas of biotechnology, horticulture, nutrition, soil & water management, poultry farming, dairy farming etc. A lot of times we come across examples of young talented people, alumnus of premium institutes who quit their high paying MNC jobs to pursue a career in agriculture. A growth in the interest for agriculture and related sectors will not just improve its productivity, but will also ensure food security and tackle unemployment in the long run.

A recent article in the newspaper ‘The Indian Express’ spoke about contract farming and how its legalization will help. Contract farming as the name suggests is when an agricultural production is carried out according to an agreement between a buyer and farmer. Typically a buyer agrees to invest in a farmer’s land, compensate him and ultimately purchase the product for a pre - decided price. The buyer tells the farmer what to plant and how to take care of the crop till it reaps, to ensure both quality and quantity of the produce is maintained. This mitigates a small farmers’ risk. As for the big buyer, who has access to bigger markets, will be able to provide the produce at cheaper rates to the general public while still being able to make profits himself. Thus the scientific and technological knowledge of a big corporate house with its risk taking capacity combined with a farmer’s labour, experience and vigilance will help the sector flourish.

Ideas like this and many more are yet to be identified and the only way forward is if agriculture as a career is stopped being looked down upon. If learning agriculture is made a part of school curriculums, it will encourage more children to enter farming by choice rather than as a compulsion. This way, the next generation of farmers will be educated, innovative, business-minded and better equipped.  

Agriculture is the backbone of any civilization. One cannot expect a hungry man to take on the world. The knowledge and ability to grow food is critical to a society’s survival and yet, is an area of study that gains little prominence in schools. In the words of food activist Alice Waters,” teaching kids how to feed themselves and how to live in a community responsibly is the centre of education. As much as pure ‘academic’ subjects are important in schools, hands-on lessons blended with vocational training must be treated as equally important; it is one of the main ways that countries can leave poverty. Bringing agriculture to mainstream education has the potential to feed the world.”

To conclude, I would say, while not all students will harbour interests to pursue agricultural careers, foundation knowledge in the field can still prove to be a practical skill for their future. It will make them holistic human beings who care about Mother Nature and believe in sustainable development. If nothing else, they would at least understand the food they eat and the environment they live in.