The Complexities of Indian Farmers
India’s diversity not only lies in its rich culture, but also its agricultural landscape. With the Himalayas in the North, the Ganges Delta in the East, the Deccan Plateau in the South, and the Thar desert in the West, India’s vast agro-ecological diversity attests to its pride and reverence around farming. As India is home to the largest cropland of any country and is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses, and jute, farming is a pivotal aspect of its national identity. However, even with such reverence around India’s farming successes, such appreciation is not nearly translated to the nation’s farmers.
In 2022, India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded that 154 farmers and farm laborers took their own lives everyday. This statistic barely provides insight on the sweeping magnitude of distress, instability, and financial hardship that Indian farmers face as a result of climate change and political and social hierarchies.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), agriculture, along with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihood in India with 70% of rural households still primarily dependent on this industry. However, agriculture’s contribution to Indian GDP has declined from 1951 to 2011. Despite being one of the world’s largest producers, India still accounts for almost a quarter of the world’s hungry people and over 190 million malnourished people.
With such emphasis placed on farming, why is it that Indian farmers and the agriculture industry face many hardships?
First, it is important to note that agriculture in India is resource-intensive and regional to the point where some practices have raised sustainability issues. With increasing stress on water resources, desertification and land degradation pose major threats to the well-being of the country. Fastened by climate change, unpredictable monsoon seasons and droughts add a heavy stress and degree of uncertainty every farming season. Ramdas Udane, a 58 year-old cotton farmer from Maharastra, the state with the highest rate of farmer suicides, explained: “My love for agriculture has dried up, just like my lands. I’m only farming because I have nowhere else to go.” Udane is unable to escape his situation as he continues to farm until he can pay back the $10,000 owed to a private lender. However, as every crop season fails, Udane remains trapped in a vicious cycle of debt.
In a study published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in May 2023, it was found that farmer suicides increased during drought years. As lead researcher Ritu Bharadwaj mentioned, “Many of these farmers’ suicides are more pronounced among small and marginal farmers,” similar to Udane’s situation in which he stated that he once considered suicide but was hanging on for his daughter. In 2022, 11,290 farmers took their lives, an increase from 10,281 suicides in 2021. Even more alarming is that since 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power, over 100,000 farmers committed suicide, and the numbers are increasing every year. From being trapped in a cycle of debt to battling unpredictable climate change, farmers in India have fought back to take control of their own well-being and success.
The “Delhi Chalo” March started on February 13, 2024 from Punjab and is currently a movement involving over 200 farmers’ unions from the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh attempting to march towards the capital city, New Delhi. The main organizers of this march have raised 12 demands for the betterment of farmers, including the legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for all crops which the government promised back in 2021. According to Amnesty International, what was a peaceful march was met with harsh government restrictions, including the use of tear gas grenades on elderly farmers.
In this way, it can be seen that farmers in India not only face uncertainty in ensuring a proper harvest, but also experience pushback from the government. To move forward and improve the lives of farmers, it is important to consider alternate solutions– anything that distributes the risk from farmers to other stakeholders. This could also mean that companies from the private sector may provide digital technology to help farmers forecast extreme weather patterns, or banks could provide financing for climate-resilient crops.
The unfortunate reality of farmers in India is that they deserve more support from the government to at least help combat the multitude of factors, from environmental to social. After all, those who cultivate the Earth deserve utmost appreciation.
Works Cited:
https://www.farmprogress.com/management/india-believed-to-have-most-farm-land