Problems faced by farmers in India
Problems faced by farmers in India are uncertainty in water supply, Lack of mechanization, small and fragmented land holdings, High cost of inputs, infertile soil, Agricultural marketing, lack of transport and storage facilities, etc.
Small and Fragmented Land Holding
Land fragmentation is a serious issue as it reduces agricultural productivity and decreases economic opportunities. Fragmented landholding is an issue since India got its independence. The arable land is decreasing with each generation due to inheritance law.
The land owned by the parent gets divided into fragments and given to his/her wards. Over time these land become economically unviable for farming purposes.
This issue is serious in densely populated areas. About 67% of operational land holding is marginal land which is less than one hectare. That is current only 0.2 hectares of land per person in rural is available.
The number of farms doubled from 70 million in 1970 to 145 million in 2015, as per the latest census. This gives us an inference that there is a greater number of people in shrinking land holdings. This leads to population pressure and underemployment.
The small and fragmented landholding is a serious issue in densely populated states such as UP, Bihar, West Bengal etc, where the average landholding is very low.
Having a very small landholding, usually produces very small that is just enough for the farmer and his family’s needs. To produce, an excess amount of product to sell to the market, the farmer has to invest in proper infrastructure.
Also, the return on investment to such farmers is very low and drives those farmers of small landholding into losses. Even if there is excess produce in that farmland, the farmer losses the profit due to middlemen and transportation.
High Cost of Inputs
Good quality HYV seed is costly, poor farmers cannot afford such seeds.
Infertile Soil
Thousand of years of agriculture made soil lose its fertility, resulting in low productivity.
Irrigation
Insufficient water is a serious problem. Irrigated land is only one-third and in order to make agriculture much more reliable, an irrigation facility needs to be developed.
Mechanization
Agriculture in most parts of the country follows trading methods, manual labor, etc. The usage of advanced tools is necessary.
The disadvantage of Mechanization is a lot of people depend on Manual labour agriculture work, so the effect of mechanization is job loss.
Soil Erosion
Large fertile land is lost through erosion caused by wind and water and such areas much be treated and restored to it fertile again.
Agricultural Marketing
Agricultural marketing is one of the critical problems faced by Indian farmers.
Local farmers need traders and middlemen to sell the products. This makes the loss of revenue to the farmers and fluctuation in prices makes things worse. Proper marketing is necessary to increase the profit.
Inadequate Storage Facilities
Farmers are forced to sell the products immediately after harvest due to inadequate or no storage facilities.
Lack of Transport
Cheap modes of transport such as railways are not available in most parts of the countries.
Scarcity of capital
Agriculture requires lots of capital, loans to buy seeds, machinery, and transport to market.
Intensive Farming
Continuous farming and high usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides make the soil lose its fertility and the land becomes barren after some years.
Failure of Monsoons
The most important problem faced by Indian farmers is the failure of Monsoons. States like Tamil Nadu, lack water resources, and their drinking and agriculture fail if the monsoon failed.
The monsoon is an important factor in agriculture in India.
Lack of Irrigation
Due to improper irrigation facilities, farmers face storage of water for crops. This forces farmers to spend lakhs of rupees, to dug, bore wells, and tube well. This also exploits groundwater resources.
Irrigated crops require several tons of water to produce one ton of product. This actually creates loss to the farmer in the form of electricity charges.
Some states in India, provide free electricity. This is a relief to the farmers. But this causes exploitation of groundwater resources.
Solution Problems faced by farmers in India
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