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Sunday, Oct 29, 2006
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Cows without fodder, farmers without funds... .

Gargi Parsai

There is more to the tragic trail of suicides in Vidarbha than meets the eye

NEW DELHI: There is a cow but no fodder or maintenance. And what should the poor farmer do with the milk yield without any marketing back-up? So the cow becomes a liability for the Vidarbha farmer who is already under a debt burden.

As suicides by farmers in Vidarbha remain unabated, this, and similar "deficiencies" in the Vidarbha Rehabilitation Package for Farmers in the predominant suicide districts were at the centre of discussions organised by the National Commission of Farmers with Deans and Vice-Chancellors of agriculture universities here this weekend. The interaction was meant to apprise universities of the Commission's recommendations and the role they were expected to play as "custodians of farmers' well-being" as Chairman M.S. Swaminathan quoted Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as saying.

However, as the meeting progressed, and speaker after speaker gave a candid description of what was wrong with Indian agriculture, a pall of gloom descended on the gathering. "There is no need to feel despondent or depressed. It is not good for the country's morale and image. This is an avoidable, man-made tragedy for which human solutions must be found," said Dr. Swaminathan.

"How can a mere 0.67 per cent of students graduating out of agriculture and veterinary universities change the lot of 65 per cent people engaged in farming in the country?" asked M.C. Varshnya from Anand in Gujarat.

The share of agriculture in the Union Budget had dwindled from 30 per cent to 12 per cent.

"Hi-tech is fine, but unless firm investment is made for the basic infrastructure and irrigation for small and marginal farmers the situation would not improve," asserted E.R. Patil from Akola in Maharashtra.

An expert from Maharashtra who did not want to be named hinted that the Central packages -- that were drawn without any consultation with the universities or extension wing -- were incomplete. Just as a cow lacked fodder and marketing tie-up, the package under the National Horticulture Mission lacked processing units and marketing.

Dilip Kumar of the Central Institute of Fisheries Education in Mumbai said as of now Krishi Vigyan Kendras were just "managers of various subsidies being given by Government rather than disseminators of technology to farmers".

In a significant observation, C.R. Hazra of Indira Gandhi Agriculture University in Chattisgarh pointed out that the small and marginal farmers in the State were becoming landless as big farmers from Punjab and Haryana were buying off their land. "Since it is a mono-cropping State, farmers have no earning during the rabi season. As a result, more than 2.6 lakh of the population migrates out during winter and summer season. Ten years ago the Below Poverty Line population was 38 per cent. Now it has become 44 per cent."

The Vice-Chancellor of Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture Technology in Udaipur, S. L. Mehta, bemoaned the lack of finances, adequate and competent faculty in farm universities. He called for a restructuring of the university system.

Observing that there was not a single woman vice-chancellor or dean at the meeting, Mina Swaminathan called for gender sensitivity and equality in the farm sector.

Dispelling the mood of gloom, Dr. Swaminathan observed that universities would have to be in the forefront of whipping up optimism in the country about agriculture. Students must become entrepreneurs in the mode of self-employment and service providers. Students unions and faculty must be involved in how to go about it. "We must restore our pride in agriculture because that is the soul of the nation."

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