40% Farmers want to quit Farming-NCAP Study |
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The study validates a 2005 survey conducted by the government, wherein it was proved that almost 40% farmers are willing to quit agriculture, if alternative occupation is available to them. |
“The message is loud and clear that agriculture is no longer a preferred occupation for smaller farm households and there is need to create remunerative, sustainable and equity-oriented income generating opportunities outside the agricultural sector to enhance their incomes,”
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The NCAP study said farm households obtain 41 % from agricultural activities while 25 % of the income is derived from non-farm business. Wages and salaries and livestock contributed 24 % and 20 % of the income respectively.
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2. Youth show low preference for Agriculture as future career: WB study
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A large portion of youths showed low preference for agriculture as future career. They instead opted for business and government jobs. Only 20 per cent of people who have come out of poverty in one decade up to 2005 cited agriculture as the reason. “Agriculture plays a role in moving people out of poverty provided benefits of government schemes reaches and also access to farm markets. In sum our evidence reiterates the importance of health insurance and other safety net programs to arrest declines into poverty and destitution” the report said. In particular, Soumya Kapoor, a consultant with social development unit of the World Bank said government should look at asset creation as a tool to eliminate poverty, as it seems to have larger benefit. At present, most state-run schemes like NREGS are oriented towards consumption expenditure. TH/BS100609
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3. Sickness and death in family pushes poor into poverty
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| "Death and health shocks (34 per cent) followed by social shocks including family divisions and expenses towards marriages of children (27 per cent) explain a majority of descents into poverty," the World Bank survey said.TH/BS100609 |
4. Only 15 per cent of the farmers were covered under Crop Insurance : |
NAIS could not garner the majority of the 127 million Indian farmers. Reasons for poor coverage: Outdated model: NAIS mandates to perform crop cutting experiments (for deciding claim payout) which is quite laborious and time-consuming. Delay in claim payout: Claim payout to the farmers often takes more than a year to reach the farmers or to the banks from whom they have taken crop loans. |
Huge burden on exchequer: Since the 1999 to the 2007-08 rabi seasons, the total paid and payable claims were about Rs 11,607 crore against a collected premium of Rs 3,626 crore rendering it unsustainable.
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Lack of historical weather data: Indian Meteorological Department is the central body controlling the weather stations and the captured data do not have a pan India network to give historical weather data. Lack of dedicated weather station network: A focused weather station network for agriculture at mandal/tehsil level is much needed for capturing the true losses incurred by farmers.
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5. Rural Consumer cost index at a high of 13% : |
The annual inflation rate based on Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers is at 12.89 per cent in August from an over 10-year high of 12.90 per cent a month earlier. The inflation rate based on CPI for Rural Labourers in August remained unchanged at the previous month’s level of 12.67 per cent, the Labour Bureau said on Friday. CPI-AL and CPI-RL inflation rates were at 10.29 per cent each, a year ago. Inflation rate based on CPI is way higher than the more-closely watched Wholesale Price Index. The average WPI inflation rate was (-)0.91 per cent in August and (-)1.13 per cent in July. The divergence in the movement of the WPI and CPI is mainly due to higher weightage for food prices in the latter.
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6. Boom time for state sugarcane growers
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| Over seven million sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s second-largest sugar producing state, are harvesting a rich crop. Mills buy sugarcane from them at a price advised by the state government. Sugar mills are buying sugarcane from farmers at Rs 220 to 230 a quintal. This is a market-determined price and could well be the benchmark for the state government. |
| The terms of trade, farmers felt, had moved against sugarcane because of the high procurement price for paddy and wheat. As a result, sugar prices have more than doubled in the last one year to over Rs 30 a kg. Mills have made huge profits and have indicated that they are willing to pay a higher price this time round. |
| Farmers cited another reason why the state-advised price needs to be raised: The higher cost of cultivation. Farmers in Western Uttar Pradesh said costs were up over 30 per cent, driven by the higher cost of farm labour. They attributed it to the higher wages paid under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. |
| A few sugar mills in southern part of the state, which have commenced crushing for the sugar year 2009-10, have announced an unprecedented rise in cane prices between Rs 1,440-1,500 per tonne, close to 40 per cent higher than the Rs 1,077 per tonne statutory minimum price (SMP) announced by the Centre recently. Last year, the highest price paid was Rs 1,300 per tonne. |
| In northern Karnataka it is already an existing practice that mills pay around Rs 250-300 per tonne as harvesting and transportation charge in addition to the cane price. BS 200909 |
