The
government should solve farmers’ problems
The government should address the problem of
severe price fluctuations. We had enough of boom and bust in the prices of
agricultural goods. The government should solve the problems of
many distressed farmers.
The government comes up with fiscal
measures such as farm loan waivers, a higher minimum support price for farm
produce, or some combination of the two. The next Union budget may well be
focussed on the rural economy through fiscal measures. Such relief measures temporarily
ease the pain on farmers, but not in
the long run.
In the absence of a robust market for buying
and selling forward-looking contracts, farmers are left to fend for themselves
against severe fluctuations. The domination of the wholesale
market by cartels prevents farmers from receiving a fair price. The real issue
exist in the transportation of goods and foul play of market middle men. In
some remote places the production is heavy whereas the majority of consumers
are available at metro cities where vegetables are sold at a high price but the
producers are not getting the actual benefits.
Government should make new policies for
agricultural sector because the old system is not able to provide any good
support to the farmers and most importantly they should give the fair prices to
the farmers directly without any middlemen.
The farmers sell it at such a cheap price still
the consumers buy it at a very steep price. The middlemen have
taken the place of government to manipulate and 'govern' the market prices of
essential commodities. Minimum Support Price, is implemented many a times for
short term gains and remedies, and sometimes for political gains too. When
people try to respond to the issues faced by them, the voices go unheard.
Continuous failure on the part of government to
improve structural and infrastructural status of agriculture in the country
have led many farmers to go to the extent of ending their lives. The
agricultural distress of farmers due to high fluctuation in prices of crops has
been a recurring phenomenon, arising chiefly due to an unstructured supply
chain and the absence of a stable market. Merely taking ad hoc fiscal measures
such as increasing the minimum support price would not be efficacious in the
long term, it is therefore imperative to completely overhaul the supply chain
management using big data and artificial intelligence so that the mismatch
between supply and demand is reduced and farmers receive a fair price for what
they grow.
It is ironical that India reels from food
insecurity and still allows a bulk of its produce to rot on the roads. It is
high time government embrace technology driven inventory and supply chain
management so as to avoid this pitiable situation in future.
Agriculture is a key sector that has lot of
employment potential as well as revenue generation. A pragmatic policy towards
farmers is essential to uplift the sector and boost its prospects
The annual cycle of plentitude and shortage is
really a vicious one. Even while the surplus production remains, the advantage
never comes to the consumer. This paradox exposes some market aberrations. The
foul play in this market riddle is the handiwork of unscrupulous middle men.
The corrective initiatives should take these things also into consideration.
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