As the Industrialization started progressing the farmers started to migrate towards cities to earn better wages. The agriculture was neglected as it could not pay due to poor production. The green revolution in India opened new doors to increase production.
New hybrid varieties of crops became available through continuous research. Synthetic fertilizers came into the markets. To safeguard the production a number of insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides etc. flooded the markets. A number of irrigation projects were launched and agriculture production increased to make the country self sufficient.
Poultry, fisheries, operation flood, silver revolution etc. supplemented to our food production. But due to unavailability of proper markets and lack of appropriate price of agricultural produce, farmers remained poor. Thus, the migration of farmers still continued towards cities. The mechanization could cover up the loss of manpower in villages.
But agriculture became costlier and poor earning made the farmers poorer. It further aggravated the migration of farmers towards cities. How long could cities provide jobs to the increasing population of migrant farmers who accumulated in Jhuggies and Jhoparies? Large areas of government lands were encroached and occupied. On the other hand villages continued to become empty and agriculture was to suffer due to lack of pan power.
Migration of farmers to cities caused further problems of loss of indigenous varieties of crops and many crops disappeared from fields. Farmers concentrated on growing cash crops and agriculture became gene-deficient. Barley that was earlier used for making bread appeared in citied in cans in the form of barley and became a medicine. In the same way many crops started appearing in energy providing biscuits and other products and now these products started reaching to villages on high prices.
Now the masses that started returning back towards villages in Corona period opened our eyes. We became astonished to observe the large number of labourers who accumulated at terminals and bus stations in different cities like Mumbai and Delhi. How they again came to their respective villages is a well known story which pained our hearts.
A new episode of the serial was seen when factories and other industries were opened during the other phase of unlock period. Now the masses that had returned back from cities are thinking either to go back or to expand their agricultural activities living at home.
Large numbers of rural men and women and children again started moving towards cities as they were called back by their companies. Those who had ones walked hundreds of kilometers on bare feet flied back as unlocking phase facilitated business owners to open their enterprises and call back their employees.
Here in villages, the area of agriculture expanded due to availability of manpower. So far it seems a tendency of protection from the dangers of the pandemic but this tendency may turn into attraction if agriculture comes to satisfy their financial needs. It does not appear possible in very near future. If labourers get sufficient wages they may stop to work for agriculture.
Thus a man can say that the pandemic covid-19 is an opportunity. Basically during this period when the contribution of agriculture has gone less than some other commercial sectors and now, the agriculture is no longer a principal occupation of the people of India.
Agriculture production is no longer a problem for farmers. They are producing a lot. The problem is is to fix appropriate price for their produce. Free marketing can help in this side.
The only solution to the problems of farmers is to make better the conditions of trade of agricultural produce so as to enable farmers reach to markets. For this governments will have to make proper arrangements of markets for farmers for purchase, proper pricing and proper arrangements of markets. Governments will have to provide better life to 70 per cent farmers in order to attract back to the land.
