India is a land of agriculture. This is what we read in our geography books when we were children and this is what we say now, we are great. It is not that we have not progressed industrially in these forty years after independence. We formed a nation that could not manufacture ‘nuts and bolts’, we have emerged as a nation that can manufacture and launch its own satellites. But first and foremost we are still farmers. Seventy-five percent of people are related to agriculture in one way or another. And in terms of production we have some distinctions to be proud of. We are number one in the world in sugarcane production and number two in rice. We are only next to China in tea and Egypt in cotton. And again in peanuts, we are number one.
But within so many firsts and seconds, we are nowhere near food self-sufficiency. To feed the millions of our poor, who do not eat even two full meals a day, year after year we import wheat from America, rice from Burma, sugar from Indonesia, and cotton from Egypt. An indisputable reason is the multiplication of their mouths, although there are others that are not so obvious. Due to unscientific preservation methods and poor storage conditions, millions of tons of food are washed away by floods, if not spoiled over time.
But it is our usual practice to first blame the poor farmer for his primitive farming methods. With a small plot of land that will not allow a large tractor to maneuver, without enough capital to buy expensive implements, not even to buy fertilizers and pesticides, without perennial irrigation facilities, how can you adapt to modern conditions? His ignorance, lack of education and heavy debt keep him firmly entrenched in a state of helplessness, while a great revolution unfolds before his eyes. What farmer loves to see his crop wither due to lack of water? Or wouldn’t he like to get maximum harvests if he could help him with an extra supply of manure? Whether we accept it or not, agriculture is an industry and, like any other industry, it needs capital. The poor farmer with insufficient property can never hope to have it. There may be cooperative credit societies and rural savings banks. His ignorance prevents him from skipping red tape and getting timely help. It’s no wonder then that the average yield per acre remains the lowest in the world.
India is one of the most fertile areas in the world. The Indo-Gangetic Plain can easily become the world’s dinner plate and feed it all and alone. However, most of the water in its rivers drains into the sea, and in times of flood, they inundate vast areas, killing both livestock and people, destroying thousands of acres of standing crops, washing out town after town, and finally becoming the pain of the earth. . If we have a Bhakra Nangal project, we do not know how to divide the water, to the satisfaction of each state involved, than to follow the path of prudence and prosper. Not long ago, an engineer had a grand vision of linking the Kaveri with the Ganges, which he called the ‘Ganga Kaveri Project’ and proved with figures and calculations that it was feasible. But before he could gain popular approval, he lost his cabinet post and the plan was thrown in the Trash.
Today, we don’t know if we should go ahead with the construction of the Narmada Valley Project, which would perhaps turn vast arid areas into beautiful green belts. There are really important people who keep arguing for and against even after spending crores of rupees on project work. It is not the management of water that we must learn, but the management of its distribution. Andhra Pradesh was allowed until the end of the century to use the surplus waters of the Krishna that would drain into the Bay of Bengal anyway, but the Karnataka government did not allow it. His millionaire argument is: “If you use it now, you will be tempted to use it tomorrow”. This is the ultimate in regionalism. It is no wonder that the people of the city of Madras are languishing thirsty due to a drought of drinking water. Only a Bhagiratha should bring the Telugu Ganga to Madras.
More than 175 million acres are under cultivation now and there are almost 60 million acres that can be plowed. Even after the recovery of these vast areas, the country cannot achieve food self-sufficiency, as primitive methods are used. They may add another 30 million tons, which will not be enough to feed ever-growing mouths. The rate of land reclamation cannot keep pace with the rate of population growth, which is estimated to double every forty years if left unchecked.
Therefore, the need of the hour is to take a fresh look at the entire structure. Not many have a minimum of 5 hectares of land per family that is enough to feed all the mouths they have. It will become a profitable enterprise if they adopt modern techniques, replacing the plow with the tractor and resorting to intensive cultivation. In fact, some of the people who own more than 5 acres of arable land have turned to modern farming methods. They have their own tractors, wells and pumps. But the vast majority of the farming community either owns no land or owns less than 5 acres. Although they make up 80% of the farming community, their holdings do not exceed 20% of the cultivated land, suggesting that their activities are highly uneconomic. It is there that the government must intervene with all possible help, it can organize them into cooperatives and offer them high-yielding seeds, fertilizers and other essential implements. When vacant land is reclaimed, these landless poor must be made to settle with offers of minimal arable land, implements, and other assistance. With a donation of 3/5 of an acre of land plus a small cash grant to each family of the landless poor, the Chinese were able to achieve a green revolution in a short span of five years.
Therefore, as things stand today, the small farmer with his wasteful possessions cannot adapt to modern farming methods; The large landowner, due to changing tenure laws and unpredictable conditions, is not very interested in plowing every part of his land and striving for optimum yields. The territorial limit introduced by many half-hearted states did not produce the expected results, since it was not vigorously pursued in terms of reallocation. If, in some states, it was done, it only added to the existing hatred and enmity between the Hindu caste and the Harijans, because in most cases these were the new settlers. The Naxalite movement, which believes that the end justifies the means, is the result of class hatred between the rich landowners and the landless poor. Several innocent people were ruthlessly killed in many states, especially Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
In the name of food self-sufficiency, agriculture is exempt from income tax. Although we do not call it an industry, it is the mother of all activities in which millions and millions of people participate, active or not, whose work group is much larger than the one that participates in the field of industry and, unfortunately, it is the one that is most disorganized. A laborer in the mill has more security than a farm worker; his are better cared for, his voice is more audible, he has an entire interested organization behind him, to support, fight and even die for him. In the kind of socialist political system we have adopted, the industrial worker will certainly have his share of the profits some day in the future. He now he has at least the bonuses from him.
To change the entire system, there must first be a change in the perspective and attitudes of the people who are the lucky holders of this vast gift of nature. If you realize that you are not actually its possessors, but only the custodians, the change will be smooth, silent, and peaceful. Change of heart is certainly better than change by compulsion. But will a man who carries his child on his shoulders change easily, wherever he goes?