Explain the nature of crisis in Indian agriculture?
Answers
In the past few years, India has seen a series of farmers’ protests across several states including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan. Such has been the scale of discontent that 182 farmers’ organisations from all over the country have come together to form the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee to spearhead their agitations across the country under the Kisan Mukti Yatra (Farmers Liberation Rally) banner. They have taken out three rallies mobilising the farmers to demand remunerative prices and an agriculture policy that helps farmers. The third leg in eastern India is in progress. On November 20 all farmers will gather in Delhi for a massive protest.
Factors behind crisis
Back in 1951, agriculture provided nearly 70% of total employment of the country and contributed more than 51 % to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But 60 years later, in 2011, agriculture and allied sectors provided nearly 55% employment while its contribution to the GDP had dramatically dropped to just 14%.
This means that agriculture sector is absorbing too many people in order to produce too less value. It is oversaturated with workers and farmers who are depending on ever smaller returns from it. This has happened because the growth in industrial sector that was supposed to absorb the excess population engaged in agriculture did not happen. The slow pace of industrialisation, caused by not just erroneous policies like export orientation, but also refusal of Indian capitalists to invest in heavy industrialisation and preference for the services sector are some of the reasons behind this.
The neglect of the successive governments in failing to implement land reforms and not having a policy to provide alternative employment to the large population dependent on agriculture has aggravated the crisis.