KISSAN Discussion Forums

Joy Abraham · Joined: Sep 20, 2005 Messages: 1 Offline

Large sections of the Indian population still remain below poverty line. The vast majority of this poor population are in the agricultural sector in rural India. The remaining are migrants from the rural agricultural sector, who migrated to cities and towns. Thus the roots of almost the entire poverty in India can be traced to the rural agricultural sector.

Why the farmers and agricultural labour are poor? The answer is simple. Farmers are poor because the price of agricultural produces is very low. Agricultural labour is poor because their wages are low.

The solution to this problem advocated by urban based economists is as follows:

Increase production from the land so that farmers produce more and thus get more income. The agricultural labour class should get educated and find salaried jobs in urban areas. They also say that when (urban based) economy develops, the benefits will somehow trickle down to the poor.

The above solution has not worked in any country or in India 60 years after independence. Therefore we need to look for alternate strategies.

In the last 30-40 years, especially in the last 15 years urban salaries and prices of everything have gone up many fold. But the price of agricultural produces did not increase. For example 15 years ago coconut price was Rs 5 and it is Rs 5 even now. Similarly Rubber price was Rs 65 twelve years ago and it is only Rs 50 even now. Thus there is the need for a major upward correction in the prices of all agricultural produces. In order to match the increases in costs in other sectors, the agricultural produce prices must go up by four times and agricultural labour wages must go up five times. With that level of prices and wages in the rural sector, the Indian economy (which is still a major agricultural economy) will achieve the level of USA and other developed countries in one stroke. Poverty will become a thing of history in India.

People immediately equate agricultural produce with rice and wheat and think what will happen if these prices go up. One thing that we should remember is that nowadays lot of people spend very less on primary food items compared to what they spend on mobile phones, petrol, car, motorcycle, dress, travelling, internet, cinema and so on.

Such an increase in prices is justified for several reasons. This new economic model is fully described on a global basis as a new thesis at my web site http://www.worldpoverty.net launched in August 2005. I am also the founder of http://www.indiaforward.com web site launched in February 1999, aimed at making India a fully DEVELOPED country by 2025.

Request your positive inputs to develop this thesis to reality. If you have questions please feel free to ask.

Joy Abraham
Bharananganam

agriculturist

Hello Joy,

I fully respect your view. The farmers in all parts of the world are exploited.

But food is the most basic need for all forms of life. Increasing the cost much would rather shoot up the prices of all the commodities.

What abt increasing the productivity as well as the output ?

Quite sad that quite a few people are using the forum. Government should set up kiosks and provide basic education to access such information to the large majority of farmers.

Thanks and Regards,
Rajesh

Anonymous

Hello Rajesh

,

I am happy at least one person has posted a message. Regarding your concerns:
a) Increase productivity: If you consider on larger scale , as production increases, price will go down because demand does not change with incresed production. So there is no net gain for the farmer.
So it is NOT AT ALL a solution to the problem we are discussing.
b) The price of everything else and salraies have gone up, so why not food prices as well go up? The key point is that most people spend more money on other things compared to what they spend on food. So let them reduce what they spend on other luxuries and spend a little more on the basic necessity namely food. In this world is the farmer and agricultural labour alone should do charity for others; while other sections spend little on food and lavishly spend on everything else?

The world should take note of this gross injustice to farmers and agricultural labour and remove this imbalance.