a reflection on the future of farming in India.
A perspective on the future of farming in India from the son of a farmer
One morning, I don’t know the reason why but I got hooked on this thought of…
If every single son or daughter of a farmer is an engineer or an engineer, who will grow crops and feed us in the future?
I was recollecting my memories of my village and my childhood friends, and suddenly it dawned on me that none of my friends are farmers despite being born into farming households. Neither I nor my brother is a farmer regardless of what our parents or grandparents did for a living.
I then started examining all the reasons that might have influenced me to not even consider the option of farming as a career. After much thought, I arrived at one simple answer.
- My parents never wanted me to be a farmer
From my limited experience and understanding, below are the reasons why current farmers do not want their children to take up their profession. This might be applicable to other low-income professions as well.
Unpredictable revenue
One of the biggest reasons why farmers shy away from agriculture as a career choice for their kids is unpredictable income.
Harsh working conditions
Compare the life of a typical farmer working in weather conditions like super-hot temperatures during the summer, cold months in winter, and rainy months during the rainy season to that of an IT professional who works in an air-conditioned office and takes two days off every week.
Which profession will you suggest to your children if you are a parent?
Significantly less chance of getting a match if you want to get married
All boys know the pain!
Society’s correlation of failure with agriculture
Oh, your son is a farmer? Did nothing work out? will be the typical reaction if you introduce your son to a fellow farmer in the village or a relative.
With more than 1 billion people sharing the country’s space and with a rapidly declining population who produces food, how will India feed its population in the future?
We, humans, dodged a similar situation a while ago with the green revolution. Will next-generation technology help us to circumvent this problem?