Introduction: Understanding Agricultural Distress
Agricultural distress is a critical and recurring theme in the Indian economy, making it an indispensable topic for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, particularly for GS Paper 3. It refers to a state of persistent and widespread economic hardship faced by farmers, stemming from a complex interplay of factors that affect their income, livelihood, and overall well-being. This distress manifests in various forms, including rising indebtedness, crop failures, low farm incomes, and, in its most tragic form, farmer suicides.
Unraveling the Core Causes of Agricultural Distress
The crisis in Indian agriculture is not due to a single cause but is a result of multiple, interconnected issues. For a comprehensive understanding, we can categorize them as follows:
- Economic Factors:
- Rising Input Costs: The cost of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and farm machinery has steadily increased, while the growth in farm gate prices has not kept pace, squeezing profit margins.
- Price Volatility & Inadequate MSP: Farmers are often at the mercy of market price fluctuations. While the Minimum Support Price (MSP) exists, its implementation is flawed, with limited procurement for most crops and regions.
- Indebtedness: A vicious cycle of debt, driven by high-interest loans from informal sources (moneylenders) and the inability to repay due to crop failure or low prices, is a primary driver of distress.
- Fragmented Landholdings: Over 85% of Indian farmers are small and marginal, with landholdings of less than 2 hectares. This makes economies of scale impossible, reducing their efficiency and bargaining power.
- Environmental & Climatic Factors:
- Climate Change: Increased frequency of extreme weather events like droughts, floods, and unseasonal rains leads to widespread crop damage.
- Water Scarcity: Over-dependence on the monsoon and declining groundwater levels make farming a high-risk gamble, especially in rain-fed areas.
- Soil Degradation: The overuse of chemical fertilizers and unsustainable farming practices have led to a decline in soil health and productivity.
- Structural & Policy Issues:
- Inadequate Infrastructure: Lack of proper irrigation facilities (over 50% of agriculture is rain-fed), poor post-harvest infrastructure like cold storage and warehouses, and weak rural road connectivity lead to significant losses.
- Flaws in Agricultural Marketing: The APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) system has often been criticized for creating cartels and leaving farmers with a small share of the final consumer price.
- Lack of Diversification: A continued focus on a few staple crops like wheat and rice has created a monoculture, depleting resources and exposing farmers to price risks.
The Far-Reaching Consequences of Agricultural Distress
The impact of this prolonged crisis extends beyond the individual farmer and affects the entire socio-economic fabric of the nation.
- Farmer Suicides: This is the most tragic and alarming consequence, highlighting the extreme levels of despair in the farming community.
- Increased Rural Poverty: Falling incomes push farming families deeper into poverty and debt.
- Forced Migration: Farmers and agricultural laborers are forced to migrate to urban areas in search of menial jobs, putting immense pressure on city infrastructure.
- Threat to Food Security: A distressed agricultural sector can lead to lower production and threaten the nation's food security in the long run.
- Impact on the Economy: Since agriculture is a significant contributor to GDP and the largest employer, a crisis in this sector leads to a decline in rural demand, which can slow down the entire economy.
Government Initiatives to Mitigate the Crisis
The government has launched several schemes to address agricultural distress, which are important for your Mains answers:
- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): Provides direct income support of â‚ą6,000 per year to eligible farmer families.
- Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): A crop insurance scheme to provide financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen events.
- e-NAM (National Agriculture Market): An online trading platform for agricultural commodities aimed at creating a unified national market.
- Soil Health Card Scheme: Aims to provide farmers with information on the nutrient status of their soil and recommendations on the appropriate dosage of nutrients.
- Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme: Provides farmers with timely access to credit for their cultivation and other needs.
The Way Forward: A Holistic Approach
Solving the agricultural crisis requires a multi-pronged and long-term strategy that goes beyond temporary relief measures. The recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission and the Ashok Dalwai Committee on Doubling Farmers' Income provide a robust framework.
- Improving Farm Profitability: Ensure MSP is fixed at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production (C2+50% formula). Strengthen procurement mechanisms and expand them to more crops and regions.
- Investing in Infrastructure: A massive push is needed for creating irrigation facilities, cold chains, warehouses, and rural roads to reduce post-harvest losses.
- Promoting Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Encourage crop diversification, agroforestry, organic farming, and micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler systems) to adapt to climate change.
- Strengthening Farmer Collectives: Promote and support Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to enhance the bargaining power of small and marginal farmers.
- Diversifying Rural Income: Develop allied sectors like animal husbandry, dairy, poultry, and fisheries as alternative and supplementary sources of income. Focus on food processing industries to add value to agricultural produce.
In conclusion, agricultural distress is a complex developmental challenge that requires a sustained and holistic policy focus. For UPSC aspirants, a clear understanding of its causes, consequences, and potential solutions is crucial for crafting well-rounded answers in both Mains and the Interview.