Introduction
As seen above, a large number of people live below poverty line and over one-half of these people depend on agriculture. These rural households may not be directly involved in the agricultural labor but their income sources are linked with the success of the agricultural production. They may be exposed to the financial risks following natural disasters or climate change, which affect the products of agriculture.
1. Agriculture in India and Major Risks
1.1. A review of Agriculture in India
This section covers the significant government policies that aimed at the promotion of agricultural development. There were many principle changes that have been introduced since the Independence of India.
At the time of Independence, the agricultural sector consisted of a stagnant backward economy with low resource availability, inadequate government support and most importantly, severe poverty. Daniel Thorner, a well-known economist remarked “India was left with perhaps the world’s most refractory problem” (ANTHONY P. D'COSTA). Land reforms were introduced as an immediate measure to deal with the skewed distribution of land and the reforms led to the abolition of intermediaries and giving land titles to farmers. Along with these reforms, the Community Development Programme was set up in 1952 (NAYAR, 1960). This programme aimed at the development of the rural people by the co-ordination of the activities related to agriculture, animal husbandry and irrigation, which was executed and evaluated by officials at district level to village level. National Extension Service was also introduced along with the Community Development Programme, which also aimed at the initiation of rural development activities under the sponsorship of the ...
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... their chances of default either by borrowing money from lenders at atrocious interest rates or by selling their assets alongside poor investment in future seasons. Therefore, yield risk is one of the most important agricultural risks. Rainfall is a major yield risk factor especially in the Indian economy, as it is heavily dependent on monsoon. A recent study has shown that there is a positive correlation between rainfall and the crop yields in rural India (Kirtti Ranjan Paltasingh, 2012). Hence, the risk is more dominant in certain regions such as arid regions when compared to high rain-fed regions. High temperature also affects plant growth and decreases the yield significantly.
1.2.2 Market/Price risk:
Agriculture is subjected to many uncertainties and this even includes the price of the agricultural products. The input and output prices are volatile in nature.
At the same time, the local agricultural economy was experiencing a deep economic depression due to the severe droughs that had occured throughout the past decade. The loss of crops cut out the average farmers'/planters' main food source as well a...
this notion of stable supply and demand affected prices of farm commodities. “Low prices on
The Economy is really bad in parts of India, people are usually not using technology, the way they cook is unsanitary, and houses are not modern. Indian farmers used to use seeds that required only cow poop for fertilizer. The Jai BT seeds that Monsanto created requires two different fertilizers, Jai BT seeds are more expensive than the old seeds, so farmers have to pay extra for the fertilizer and seeds. The Jai BT seeds did not germinate in the soil and rotted, causing the farmer much stress. The farmers pay a high amount of money for the land. If their farm does not grow, the farmer doesn't get any money and will eventuall...
The 1920’s were the singularly most influential years of farming in our country. The loss of farms following the war, and new agricultural practices resulted in the dawn of modern agriculture in our country. The shift from small family to big corporation during this time is now the basis for how our society deals with food today. Traditional farming in the 1920’s underwent a series of massive transitions following WWI as the number of farms decreased and the size of farms increased.
Farmers face many problems such as, a corrupt monetary policy, overproduction, and differential freight rates. The complaints of the farmers are justified because with the correction of these issues the farmers would continue with successful business. Each of the problems caused the farmers to lose money and become where they could not afford to run the businesses anymore, therefore, causing even more failure within the farming occupation.
Climate change is currently generally regarded as a major global issue that is especially acute in developing countries. This study focuses on the impacts of climate change and variability on smallholder farmers, their vulnerability and coping strategies on a micro-scale in a developing country.
Agriculture plays an enormous part in having a functioning society. The farming fields in the
Our nation was founded on agriculture, and for hundreds of years we were able to migrate across the nation bringing our farming tools and techniques with us. Technology has driven populations away from rural areas towards industrialized cities. With money now being pumped into cities, rural farmers are suffering the most. Farmers are taking out large loans in order to sustain their farms, leading to debt and in some cases suicide. Patel spoke about a farmer in India whose husband took his life because he was unable to live with the amount of debt from his struggling farm. This man left his wife and chi...
This is necessary as the vast majority of individuals migrating from rural to urban centers has been steadily increasing with the level of economic growth seen within the past twenty years as mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, this situation has further shown the structural issues and inequalities of cities, as most migrants end up having a poor quality of life living in informal settlements as highlight substantially by Boo. As a means of tackling this, however, the Indian government has turned its focus on investing rural regions, developing the agricultural sector. Specifically, Boo mentions that “the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, had come down from Delhi to express his concern for the farmers’ hardships, and the central government’s determination to relieve it” (p. 138). While this is definitely important funds are not being divided justly. For starters, between rural and urban areas almost all investments are being targeting towards rural regions, which is only addressing issues of inequality in one section of the country. Furthermore, across rural areas inequalities of investment are quite often overlooked. Although, “one of the governments hopes was to stop villagers from abandoning their farms and further inundating cities like Mumbai, but Asha’s relatives knew nothing of these celebrated relief programs” (p. 138). Therefore, even though
In Genesis 1:29, God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” From the beginning God has given us food for life. Plants, meats, trees, and fruits are offered to us as a means of sustenance from the very same God who made them long ago.
...earch and extension, rural infrastructure, and market access for small farmers. Rural investments have been sorely neglected in recent decades, and now is the time to reverse this trend. Farmers in many developing countries are operating in an environment of inadequate infrastructure like roads, electricity, and communications; poor soils; lack of storage and processing capacity; and little or no access to agricultural technologies that could increase their profits and improve their livelihoods. Recent unrest over food prices in a number of countries may tempt policymakers to put the interests of urban consumers over those of rural people, including farmers, but this approach would be shortsighted and counterproductive. Given the scale of investment needed, aid donors should also expand development assistance to agriculture, rural services, and science and technology.
...o climate change. All of these have caused an impact on the ability to produce crops and grow agriculturally. Climate change has been increasing the number of droughts, floods, health hazards of employees, natural disasters, and sea level elevations. All of these put in danger the crop productivity resulting in famines and food price increments. Climate change affects agriculture in every country differently due to its location. Countries such as Canada and Russia are being affected positively by climate change since it has enabled the country to prosper agriculturally. Other countries cannot handle drastic temperature changes, such as Sudan and Bangladesh, whose agricultural growth has been affected negatively by the climatic changes. Agriculture is fundamental in a country, creating a balance between agriculture and the increasing climatic changes would be ideal.
As agriculture has become more intensive, farmers have become capable of producing higher yields using less labour and less land. Growth of the agriculture has not, however, been an unmixed blessing. It, like every other thing, has its pros and cons. Topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm labourers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities. These are the cons of the new improved agriculture.
Due to rural-urban migration, there has been increasing levels of poverty and depopulation in rural areas. This is one of the reasons why the government has seen it as necessary and made it a priority to improve the lives of the people who live in rural areas. Rural development is about enabling people in the rural areas take charge of their destiny. This is through the use and management of the natural resources they are exposed to. This is a process through which people learn over time and they use this knowledge to adapt to the changing world. The purpose of rural development is to improve the lives of people living in the rural areas.
Would you enjoy having fresh, delicious, luscious vegetables to eat all summer long that cost you almost nothing? I know I would. Well, now you can have your veggies and eat them too. Try building your own vegetable garden. It can fit all sizes of yards and decks. You just need to pick the location and type of garden. Next, you will prepare the garden site and work the soil. Finally, you will plan the specifics and plant your garden. With some care and patience, you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor in no time.