ARTICLE- MODERN FARMERS OF MALWA

They may be an insignificant few amidst the imposing 70% emaciated monsoon hunters, but the emerging “modern farmers” are predictably better equipped to help India reach its 8 % growth. At least that is what it would seem at a glance.

In her neighborhood and amongst her other friends, between kitty parties and mahjong mornings, for urban elites like Prerna, who live in neat little farm houses, the topic of discussion is no longer restricted to exchange of recipes, gossip and other trivialities. Catch them when a party is in full swing and you will be surprised to hear them animatedly discuss the IPR laws in farming, genetically engineered food crops, micro nutrients, stevia, muesli, vermi-composting or water management. Everyone seems to have a passionate opinion about everything. “Farming” and more so “organic” farming, however is the hottest topic of discussion. Even if it seems a little absurd at first, one cannot ignore it as an elitist fad. People like Ravi and Rajeev, who have taken this elitist fancy rather seriously, make you turn around and notice them carefully. None of them are from traditional farming families. They are professionals in their own fields. They may drive around in long imposing cars, wear branded apparel or chose their liquor with care, yet between partying hard and making their mullah, they are sincerely concerned with sustainable development of the economy. They are not only well informed and resourceful but also extremely aware of agro-economics, which give them their cutting edge. They form a new generation of agriculturists. Even if they form a miniscule percentage at the moment, they are waiting in the backdrop (with an arsenal of advanced farming knowledge to shape 70% of the landholdings of India), perhaps to catalyze the greatest agricultural revolution yet.
Right now however they are at the threshold of a curious transition.
For Prerna, like the rest of them, it was never a livelihood issue. A beautician by profession, farming became just an interesting hobby, no more or no less expensive than say golfing at first. “Most of my friends like me who had a green thumb tried to make most of the kitchen garden.” But an acre and a half of kitchen garden? That is just about as much as an average Indian farmer owns for his livelihood. Indulging in her fancies, (initially in about half a bigha of land) she started growing lime and lemon in her sprawling farm house orchard. Staying organic is the best way to go, she read, and so mastered the art of making her own brand of organic pesticide spray as well. Soon the land was turning over other varieties of vegetables, potatoes and even soya beans. Yet farming is merely a wonderful pastime with Prerna and she wouldn’t consider herself farmer.
Ravi, on the other hand looks at his endeavor as a serious business venture. With a pipe in his mouth and looking every bit like Omar Sharif, he speaks in a slow drawl on how modern farming was becoming more and more market oriented, throwing the traditional farmer off its loop, often into desperate suicide attempts. “The ones with small uneconomic landholdings, who were happy at one time just to grow enough for a marginal profit, can barely survive today”. Garnering his business acumen, he took several acres on lease a few years ago. He has been growing three crops annually ever since (vis a vis the usual two crops that an ordinary farmer can afford to grow) and also diverting his attention to expensive non-traditional crops like muesli –whipping up the profit margins to more than double than that of a traditional crop. Needless to say, he uses the best quality seeds (even if they have to be imported from another part of the country) and better fertilizers to ensure maximum returns.
Everyone knows how degraded land, erratic monsoons and dropping groundwater levels keep the poor farmer cash strapped and in the clutches of the money lender forever. ‘Why don’t they grow muesli if it so profitable’, you may be tempted to ask, little realizing that you may sound as despicably ignorant as Mary Antoinette. The initial investments towards non-traditional crops are rather steep and absolutely unaffordable for a subsistence farmer, who depends upon a staple crop. In the case of organic farming, there has to be fallow period of a few years before the land can be certified for organic farming. Besides, organic food crops may be a rage abroad, but in India it has not found a domestic market yet. So, for small farmers, there are really no other options left. Hence, today they would much rather lease out their land to keep their bones together and look for alternate employment opportunities
Yousaf Khan is not unhappy to have leased out his land to Ravi, which ensures him a stable annual income, even though it is half of what he could have earned if he put it to plough. He had no means of using expensive high yielding hybrid seeds, or costly fertilizers, or adequate farmhands to ensure these higher profit margins, unless he took agricultural loans; one of the reasons why many a subsistence farmer leased out their lands in the first place. Courtesy Ravi, not only is his land well taken care of (and will be returned to an enriched state); he and several of his family members are enjoying an additional income as farmhands (under Ravi) as well.
The Rajeevs are amongst the most dedicated of the lot - professionals who work extensively for the promotion of specialized farming (like Organic/ biodynamic farming), sometimes in collaboration with foreign organizations. The traditional subsistence farmer is totally inept and inadequate in handling the trade economics vis a vis new technology and cropping patterns. Moreover to be innovative and experimental one needs to ride the green buck and not just depend on a green thumb.The donor company makes it viable for an ordinary farmer to think out of the box. Rajeev and his ilk not only provide them with all infrastructural requirements and know how, but also garner their cooperative output and provide them with a viable marketing outlet. This is bringing about a significant difference in the lives of an ordinary farmer who is always beset with multiple problems and doesn't have adequate means of redressing them. Livelihood has never been better for these farmers ever since.
In upper Punjab, leasing of land and mass migration of small farmers in search of other jobs, has been a common phenomenon for sometime. As a result, rich Punjabi families control huge expanses of land today, even as much as 600 acres, using them for both agricultural and commercial purposes. In the Malwa however, it is a fairly new experience, attracting a large number of non-farming community entrepreneurs into agriculture for the first time. Anything that seems like a viable business proposition attracts this modern farmer and he has the means of pursuing his dream, albeit at a cost. High yielding seeds, organic fertilizers and pesticides, machinery, technology, the very best infact are made available and every move strategized. They are popularizing new non-traditional crops, new varieties of crops and new methods of cultivation, for a global market where quality and packaging are the two most important criteria for survival. In addition, they are applying the six sigma approach in dealing with the economics of surplus productions, price fluctuation, advanced know-how and soil and water management; all of which require clever speculation and management skills and extreme professionalism. It is worth overhearing what they think about it themselves, “On one hand we have the global market, which is becoming increasingly competitive, and on the other hand we have shriveling resources. Pressure of increasing population is also gradually encroaching upon agricultural land, which can be devastating for our economy unless, “new farmers” take stock of the situation and bring in a new green revolution”.
It is already influencing many bigger traditional farmers have also risen to higher levels of modern farming today. It is not uncommon to find the likes of Manoj, who manages over 100 acres of his family’s lands, sitting at the computer, accessing data on latest farming techniques and actually implementing them. His lifestyle too has taken a quantum leap.
The new farmers in their long cars may change the picture of India altogether someday .The fallout of such a great venture on the delicate fabric of the agro-based community is another story. Will the traditional farming population prosper with time or find new occupations are yet to be seen. Before one movement wipes out the other in the oldest game of mankind, namely survival of the fittest, this transition is worth watching.