The major agrarian causes of farmers’ distress in the country include indebtedness, crop failure, drought, socio-economic and personal conditions. Through our campaign we aspired to raise awareness about the adversities faced by farmers in our country and find ways to overcome challenges by adapting to solutions.

We started this movement last year and received hundreds of solutions for betterment of farmers from your end. Our judge Devinder Sharma, an award-winning Indian journalist, reviewed all the suggestions to select the top 3 winning ones.

Here are the three winners of the #FarmersForFuture Movement and their suggestions:

gautam jain cultivating hope

Gautam Jain: Has been doing research work in farming and agriculture. He hopes to buy some land and start an organic farm.

Suggestion: The starting point must be focusing on access to water. This needs to be done on a war footing. Enough NGOs, citizens, activists and communities have already demonstrated how to do this efficiently and at low cost. This is important to first address health, malnutrition and women’s rights issues. 55 percent of our farmers still rely solely on rain fed irrigation. This is a terrible state of affairs. And herein, of course, it’s about integrated watershed management, small Wells, smaller water bodies, check dams etc.

Rishabh Kushwaha cultivating hope

Rishab Kushwaha: Left his cushy job in Delhi and moved back to Allahabad. He has been teaching children in his school about farming, and feels that youth should be more educated about the farming practices.

Suggestion: There are a lots of things we can do for the farmers. May be this is little hard to do but we should start a campaign in every school and college. I have started a project where we will go to farmers’ home to spend our weekend and spend as much money as possible on their home made products or buy their crops at their door. We aim to motivate youth to join farming.

I met a lot of farmers in last few months and found that the biggest pain is not money but the ignorance of the hard working farmers.

Even if people come to them just for a small healthy talks that will give them a lots of happiness. We need to be with them if we want to eat in future. Everyone needs foods but no one want to grow food now a days. Thank you for your efforts and we will bring a change for sure.

Shashidhar Shirahatti cultivating hope

Shashidhar Shirahatti: Has been teaching at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Vijaypura, Karnataka, for the last 25 years.

Suggestion: My advise is to use ICT based model to allocate optimal quantity of water to irrigated farmers’ fields. This would result in saving of scarce water resource, equitable distribution to all irrespective of whether their fields are at head end or tail end of the canal system, and more importantly, save their agricultural lands from going waterlogged and saline.

The solution has the potential to extend the cultivating areas by using thus saved water. I suggest that rural youth can be trained intensively in the use of this user friendly model for transferring solutions to the farmers of their area, while creating livelihood opportunities for themselves.

Synopsis of Suggestion:

This solution addresses the computer assisted quantification of water allocation to Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) and capacity building activities in use of this tool by water supply officials and irrigators from WIAs.

During the application of the integrated water allocation model, the CRIWAR model (ILRI, Wageningen) calculated the summarized irrigation water requirements at the root zone of a cropping pattern in the 6000 ha (hectare) in the Tungabhadra command area in Karnataka, India, using minimum data of general, climatological and cropping pattern data, whereas the developed WUAS-D model transferred the root zone water requirements into the quantities of irrigation water to be delivered at the various managerial points using the efficiency of water conveyance and quality of canal network.

The application and dissemination of the integrated model was found to be useful in various scenarios like variations in the water availability, alternate cropping patterns, change in the quality of canal network etc., when a large number of WUAs (Water Users’ Associations), generally each WUA covering 300-500 ha irrigated area, are to be supplied water.

The feedback from the water management officials who were trained in the use of the above models in their routine water management activities helped to draw the conclusion that the model could reduce their computational time and labour remarkably, help visualize and react to various water delivery scenarios in the command area.

The representatives of WUAs who were trained in the use of the tool felt that their capacity building had enabled them to actively participate in the decision making process of irrigation water allocation.

Both actors reported that test application of the tool ensured the equitable water allocation to tail end distributors which were hitherto not receiving water. The field application of this training model has the potential to give livelihood opportunities to rural youths in employment as facilitators/computer workers with WUAs.

Here are a few other suggestions which we received:

Cletus V J: My suggestion is to utilise biogas and advance farming practices for the development of farmers. In farming, a lot of organic waste is produced, this waste is usually dried and used as a fuel in traditional practices. A more effective way is to feed a biogas plant with these organic wastes and obtain biogas which is much more efficient fuel and causes very less household pollution.

The leftover slurry is an excellent manure and can be used in the fields. This encourages organic farming at the same time, the problem of waste disposal is solved. The biogas can also be used to power a generator, hence can be used to generate electricity. Community shared biogas plants can prove to be effective in solving many of the farmers problems at a relatively low investment. Technology Premier tech institutes in our country should have dedicated centres for developing rural technologies so that technologies are prepared keeping in mind the Indian farmers. More grants should be provided by government to promote innovation in agriculture technologies. Farmers should be exposed to newer technologies and it should be available to them at cheap rates.

Thirumoorthy R: I am from Tamilnadu and being connected to an agricultural family, I have seen the problems to the core. Farmers as they are uneducated mostly dont know about the latest ideas and innovative developments in the agriculture sector. Government has to step-in and advertise the need for modern farming and proper harvesting as the seasonal rains has let us down for decades. So a proper water management has to be done and the subsidies need to be given to the farmers. Our education system has caused a major setback in agriculture because there are very few interested in pursuing degree in agriculture field and without proper governance from the state and central government, it will be tough to get the agriculture once again as the backbone of the Indian economy.
Siddharth Maurya:We are a group of IT professionals passionate about farming and we are promoting Zero Budget Natural Farming. A set of innovative Farming practices like mixed cropping, using organic fertilizers, endemic seeds and with out using any fertilizers, pesticides eliminating borrowing and debt. The results we have seen have been phenomenal in Andhra and Telangana and we would appreciate help from NDTV to spread the message.
Gautam Jain: The starting point must be focusing on access to water. This needs to be done on a war footing. Enough NGOs, citizens, activists and communities have already demonstrated how to do this efficiently and at low cost. This is important to first address health, malnutrition and women’s rights issues. About 55 percent of our farmers still rely solely on rain-fed irrigation. This is a terrible state of affairs. And herein, of course, it’s about integrated watershed management, small Wells, smaller water bodies, check dams etc.
Udayan Singh:There should be better facilties like soil testing labs which would help the farmers to use optimum fertlisers based on the actual requirements of the soil for the crop, this will avoid overuse of fertlisers and save cost and also increase production. Also, there should be real time data available of the crops sown all over the country at any time so there is no overproduction which leads to over supply and vice versa. And there should be easier agri land tenancy and contract farming laws so that agricultural land is put to best use and makes it easier for corporates to buy directly from the farmers cutting out the middlemen.
Syed Ilyas Basha: Having been a student of Economics, I have been a close watcher of the scenario for more than two decades. Drought, natural calamities and private money lenders were never new for our people. I have found that liquor and growing unchecked corruption has been main reason for today’s plight of farmers in our country. Liquor is playing havoc; both money-wise and health-wise. Its aggressive marketing has pinched big hole in their kitties during past several years. This has resulted in ruining their financial condition as they became addict and were forced to divert their finances.

This has disturbed their financial priorities and made them loan defaulters. Unmindful of the real reasons and the consequences in future, successive governments were quick to waive the bank dues to strengthen their own power base. Attracted by the ‘gesture’, those who hitherto were regular also started defaulting. The faulty criteria in selecting the eligible beneficiaries and corruption at various levels played its own role negatively.

Local leaders used ‘waiver in future too’ as a tool to strengthen their own support base. Liquor available everywhere was handy for every one to celebrate. Competition among these ‘sympathizers’ only aggravated the situation. Inquiries sponsored by Government departments and agencies either by non serious persons or with pre-conceived mindset has never caused any change in the situation. The steps constantly recommended and adopted so far have proved to be only cosmetic and self defeating offering nothing as remedy. The news of farmers’ suicides; once rare have now become a routine. Not a single day is passing without such tragic reports appearing in the media. An open-minded, humane, sympathetic study of ground realities and revolutionary approach is needed to solve today’s farmers problems. People with vested interest should be kept at a large distance from these steps. Or else, we should prepare ourselves for a very grim future in this sector in our country.

Rajinder Raina: We at Sreejan have been attempting to build infrastructure and an eco-system to help farmers for the last 5 years. In our understanding, there are 5 key issues that need attention: 1) Understanding poverty: It’s about how poor the farmer feels and not how poor he is. 2) Understanding Language: A farmer cannot articulate what are his challenges in the language of scientists. So all our research and data is too shallow to really make an impact on his life. 3) Create a fair game: Farmer takes the maximum risk and gets the minimum reward. What can we do about that? 4) A farmer is not a beggar: He’s the original start up guy. He needs an eco system to thrive just like the silicon valley start ups. Is anyone listening? Last thing, he needs is subsidies and dole. 5) Our focus is on the wrong place: Leave the farmer alone, just focus on his local eco system. An abundant and locally restored water, power and biomass would go a long way.
Anup Puranik: Being an agrarian country and 69 years of independence, the farmers of our country are still dependent on monsoons – any shortfall or excess creates havoc. Committing suicides for amounts as low as Rs 10,000 is a shame for our country! Building a better irrigation system (through drip irrigation), using mobile technology for price point information in the market, using avenues such as solar power pumps to run farmlands, access to crowd funding (a Rs 1,000 collected from a donation campaign can help farmers build infrastructure in a big way) are some measures. But the immediate for the country is to stop these suicides – for which infrastructure needs to be developed and thus cultivating hope for the future. Staying in huge cities and a fast paced life, somehow the story of today’s farmer is neglected.
Karan Kanwal: We at Sreejan have been attempting to build infrastructure and an eco system to help farmers for the last 5 years. In our understanding, there are 5 key issues that need attention: 1) Understanding poverty: It’s about how poor the farmer feels and not how poor he is. 2) Understanding Language: A farmer cannot articulate what are his challenges in the language of scientists. So all our research and data is too shallow to really make an impact on his life. 3) Create a fair game: Farmer takes the maximum risk and gets the minimum reward. What can we do about that? 4) A farmer is not a beggar: He’s the original start up guy. He needs an eco system to thrive just like the silicon valley start ups. Is anyone listening? Last thing, he needs is subsidies and dole. 5) Our focus is on the wrong place: Leave the farmer alone, just focus on his local eco-system. An abundant and locally restored water, power and biomass would go a long way.
: No matter how hard our farmers work in field they get a very small amount of money by selling their crops because they can’t sell their crops directly to the buyers. So what can our government do in this case?? I think that government should employ farmers to grow crops for which they should be given proper salary per month. Farmers would also appreciate this step as they would get fixed money for their living inspite of getting money by selling their crops at odd prices. Their wouldn’t be much pressure on them in case of crop failure. They would be able to provide their family a life which they worth, and would not take disastrous steps like suiside. Yes, it’s not an easy process and also a lot of capital would be required for this but it isn’t impossible, because if we can reach mars then in first attempt we can do anything! Salute to our farmers without them we can’t survive – Jai Jawan Jai Kissan.

Jagdish Gami: As an NRE and grandson of a farmer I have invested large sum of money in landscaping the land, installing a bore and water storage tank. Gujarat government does not have any pride towards farmer hard working life because:

1) Light is not provided on full time basis which very often is not guaranteed on timely basis as well. Furthermore light provided is 3 phase therefore it is not available in farmer rest house for their domestic and comfort needs during hot weather. Light should be available on 24×7 basis for both farming and domestic needs. 2) Farmers do not get proper price for there crops. Farmers work hard day and night investing 100% but only get back only 40 to 50% back..or even less due middle men taking a higher profiteering and paying less to farmers for their crops. Their should be a Farmer governing Body which ensures that farmers get fair price for their crops.

Anil Kumar: Farming is not a bad profession, but there is a number of problems associated with this. if any educated young from farmer’s family think about his carrier in farming and trying to do it in a modern way, fist of all it needs lots of money. Farmers do not have that much money. If we talk about the loan of banks, it is Rs 40,000 for one year which should be recycled in a year. 1. Amount is very small in comparison of budget requirement. 2. Outcome majorly depends upon weather conditions. 3. Lake of co-operations from government bodies in case of failure. 4. Price of the crops is not according to business norms (Not calculated on the basis of cost and risk of the crops). There are large number other problems as well. If government supports farmers 30% in compression of industrialists, educated young will be interested in this profession. I am sure that farmers already in profession and new educated young’s are so hardworking, they can change the not only farmer but the whole country conditions.

Surya Kiran: Now we have reached a break point where the present conditions of farmers situation continue we will be saying once we were a agricultural based country. The policy makings and debt clearance when a new government is elected all this things will not reduce the burdens of Farmers. The government needs to take precautions to support farmers in all possible ways, as the climate is worsening and no proper rain cycle farmers are struggling very hard to harvest and even if they have done with little water resource they are not able to get proper yielding which eventually will effect our economy and also apart from these worries farmers has their parental responsibilities to full fill which are like proving basic education for their children and 3 times meal for a day, shelter over their head. As they were not able to produce any money from these adverse conditions for farming and not having any alternatives to make money and the self respect which they can’t let down n do some other work; all these conditions forcing farmers committing suicide. Instead of government spending too much in importing food products and contributing to foreign economy why can’t our government spend the same money on farmers family of their own national and support them, this initiative will make our economy better n lives improves our people lives. The farmers situation in our country is similar to climate issue if our government is not going to take any initiatives then we have face worse situation in the coming years.

Shreekanth Patel: India needs to go back to its roots and focus on farming. There should be strict laws against converting agricultural land for any other use. We need a second green revolution.

Devang Patel:I think we should be able to channelize the Educated Youth towards farming as a profession, my understanding is as below: 1. Young educated youth can leverage his education towards more improved way of farming. 2. Joint collaboration between young youth and farmers so that education meets the technical know how of farming. 3. Technology initiatives in farming to be brought in by educated youth. 4. Better and improved process can be implemented to improve the productivity. 5. Integration of weather forecast in advance by the youth team along with farmers to plan farming activities in advance and take necessary action due to weather change.