Agriculture is the backbone of every country, notably India, where agriculture employs around 42 percent of the overall workforce. Besides producing food for people's direct consumption, agriculture is important for economic growth since agricultural exports promote trade and commerce and contribute valuable foreign exchange to a country.
Meanwhile, agriculture provides raw ingredients for a variety of sectors, which are subsequently transformed into valuable finished items. But, putting the economic element aside, we'll try to shine some light on some lesser-known agricultural statistics today. Below are some less-discussed topics regarding agriculture and the individuals who work in it.
Agriculture's Dark Side
Agriculture may be highly profitable if the weather conditions for the crops are favourable, but it can also result in significant financial loss. Farmers often rely on natural forces to ensure that their crops are properly nourished. However, sunshine, water, and nutrients must all be available in sufficient quantities, since a lack of any of these might result in crop damage. In the worst-case scenarios, when crops are damaged by hail storms or severe rain, farmers suffer significant losses.
Farmers commit suicide in large numbers because they have no other option when their crops fail and they are unable to repay money lenders or banks. In rural locations, a lack of mental health care providers exacerbates the condition.
Life Is Difficult
A farmer's day normally begins very early in the morning, sometimes even before the sun rises. Farmers, unlike workers in other professions, do not have the option of taking time off. Farmers must irrigate the crops at regular intervals to promote good development, and they must be maintained and fed on a regular basis.
Aside from that, persons who work in agriculture must toil from the start of the agricultural process, when they must plough the land, sow the seeds, and even spray pesticides to keep insects at bay. Furthermore, keeping a watch on the weather becomes critical, as a single heavy downpour may undo months of hard work in a matter of hours.
This Isn't a One-Man Show
Agriculture need a large workforce for everything from ploughing the field to harvesting the crops, as well as all the procedures in between. Farmers typically cultivate crops over multiple acres of land, making it difficult for a single individual to manage. As a result, many landowners hire people to work in their fields and pay them for their services.
Farmers who do not have the financial means to hire staff instead incorporate their family members in the process, and everyone contributes to the farming. Women are typically seen harvesting and irrigating the fields in communities, while their husbands and children plough the fields.
It Is a Costly Affair
A farmer must first acquire many resources in order to develop a certain crop, which might easily burn a hole in his purse. Apart from the labour involved in cultivating crops, one must also take out loans to purchase items like as seeds, tractors, pesticides, manure, and tube wells, among other things.
The majority of farmers rely on village money lenders for farmer loans, and as a result, they frequently become stuck in debt due to the lenders' high interest rates. Farmers are progressively catching up and purchasing technologies and equipment that make their labour simpler but also add to their costs as farming operations become more contemporary.
