Hunger pangs...

Few years ago India was facing a unique problem of excess, well it’s hard to believe but the government had excess of food grains which they had no place to stock. Just few years down the line there is still a problem but of the opposite nature, our food stocks are lying below the critical levels.

The reasons for this are plenty and most of them can be attributed to… yup you guessed it right the policies of the government and the negligence of our dear Union Minister of Agriculture.

1. The government has fixed the price of wheat, rice and other staple grains. The rising costs of sowing, labor and harvesting makes cultivation of staple food unprofitable for the farmers. The end result: Farmers are switching to cash crops.

2. Due to low margins farmers are unable to purchase good quality seeds and this result in lower yields per acre and yet lower profits. India produces half the amount of rice produced by China per acre and 1/3^rd of the amount produced by America.

3. The most important factor to effect agriculture policies in India is of course due to our Union Agriculture minister’s interest in cricket. It’s a known fact that his ministries meetings are held in Cricket Club of India in Mumbai!

4. Another problem crippling our food stocks is the illegal sale of food stocks to countries like Bangladesh and Nepal.

5. The fickle weather adds to the woes of already burdened farmers. For example the unwarranted march rains in Karnataka have led to a loss of more than 500 crores.

Most farmers find it untenable to till their lands due to the above mentioned factors. They are forced to grow cash crops if irrigation is available or sell of their lands to SEZs or do the unthinkable (suicide) if no other option is available. Will the BCCI chief sit up and take stock of the situation before its too late…?