Rooting for Resilience

By shifting from short-term relief to resilience, and dependency to dignity, India can break rural poverty, unlocking its vast agricultural potential

- CHITTA RANJAN PANI

cross India's vast farmlands, millions of small and marginal farmers—owning less than two hectares—face an uncertain future. Despite feeding the nation, they remain trapped in poverty due to systemic challenges. Erratic rainfall, worsened by climate change, rising input costs, limited market access, and exploitative middle-men create a harsh reality. Policy exclusion and reliance on subsidies deepen dependency. The banking system, disconnected from farmers' needs, rarely provides affordable credit, forcing many into high-interest informal loans. This debt cycle perpetuates poverty.

This article explores how enterprise, responsible business, and institutional reforms, alongside post-COVID opportunities, can empower smallholders for long-term resilience, dignity, and prosperity, drawing on past reforms and global goals to advocate for a vibrant rural economy.

Web of Challenges Small and marginal farmers, over 85 per cent of India's agricultural population, cultivate nearly 45 per cent of the net sown area (Agricultural Census 2015-16). Yet, small landholdings yield insufficient returns for a decent livelihood. Without reliable irrigation, they depend on erratic monsoons, where a single crop failure spells financial ruin. Rising costs for fertilisers, seeds, and fuel shrink margins, leaving little for reinvestment (RBI Handbook, 2022).

Lacking storage or value-addition infrastructure, farmers sell at distress prices to meet urgent needs. Only seven per cent access the Minimum Support Price (MSP), with most facing fluctuating, middleman-manipulated local prices (Shanta Kumar Committee, 2015). Institutional exclusion further limits their bargaining power or policy influence (NIAM, 2020). Post-COVID disruptions exacerbated these issues, with supply chain breakdowns and market closures forcing distress sales at rock-bottom prices.