To speak or write anything about farming is considered very sensitive in our country. Nearly 70 percent of population is connected with farming, while it contributes 18 percent of GDP but farming is more than just earning money, for many it's way of living and they are attached emotionally with it. Now a days so much of media and political outrage about farmers but no one talks about how to improve farming as a sector or as an industry. Most of the times issue of low income comes out and that too being diluted by loan waivers, have we ever thought what farmers do with this much amount of loan? Being part of farming family I know what are the core issues and I am pretty sure that the loan waiver works more like a drug addiction than a relief to farmer. They use these loans for personal expenses only in most of the case so a loan waiver is giving free money for personal expenses at the cost of hard working people who do routine job to make their living. I do believe that as do we have income tax slab for all other earning methods we must introduce taxation on farming too. This will wipe out many issues e.g. there are many people who hide their actual income under the title of farming income to evade tax, such people will find it difficult to hide their income and hence that will improve tax collection for sure. As there will be income slab no small farmer will be effected by that decision. Secondary thing is that the revenue generated by taxes on farming should be used to develop innovation centers for farming at all districts to guide farmers about new techniques and better productivity. Along with this there is need of Amul like revolution to bring food processing connectivity at each farm, as Amul collects milk from each village from their collection center why can't we go with same model for food processing industries? All these steps will enhance the income and will reduce the burden from common man too as he pays the taxes and pays the EMI of loans. Farmers are big part of our society but instead of painting farmers as poor and weak forever it's time to make them self reliant, tech savvy and getting good returns for their crops. Biggest hurdle to change the scenario is our media and politics which like to keep farmers poor so that they can exploit their votes by giving them dose of loan waivers or freebies. Let's accept the truth that earning can not come out of such steps of temporary gains. We must educate our farmers first, we have to tell them that they are starting blocks of our economy but at the same time they have to focus on earning instead of freebies. Let's build a strong self dependent nation. Share your views on it.
