Farmers must market their produce to become competitive

[S.Annadana]

M.J. PRABU


The villagers do not have a proper marketing channel to help them





Photo: M.J. Prabu

Welcome trend: Farmers of Kothia village in Samastipur district, Bihar seen in front of the village entrance. —

At a time when a debate is raging on whether organic farming can produce enough food to feed the world, compared to chemical farming, experts point to the fact that organic practices definitely bring down the input costs required for cultivation (though some say they are labour intensive).

Fertilizer shortage

Especially now, when there is a shortage of fertilizers and farmers find it difficult to get it from even government shops, organic manures and inputs seem to have gained an upper hand.

Kothia village of Samastipur district, located on Tajpur-Patna state highway at a distance of about 22 kms from Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, passes of just any other village.

But, on interacting with the villagers, one can understand that the village is totally chemical free and the farmers there have been practising organic agriculture forseveral years now.

Majority small scale

More than 90 per cent of the farmers have land holding less than one hectare and manufacture vermi-compost, and grow crops such as brinjal, guava, banana, cucumber and tubers throughout the year (4 crops in a year).

According to Mr. Ramadhar, Chairman, State Farmers Commission, Bihar, the farmers of Kothia village are being regularly trained by scientists of the Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, on the benefits of integrated farming system for management of sustainable soil health.

“The most common cropping sequence that is followed by most of us is potato, maize, elephant foot yam and pointed gourd. Besides these brinjal, guava, banana and cucumber are also grown,” said Mr. P.M. Singh, an organic farmer,

“I spend about Rs 60,000 for growing the crops on an acre of land and am able to earn a net income of about Rs 1.22 lakhs from them.

No marketing

I would have earned more if there had been a proper marketing channel for organic products in our state,” he said. All the farmers voice the same view.

“There is no use asking farmers to adopt organic practices for growing crops and not help them in marketing. We are also not able to sell the items at a good price because people prefer to buy the same products grown chemically at a cheaper price. So we are forced to sell our produce at the same rate as that of others,” said Mr. K.P. Sharma, the village headman.

No choice

At present, the farmers sell their produce along with those grown using chemical fertilizers in the market. The Farmer’s Commission has been trying its best to encourage and motivate many villages in the State to adopt organic practices.

“We are trying to locate institutions which are engaged in issuing organic certification and marketing of organically produced agricultural commodities.”

“We have also, through several meetings, urged the farmers to take up marketing on their own,” said Mr. R.K.P. Singh, member of the Commission.

Come forward

“Farmers should evolve from being only growers of crops to marketers of their produce. They can form cooperatives, self help groups and start marketing. There is no use blaming the government or lamenting about the absence of a proper market. Only when they come forward to market their produce, can this problem of marketing be solved,” said Mr. Ramadhar.

Mr. Ramadhar can be reached at Pant Bhawan, 1st Floor, Bailey Road, Patna- 800001, e-mail: ramadhar@vsnl.com and kisanayog@gmail.com, phone:0612-2206169 and 2232847.