Editorial published in "Agriculture & Industry Survey" magazine - May 2026 issue.
Why farmers don’t want their children to be farmers
The growing crisis of aspiration in rural India
A few weeks ago, we were in a village in Tamil Nadu attending a social event. Most of the people present were local farmers. What struck us immediately was that nearly all their children were working in urban jobs in cities. Quite strikingly, many of them were in IT jobs in the United States. The parents were naturally proud as they spoke about their children.
“My son is an engineer,” or “My daughter is a doctor.”
We did not hear anyone say, “My child has chosen to continue farming,” with the same sense of achievement.
This is not accidental. It reflects a deep and uncomfortable truth—farming in India is no longer seen as a viable or desirable occupation, even by those who have spent their entire lives on the land. The more troubling question is not why children of farmers are leaving agriculture. The real question is: why do farmers themselves not want their children to return?
The Aspiration Gap: Farming vs the Salary Economy
At the heart of this shift lies a stark economic reality. The gap between what a young graduate can earn in a routine corporate job and what a farmer can earn from the land is simply too large.
A fresh engineering graduate joining a company in the city can expect a stable monthly salary, predictable increments, and a structured career path. Even if the job is not glamorous, it offers certainty.
Farming offers none of this.
Income is uncertain, dependent on weather, markets, and middlemen. A year of hard work can be undone by a price crash or a failed monsoon. There is no guaranteed monthly income, no safety net, and very limited upward mobility.
Faced with this contrast, farmers make a rational choice. They push their children toward professions that promise stability—even if it means leaving behind generations of agricultural heritage.
What Are Agricultural Universities Really Producing?
This raises another uncomfortable question. In India’s agricultural universities, how many students genuinely aspire to return to farming?
The answer, in most cases, is very few.
Students enroll in agriculture not to become farmers, but to build careers as agricultural scientists, government officers, or corporate professionals in agri-input and agri-tech companies. Farming itself is rarely the end goal.
This reflects a structural disconnect. The education system is not producing the next generation of farmers. It is producing professionals who will operate around agriculture, not within it.
The Return to Farming: A Second Choice, Not a First
An observable pattern across rural India is this: many individuals return to farming only later in life.
After attempting careers in cities—sometimes successfully, often not—they come back to the land in their forties or fifties. Farming becomes a fallback option, not a chosen profession.
The result is a rural demographic that is increasingly composed of older farmers and those who could not sustain urban careers. Farming becomes something one does when other options are exhausted.
Where, then, are the brightest young minds?
They are in cities, in offices, in the service sector—far removed from the fields that sustain the nation.
A Global Trend, But With Indian Consequences
To some extent, this is part of a global pattern. In developed economies, the majority of income comes from the services sector, and agriculture employs only a small percentage of the population.
India is moving in that direction.
But there is a critical difference.
In countries where fewer people farm, those who remain are highly productive, well-supported, and technologically advanced. In India, the transition is uneven. The most capable individuals are exiting agriculture, but the sector itself is not becoming correspondingly efficient or profitable.
This creates a dangerous imbalance.
When the Best Leave, Who Shapes Rural India?
When the most educated and capable individuals leave rural India, the consequences go beyond agriculture.
A vacuum is created.
In that vacuum, rural populations become more vulnerable—to weak policy, to short-term thinking, and to systems that do not always serve their long-term interests. When the best minds are not present in agriculture, innovation slows, and the ability to demand better systems weakens.
This is not a criticism of farmers. It is a reflection of a system that has failed to reward excellence within agriculture.
The Emotional Weight of Land
Yet, beneath all these economic and structural issues lies something deeply personal.
For most farmers, land is not just an asset. It is inheritance, identity, and history. It has come down through generations and carries deep emotional meaning.
And yet, for the younger generation, this land often feels like a burden.
They feel an obligation to hold on to it, but the land alone cannot provide the income needed for a modern life. It cannot compete with urban salaries or offer comparable opportunities.
What was once a source of pride begins to feel like a weight—a responsibility without reward.
An Old Structure That Still Persists
Historically, agriculture in India has often functioned as a source of extraction for the wider economy.
Even today, the language we use reflects this legacy. Terms like “Collector” originate from a time when the primary role of administration was to extract revenue from agricultural regions.
While the economy has evolved, the perception of agriculture has not kept pace. It is still not widely seen as a sector of innovation, ambition, or opportunity.
It is rarely viewed as something “smart” or aspirational.
Have We Thought This Through?
This brings us to a fundamental question: has this issue received the attention it deserves?
Have policymakers fully grappled with the long-term implications of a generation walking away from farming?
Have agricultural institutions reflected on why their graduates do not return to the land?
Have farmers themselves considered what this trend means for the future of their families and communities?
These are difficult questions. But they cannot be avoided.
A Choice That Will Shape India’s Future
India cannot afford a future where farming is sustained only by those who have no other option.
It needs its best minds in agriculture—not just in laboratories or corporate offices, but on the ground, in the fields.
The question is not whether young people should pursue opportunities beyond farming. They should.
The question is whether farming itself can become an opportunity worth choosing.
Until that happens, farmers will continue to celebrate doctors and engineers—and quietly hope that their children never have to return to the land.
Editorial published in "Agriculture & Industry Survey" magazine - May 2026 issue.
Why farmers don’t want their children to be farmers
The growing crisis of aspiration in rural India
A few weeks ago, we were in a village in Tamil Nadu attending a social event. Most of the people present were local farmers. What struck us immediately was that nearly all their children were working in urban jobs in cities. Quite strikingly, many of them were in IT jobs in the United States. The parents were naturally proud as they spoke about their children.
“My son is an engineer,” or “My daughter is a doctor.”
We did not hear anyone say, “My child has chosen to continue farming,” with the same sense of achievement.
This is not accidental. It reflects a deep and uncomfortable truth—farming in India is no longer seen as a viable or desirable occupation, even by those who have spent their entire lives on the land. The more troubling question is not why children of farmers are leaving agriculture. The real question is: why do farmers themselves not want their children to return?
The Aspiration Gap: Farming vs the Salary Economy
At the heart of this shift lies a stark economic reality. The gap between what a young graduate can earn in a routine corporate job and what a farmer can earn from the land is simply too large.
A fresh engineering graduate joining a company in the city can expect a stable monthly salary, predictable increments, and a structured career path. Even if the job is not glamorous, it offers certainty.
Farming offers none of this.
Income is uncertain, dependent on weather, markets, and middlemen. A year of hard work can be undone by a price crash or a failed monsoon. There is no guaranteed monthly income, no safety net, and very limited upward mobility.
Faced with this contrast, farmers make a rational choice. They push their children toward professions that promise stability—even if it means leaving behind generations of agricultural heritage.
What Are Agricultural Universities Really Producing?
This raises another uncomfortable question. In India’s agricultural universities, how many students genuinely aspire to return to farming?
The answer, in most cases, is very few.
Students enroll in agriculture not to become farmers, but to build careers as agricultural scientists, government officers, or corporate professionals in agri-input and agri-tech companies. Farming itself is rarely the end goal.
This reflects a structural disconnect. The education system is not producing the next generation of farmers. It is producing professionals who will operate around agriculture, not within it.
The Return to Farming: A Second Choice, Not a First
An observable pattern across rural India is this: many individuals return to farming only later in life.
After attempting careers in cities—sometimes successfully, often not—they come back to the land in their forties or fifties. Farming becomes a fallback option, not a chosen profession.
The result is a rural demographic that is increasingly composed of older farmers and those who could not sustain urban careers. Farming becomes something one does when other options are exhausted.
Where, then, are the brightest young minds?
They are in cities, in offices, in the service sector—far removed from the fields that sustain the nation.
A Global Trend, But With Indian Consequences
To some extent, this is part of a global pattern. In developed economies, the majority of income comes from the services sector, and agriculture employs only a small percentage of the population.
India is moving in that direction.
But there is a critical difference.
In countries where fewer people farm, those who remain are highly productive, well-supported, and technologically advanced. In India, the transition is uneven. The most capable individuals are exiting agriculture, but the sector itself is not becoming correspondingly efficient or profitable.
This creates a dangerous imbalance.
When the Best Leave, Who Shapes Rural India?
When the most educated and capable individuals leave rural India, the consequences go beyond agriculture.
A vacuum is created.
In that vacuum, rural populations become more vulnerable—to weak policy, to short-term thinking, and to systems that do not always serve their long-term interests. When the best minds are not present in agriculture, innovation slows, and the ability to demand better systems weakens.
This is not a criticism of farmers. It is a reflection of a system that has failed to reward excellence within agriculture.
The Emotional Weight of Land
Yet, beneath all these economic and structural issues lies something deeply personal.
For most farmers, land is not just an asset. It is inheritance, identity, and history. It has come down through generations and carries deep emotional meaning.
And yet, for the younger generation, this land often feels like a burden.
They feel an obligation to hold on to it, but the land alone cannot provide the income needed for a modern life. It cannot compete with urban salaries or offer comparable opportunities.
What was once a source of pride begins to feel like a weight—a responsibility without reward.
An Old Structure That Still Persists
Historically, agriculture in India has often functioned as a source of extraction for the wider economy.
Even today, the language we use reflects this legacy. Terms like “Collector” originate from a time when the primary role of administration was to extract revenue from agricultural regions.
While the economy has evolved, the perception of agriculture has not kept pace. It is still not widely seen as a sector of innovation, ambition, or opportunity.
It is rarely viewed as something “smart” or aspirational.
Have We Thought This Through?
This brings us to a fundamental question: has this issue received the attention it deserves?
Have policymakers fully grappled with the long-term implications of a generation walking away from farming?
Have agricultural institutions reflected on why their graduates do not return to the land?
Have farmers themselves considered what this trend means for the future of their families and communities?
These are difficult questions. But they cannot be avoided.
A Choice That Will Shape India’s Future
India cannot afford a future where farming is sustained only by those who have no other option.
It needs its best minds in agriculture—not just in laboratories or corporate offices, but on the ground, in the fields.
The question is not whether young people should pursue opportunities beyond farming. They should.
The question is whether farming itself can become an opportunity worth choosing.
Until that happens, farmers will continue to celebrate doctors and engineers—and quietly hope that their children never have to return to the land.
Editorial published in "Agriculture & Industry Survey" magazine - May 2026 issue.