Gujarat an agriculture chief? Farmers in state extra indebted than these in Bihar, report exhibits

Express News Service

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat authorities’s claims about Gujarat being the agricultural chief is now in query. According to a report launched by the Union Ministry of Agriculture, every farmer household in Gujarat has a debt of Rs 56,568. Farmers in Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Uttarakhand are in higher form than these in Gujarat. According to the report, Gujarat farmers have borrowed Rs 96,963 crores in 2021-22.

A farmer household, the report discovered, earned a month-to-month revenue of Rs 12,631 in Gujarat. The common farmer household earns Rs 4318 from crop manufacturing, Rs 3477 from animal husbandry, Rs 4415 as wages, Rs 53 from rented land, in addition to an extra Rs 369 per thirty days.

Gujarat has a complete of 66,02,700 households. A complete of 40,36,900 households work in agriculture, the report famous. That is, agriculture employs 61.10 per cent of the state’s households.

The common farming household within the state owns 0.616 hectares of land. In phrases of land per household, Gujarat ranks tenth within the nation.

ALSO READ | Gujarat farmers intensify stir for eight-hour energy

Agriculture scientist and former Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith Rajendra Khimani mentioned, “Prices of agricultural products do not rise in tandem with input cost of cultivation. As a result, the farmer becomes indebted. Input cultivation prices have increased by 60 per cent in the last three years, while produce prices have increased by no more than 30%. Simply put, this demonstrates a large gap between agri production costs and output product income, which is increasing farmers’ debt.”

“Small farmers are now shifting to cash crops, especially in tribal areas. Farmers used to grow cash crops for their families, but now in most parts of Gujarat, they are shifting to market-oriented farming. If you turn to market-oriented agriculture, you will have to incur debt to meet the demands of the market; if you try to commercialize agriculture, the debt will naturally increase,” he added.

According to Ramesh Patel, a farmer from South Gujarat: “Fertilizer prices have risen. At the same time, the price of seeds has more than doubled. Furthermore, the price of diesel, which is used to power farm machinery and tractors, has increased. As a result, farmers’ overall incomes decreased while input costs increased. Most farmers are also repaying previous debts.”

According to information offered to the Parliament, agricultural loans in Gujarat elevated from Rs 73,228.67 crore in 2019–20 to Rs 96,963.07 crore in 2021-22. It’s fascinating to notice that in the course of the previous two years, the ticket measurement of loans obtained below the farm credit score programme has additionally climbed by 45%. According to information from the Union Ministry of Agriculture, the per-account agriculture credit score elevated all through the time from Rs 1.71 lakh to Rs 2.48 lakh in the course of the quarter.

ALSO READ | Upset over poor returns, Gujarat farmers distribute garlic without spending a dime

Economist Hemant Shah mentioned, “The increasing amount of debt shows that these farmers are quite indebted, and those who fall under the marginal side will not be able to increase their income because of the debt, Government claimed that farmers’ income will be doubled before 2022, but their own data claimed farmer debt has doubled.”

It is vital to notice that, as debt ranges rise, the suicide price amongst agricultural staff and farmers in Gujarat has elevated as properly. According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), 126 agricultural labourers and farmers in Gujarat died by suicide within the 12 months 2020 in the course of the pandemic.

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat authorities’s claims about Gujarat being the agricultural chief is now in query. According to a report launched by the Union Ministry of Agriculture, every farmer household in Gujarat has a debt of Rs 56,568. Farmers in Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Uttarakhand are in higher form than these in Gujarat. According to the report, Gujarat farmers have borrowed Rs 96,963 crores in 2021-22.

A farmer household, the report discovered, earned a month-to-month revenue of Rs 12,631 in Gujarat. The common farmer household earns Rs 4318 from crop manufacturing, Rs 3477 from animal husbandry, Rs 4415 as wages, Rs 53 from rented land, in addition to an extra Rs 369 per thirty days.

Gujarat has a complete of 66,02,700 households. A complete of 40,36,900 households work in agriculture, the report famous. That is, agriculture employs 61.10 per cent of the state’s households.

The common farming household within the state owns 0.616 hectares of land. In phrases of land per household, Gujarat ranks tenth within the nation.

ALSO READ | Gujarat farmers intensify stir for eight-hour energy

Agriculture scientist and former Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith Rajendra Khimani mentioned, “Prices of agricultural products do not rise in tandem with input cost of cultivation. As a result, the farmer becomes indebted. Input cultivation prices have increased by 60 per cent in the last three years, while produce prices have increased by no more than 30%. Simply put, this demonstrates a large gap between agri production costs and output product income, which is increasing farmers’ debt.”

“Small farmers are now shifting to cash crops, especially in tribal areas. Farmers used to grow cash crops for their families, but now in most parts of Gujarat, they are shifting to market-oriented farming. If you turn to market-oriented agriculture, you will have to incur debt to meet the demands of the market; if you try to commercialize agriculture, the debt will naturally increase,” he added.

According to Ramesh Patel, a farmer from South Gujarat: “Fertilizer prices have risen. At the same time, the price of seeds has more than doubled. Furthermore, the price of diesel, which is used to power farm machinery and tractors, has increased. As a result, farmers’ overall incomes decreased while input costs increased. Most farmers are also repaying previous debts.”

According to information offered to the Parliament, agricultural loans in Gujarat elevated from Rs 73,228.67 crore in 2019–20 to Rs 96,963.07 crore in 2021-22. It’s fascinating to notice that in the course of the previous two years, the ticket measurement of loans obtained below the farm credit score programme has additionally climbed by 45%. According to information from the Union Ministry of Agriculture, the per-account agriculture credit score elevated all through the time from Rs 1.71 lakh to Rs 2.48 lakh in the course of the quarter.

ALSO READ | Upset over poor returns, Gujarat farmers distribute garlic without spending a dime

Economist Hemant Shah mentioned, “The increasing amount of debt shows that these farmers are quite indebted, and those who fall under the marginal side will not be able to increase their income because of the debt, Government claimed that farmers’ income will be doubled before 2022, but their own data claimed farmer debt has doubled.”

It is vital to notice that, as debt ranges rise, the suicide price amongst agricultural staff and farmers in Gujarat has elevated as properly. According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), 126 agricultural labourers and farmers in Gujarat died by suicide within the 12 months 2020 in the course of the pandemic.