modernization-of-agriculture-in-india
December 11, 2017 Agriculture in India 6,584 Comments

Indian farmers face a number of problems. Today, we’d like to focus on one problem specifically, and that is #6 Backwards Farming Implements and Practices. How can we transform modern agriculture in India by eliminating these ineffective tools and methods?

We would like to zero in on three factors that will help to bring about this change in a country that desperately needs it in order to move forward.

1. Education

One of the major difficulties plaguing Indian farmers (who live in predominantly rural areas) is a lack of education, whereas people in developed countries go so far as to study agricultural practices in university. Currently, old and outdated farming practices are resulting in high rates of crop disease, over-farming, depletion of valuable resources such as groundwater, and ultimately a lack of revenue for Indian farmers. Introducing aquaponics to farmers can change all of that, however, only with the necessary education.

We’re not advocating that farmers spend years in school, studying what they already know how to do, which is grow things. This information has already been passed down from generation to generation. The need lies in updating the education that they are receive by teaching them how to farm sustainably, how to implement modern techniques such as aquaponics (which will undoubtedly make their lives easier), and enabling them to have the base of knowledge that they need to move forward…

2. Grants and Funding

One of the main reasons that farming practices have remained “stuck in the past” is that the resources required to learn about new methods or purchase new tools simply aren’t there. Millions of Indian farmers live in poverty – and this is a complex issue. It’s not just because they aren’t paid enough for the produce they do grow, it’s also because government funding systems for farmers have been poorly implemented, middlemen and landowners skim farmers’ profits, and in general, farmers are not given the respect they deserve. The result is a cycle that seems impossible to break: Indian farmers use old tools and methods, making their work harder and lowering their crop yield, middlemen and landowners take what little profit they do earn (if any), and they are forced to try to work harder instead of being able to update their farming practices in favour of being more effective.

Obviously, attracting the necessary funding required to modernize Indian agriculture is a problem that must be approached in more ways than one, with the help both private and government initiatives.

3. Lead By Example

We’ve mentioned many times that aquaponics is an ideal solution for many of the problems faced by farmers, but we need to show that this is true. That’s why it’s our goal to create a self-sustaining aquaponic system in India, where a lower input of both human and physical resources (i.e. water) would result in a higher output of crops. It’s like Pareto’s (80/20) principle for farming.

Modern agriculture in India is in the best interest of everyone, not merely farmers. The future of India relies on it.

, , ,
Written by Aquaponics Team