Should Agricultural Subsidies be stopped?

Friends I am agricultural engineer and I wanna share few points which I have seen.

1. Consider a small or marginal farmer is getting a tractor or agricultural machinery with subsidy. He may get nearly 1 or 2L as subsidy. The small farmer can't use the tractor or implement efficiently for his small land so he will sell the tractor to large farmer for the total cost and earn some money.

2. A small farmer is getting 40,000. RS for drip irrigation. So he will install and use it for two months then he will throw it because of his poor maintenance but actually drip tapes can be used for minimum 2 years.

3. The government is giving fertilizer, seed and other essential inputs as subsidy to farmers. Because of slow process of the government any one of the material get delay but the farmers are not ready to come and get the other material some other day.

Many more reasons are there. All these things happens because they are getting the everything free. Just think if you have all this by your own. Will you do like this. Instead of this change the subsidy system. Like giving some small money every month for loans and give money of fertilizers and others for who produce high yield.

Agricultural subsidies are necessary.

1. Agriculture is the basis of our economy. It provides food for our survival.

2. Without subsidies, the force competition would allow no profit in agriculture. Agriculture is highly influenced by the weather so the price would fluctuate naturally. When the price is low, it would be impossible for farmers to earn a living.

Each coin has two sides. Agricultural subsidies are a little bit unfair for people in other fields, but from a broader aspect, they are still necessary.

In my opinion, agricultural subsidies should not be stopped. The subsidies are a supporting pillar to the lacks of farmers in the country. Farming in our country is primarily not as advanced and mechanised as in other developed countries. Moreover, a large chunk of the Indian population is rural, and this sector directly affects them.

The majority of farmers own a very small portion of land like 2-10 acres, and they directly depend on the monsoon. Many of them lack the irrigation facilities and also don't own a bore-well/well to support their produce round the year. The plight of farmers in our country is very disturbing especially the small farmers. They can't afford to buy the hybrid seeds, fertilizers, pesticides again and again if a continuous drought/bad monsoon persists for a period of 1 or 2 years. Moreover, the investment they put off this period of time goes in vain. The whole budget and economics of a farmer crumbles, also if he has taken loan it goes on increasing year after year. The farmer is crushed under the cycle of debt and drought and is completely helpless. The farmer community in India is unorganized, unlike the trade unions/workers union. They only can helplessly watch this happening and only the govt can help it out.

Unless the agricultural sector is backed by the govt farmers in India cannot survive for long. The Indian economy will get shattered once this sector starts to degrade. Farmers should continue to get support from the govt by helpful programmes like the subsidy, to keep this sector profitable for the farmers. Unless the agricultural sector witnesses a complete makeover like the west it needs to be backed by govt.

Lastly it the govt moral responsibility to back certain aspects of the country like free education, mineral sector, PSU etc for the goodwill of the public. And agriculture is one of them of the Indian scenario.

I think, subsidies is must for each and every farmer either they are rich or poor. To being a rich farmer is not a crime. If govt provide subsidies along with proper gideline to farmer. Then the food crisis in India will completely end. Also, it is a right of each and every one to eate food and by the help of agriculture subsidies food will become cheap to every it automatically help to the farmer and every people in India.

Hi friends, in my opinion agriculture subsidies should not stop because in our country like India we have more than 6 lakhs villages. Their main occupation is agriculture. About 15% is contributed by the agriculture sector. Lot of farmers are suiciding because of the inability to repay the loan. If the subsidy is cut how can this poor people sustain and they can't produce anything. It will affect the whole economy if the food production decreases. Hence we have to depend to other countries for food.

No matter how great our country is in the agricultural field, still the people of our country perish and even die of hunger. For providing poor people with basic necessity such as food, government has introduced "SUBSIDY". But these subsidies are not beneficial for the long run.

In fact, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan warned India against populist subsidies as it would be difficult to end such relief once granted. The government should review it's policies instead of providing subsidies.

India exports bulks of agricultural goods but instead, if these goods are sold out to the public, the prices (inflation) would be under control and nobody will have to sleep with an empty stomach. For some, subsidies is a dire need (although it should be temporary) but for some, it is a way to save some bucks. One should not create a situation where people do not value it.

The best choice would be to first reform the policies, grant people food at an affordable and bearable price and then stop the subsidy. Hope the government is listening!

Subsidy should be reduced. I would like to suggest two types of subsidy to be Encouraged mean those people achieving their targets (Subsidy received for Improving Agriculture) to encourage and motivating purposes we could give the subsidy By doing this the people are in future too volunteer involve agriculture. The other one is as usual here wasting or unnecessary subsidy should be controlled which makes people irresponsible and lazy.

No, Agriculture is the primary source of income for around50percent people in India. When the subsidy is abolished it affects poor people who earn their livelihood through agriculture. It will be a hit to only the backward classes not to the upper classes who take advantage of these subsidies illegally. If these farmers stop. Cultivating it is us who suffers as the price of commodities will increase as a resulting economy gets hurt. It is better to make a good regulatory system for subsidies without suddenly stopping it.

I would like to say my view that agricultural subsidies should not be stopped but they should be provided with certain plan and structure that it should get reach out to the small farmers. Because what is happening is with these subsidies rich farmers getting richer and poor ones more poorer. Instead of providing subsidies government should think of giving some infrastructure regarding agriculture to the farmers like irrigation equipments and other farm machineries. It should looked up that the facility given to the farmers should be reaching at the end user. Instead govt can also think of providing better market facilities for their produce. Since farmers can't earn income throughout the year, for their livelihood government Should give subsidies.

Generally, Farmers are poor but we all know that in many States there are rich Farmers who have all the luxuries of life like own bungalows, expensive cars etc. The Subsidy system does not differntiate the rich and poor. For e.g. , Fertiliser subsidy would be enjoyed by all the farmers when the poor needs it the most. If we cannot differentiate at the subsidy level, then we should certainly charge income tax on agricultural income above a certain limit, say Rs. 1, 50, 000/- progressively. This would take care of the anomaly in the system and would also protect the poor farmers.