Should Agricultural Subsidies be stopped?

Hi friends.

First of all I thank to giving this type of topic. Should agriculture subsidy be stopped?

Definitely no is my answer. Because india's economy is more importantly depends on the agriculture production and simply say it's like an backbone of human. But one thing I would like to suggest that government should have clear idea or information about the former's those who are being get by subsidized. Because some rich farmers also show their poor financial background and there by they get more subsidies and poor farmers will get less than enough. And also I would like add one more point that the government should distribute the subsidy according to farmer status and their real need. If the former really wants subsidy in cash should be provided and some may want in other formats like good quality seeds, electricity etc.

Finally I want to conclude that whatever development is being going on in India like education, industries etc. Agriculture should not be stopped at any time and at any cost mainly due to lack of subsidy. Just remember this always it leads to agriculture always in top position in development. "Anything can wait but not agriculture".

Farm subsidies are always for the short term. The real problem is not money.

Some facts to highlight this view:

1. We can't increase the net sown area more than 11% of land area and we are almost near that avg.

2. Agriculture is dependent on many unpredictable factors like monsoon, climatic variation. Etc.

And we can add many more.

Money cannot at any time can alter this.

And agriculture takes almost 70% of available water and we can't increase the share anymore.

So my view is that we should provide subsidies only for the short term. And we must slowly shift our agricultural practice itself. Move to dry farming, use of genetically modified crops, use of organic fertilizers, plant resistant to climate and drought, use of innovative bio technological ideas, technology transfer, land consolidation, minimum support price so that farmer can apply his proven techniques in new seeds and methods, open up many research universities with farmers participation in experiments and trial tests.

We need to invest in such fields until then subsidy is needed to keep the farming community alive.

Subsidy are important to boost agricultural sector and to fulfill need of the increasing population. But subsidy should be targeted one and misuse should stop otherwise what happen our fertilizer illegally send via black marketing to our nearby countries (bhutan, b'desh, nepal). Subsidy should be minimized step by step and it will make farmer become less dependent and will increase production by finding new innovative ways, like MNREGA study done by ICAR they found machination of farm increase after increase in labour wages. Subsidy should given to particular component like electricity subsidy lead to overuse of water.

Hi,

Its necessary to keep the farmers occupied with agriculture as India, with its burgeoning population, needs food sufficiency on a long term basis. However, agriculture is not a lucrative occupation in India. Ask farmers' children and their answer is straight : they do not want to engage in agriculture.

Hence, it is necessary to keep this sector subsidised. There are challenges in dispensing subsidies to this sector. But the short cut which govt is trying to adopt by dispensing subsidies in cash will not have the desired impact. Here, govt may be able to dispense subsidies but it may not be a step towards increasing productivity.

One more point I would like people to dwell on is : How Agreement On Agriculture of WTO, signed by India, will impact India's food security policy. I have read reports which suggest that India will have to bear heavy penalty if its subsidy crosses 10%.

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.

As we are aware of our topic subsidies should be provided in a selective manner.

Like areas where water facilities are not available, where financial system is not reaching to poor farmers.

And India is known for agriculture but we need subsidies, other than providing subsidies we need to improve our financial system, as we know that even after providing subsidies farmers are committing suicide. There we need to improve our credit facilities as prevailing facilities are utilized by unethical person.

Therefore subsidies should be provided selectively until production reached at required optimal level.

According to me subsidies is necessary to be given they motivate farmers much. I have asked one of the farmer in my town he thinks that without subsidies food cannot be grown because when the farmers will get money by selling his goods in the market, almost half of the money will go in buying of seeds and maintaining their equipment. So one will lose hope and he cannot get better or a good standard of living and nowadays we see that many of the farmers is doing suicide due to failure of the crops or not having enough funds to feed their family.

Subsidies is a great source of appreciation to the farmers to perform well and live a happy life.

This is a complicated topic.

As a country:

We need food security, so Govt give subsidies and fix the price of Grains to control the inflation.

If you don't give subsidies you can't fix the price, then former can sell what ever the price (supply and demand) , he can export to other countries like Cars, IT etc.

My prediction is:

Once current generation of farmers become old or unable to farm, then MNC's will kick in (Govt has no option).

First they take for lease and then they buy out, this is what happened in USA.

Once it is in MNC's hands, it is supply and demand, commodity stocks etc.

The main problem of low productivity in India is not subsidy actually, it is the people who are mainly responsible for hampering the productivity of agriculture by grafting and ignoring the destitute farmers and giving the main profit of subsidy to corporate agricultural those are rich, which results in food inflation & suicide commitment by farmers, now many farmers are moving towards urban area so that they can live their life and can fight with hunger which ultimately brings in low productivity in agriculture, today the government is giving aid by providing large subsidy and exemption from loan up to large extent but sill the condition of farmers are deteriorating, they are still committing suicide the only reason behind is that they are not getting the aid due to corruption, so government need to take some corrective and strict action with strict punishment for those who are misusing these grants and creating impediment for the needy farmers, one thing which government should consider that make some arrangement at the level of panchayat to make them literate for farming gear and the efficient use of subsidy.

I think govt subsidies in agriculture sector should not be stopped. Let us suppose govt wants to using some new seeds which would yield much higher but the farmer is still reluctant to use it because he might think it will led him complete loss, so if govt gives him subsidy, then he had a hope if using this new kind of seeds led him loss, govt will provide him subsidies for his losses, then he uses those seeds which might give him profit, then in another year he himself would use them without any fear, in this way new polices get easily implemented.