Agripreneurship for attracting rural youth to agriculture

Sanjay Swami / GN Gurjar *

Youth being enthusiastic, vibrant, innovative and dynamic in nature is the most important section of the population. They show strong passion, motivation and will power which also make them the most valuable human resource. A country’s ability and potential for growth is determined by the size of its youth population.

Presently, India has the largest share of youth population in the world and it is expected to have 34.33% share of youth in total population by 2020. India has the relative advantage at present over other countries in terms of distribution of youth population.

As per India’s Census, the total youth population increased from 168 million in 1971 to 422 million in 2011. India is seen to remain younger longer than China and Indonesia, the two major countries other than India which determine the demographic features of Asia.

In India, for many decades, the rural youth have been under tapped and neglected by their communities, Govts, and other organizations, and thus are unable to make full use of their energy and potentials in the agriculture sector. The rural youth is often unemployed or work informally in unpaid or underpaid, low skilled, insecure and hazardous jobs.

The lack of opportunities and decent jobs in the rural areas compel the youth to migrate to cities. Sons and daughters of farmers are often reluctant to go into farming due to various reasons. What will then be the future of agriculture and food without young farmers? No farmer, no food. No food, no life. Many of those who continue to stay in the farms were often forced or did not have better options.

This has resulted to another problem: ageing of the farming population. If the youth is the future of the nation, the rural youth is the future of agriculture and agripreneurship, how can we then attract the youth to stay or work in the rural areas? What kind of policies and programs are needed to make them see that a good future awaits them and then decide to stay, by choice, in agriculture and agripreneurship?

Why agriculture is not attractive to the youth

There are many interrelated reasons for that the youth, even the sons and daughters of farming families are not willing to farm, if given a choice:


1. farmers’ low identity and self-image:

Farming is regarded as a lowly, back breaking, un-glamorous, dirty job needing little skills. There is usually less pride and dignity in farming. This low regard for farming is reinforced I society. Farmers tell their children: “Do not be like me, just a lowly fanner”. “If you don’t study well, you will just end up here, farming”. “You are not a bright student, go back to the field and just plant sweet potato”. Many school children dream to be doctors, engineers or lawyers, but seldom to be farmers.

2. farming is not a profitable job:

Majority of the farmers are poor. They do not gain enough income from agriculture and are far from meeting their family, even personal, needs. Decreasing incomes due to increasing cost of agricultural labour and inputs, such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, low prices of produce, lack of control over their markets and high risks in agriculture brought by unpredictable weather conditions and price fluctuations keep the youth away from agriculture.

Subsistence-oriented farming discourages young people, to engage in agriculture. Seeing family consumption as the only benefit of farming, the youth do not see any future prospects in farming.

3. Inadequate skills and knowledge on production, processing, and business:

The current generation of young farmers has limited agricultural knowledge and skills as well as leadership and managerial skills. Skills development and technology transfer are considered the key to model youth farming.

However, these have not been incorporated in government programs and school curricula. The youth prefer new technologies but many institutions do not understand their aspirations. Consequently, due to a lack of encouragement, support and promotion of adequate knowledge and skills especially in technology and modernization of farming, young farmers do not see any future in agriculture.

4. Lack of rural infrastructure:

The base of agriculture remains in the rural areas. There is, however, a lack of good infrastructure and institutions to attract the youth to stay in the rural areas. In North East Region, most rural areas do not have good access to roads, electricity, health centres, clinics and hospitals, schools and universities, internet connections, business establishments, markets to sell their agricultural produce as well as facilities for small and medium scale agro-industries.

5. Lack of supportive Govt policies and programs for family farmers:

The agriculture policies and programs in the country are not completely supportive of family farmers, thus, many farmers still lack land, credit/financing, and markets. Formal credit system and commercial banks supported commercial farming, destroyed peasant economy and family farming, and established a market economy. The price of agricultural products is controlled by the market, not by the peasant or state.

There is lack of transparency in price setting, trade agreement, and policy formulation. The farmers are not represented and therefore, have little or no voice, in key decision-making processes on agriculture matters.

Even so, there is lack of policies and programs addressing the needs of the rural youth or of young farmers; initiatives and incentives have remained scarce if not totally absent forthem. Without these needed support, the young farmers feel that they cannot compete with big commercial farmers.

6. Lack of organizations of young farmers:

At local levels, there are very few organized groups of young farmers for solidarity, exchange of information and ideas, for supporting each other's endeavours and for representing their interests in decision making bodies.

NER Perspective:

If we analyse the agriculture scenario of North East region (NER) to find out the possible reasons that why NER youths are not interested in farming and migrating to the rest of India (ROI), even for engaging in low profile jobs like receptionist in hotels, massage parlours, filling stations, etc. (Marchang 2017).

The NER has 8.0 per cent of the total area and 3.4 per cent of total cultivable area of the country. However, the region contributes only 2.8 per cent to the total food grain production of the nation.

In NER, majority of the fields are situated across the hilly slopes. Near about 22 per cent land area is under crop cultivation in the region leaving 78 per cent without cultivation. Nearly 0.88 m ha area is under Jhum cultivation. Hill farming faces a number of serious constraints like undulating topography, small fragmented and scattered land holdings, rainfall-dependent farming with very limited use of inputs, poor and shallow soils (prone to erosion).

Availability of small and light weight farm machinery suitable to hilly slopes is also a serious constraint. The sloping lands are 3-4 times less efficient than the plains in meeting the caloric and protein needs of their population. Soil health/fertility is the most crucial factor in deciding the agricultural productivity.

Approximately, 84 per cent of the soils in the NER are acidic in reaction, having low available phosphorus and zinc whereas toxicity of iron and aluminium. The region has diversity in cropping pattern; livestock management and diversity in culture and socio-economic life. The size of land holdings is small which varies with state to state within the region. The mainstay of livelihood is only the agriculture which is predominantly traditional and CDR (Complex, diverse and risk prone) with a back ward industrial sector.

ICAR Initiatives

Head of National commission on Farmers, renowned scientist and father of India's green revolution, Prof M S Swaminathan, said "the youth can be attracted to and retained in fanning only if it becomes economically rewarding and intellectually satisfying". Therefore, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has taken a number of steps like Farmers FIRST, Student READY, ARYA etc., to attract youth to enter into agricultural and agripreneurship.

Farmers FIRST Programme:

The Farmer FIRST Programme (FFP) is an ICAR initiative to move beyond the production and productivity, to privilege the smallholder agriculture and complex, diverse and risk prone realities of majority of the farmers through enhancing farmers-scientists interface.

There are concepts and domains that are new in emphasis like resource management, climate resilient agriculture, production management including storage, market, supply chains, value chains, innovation systems, information systems etc.

The Farmer FIRST as a concept of ICAR is developed as farmer in a concept of ICAR is developed as farmer in a centric role for research problem identification, prioritization and conduct of experiments and its management in farmers' conditions. The focus is on farmer's Farm, Innovations, Resources, Science and Technology (FIRST).

Two terms enriching knowledge and integrating technology qualify the meaning of Farmer FIRST in Indian context. Enriching knowledge signifies the need for the research system as well as farmers to learn from each other in context to existing farm environment, perception of each other and interactions with the sub-systems established around.

Technology integration is looked from the perspective that the scientific outputs coming out from the research institutions, many times do not fit as such in the farmers' conditions and thus, certain alterations and adaptations are required at field level for their acceptance, adoption and success.

Student READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana):

This programme is also an initiative of ICAR to provide rural entrepreneurship awareness, practical experience in real-life situation in rural agriculture and creating awareness to undergraduate students about practical agriculture and allied sciences. The programme will help in building confidence, skill and acquire Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) of the locality and thereby, preparing the pass-out for self-employment.

It also aims to provide opportunities to acquire hands-on-experience and entrepreneurial skills. This programme includes five components i.e.
Experiential Learning, Rural Awareness Works Experience, In-Plant train-ing/Industrial attachment, Hands-on training (HOT)/ Skill development training and Students Projects.