If you happen to bump into a farmer at this time of the year, chances are that you’ll be treated with an undeniable air of hospitality and a smile that extends from ear to ear. The optimistic attitude, the beaming enthusiasm and the deviant congeniality, all which are common to this period, reflect one phrase that is silently uttered; “Yay! It’s harvesting season!!”
Unlike most of us who earn a monthly wage, farmers –especially the ones that depend solely on paddy- get paid only twice a year. The first bounty they receive is cleverly mingled with the festivities of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in March-April. The second is in October- this time of the year.
Because of this awkward timing, farmers are forced to plan out their annual income and mange their expenditure accordingly with a sense of discipline. Which leads to the farmers being broke most of the year or miserably in debt to mill owners who in turn give them a lesser price for their next harvest which is usually bought by means of passive force.
Throughout the years, a lot of farmers have evolved and have started growing secondary crops such as bananas, corn and even breeding aquarium fish. But most farmers are not capable financially (and emotionally) of going through the learning curve of planting a new crop. And there’s always the fear of not being able to sell a new crop for the first time. Rice of course is a secure crop; if they can’t sell it, they can always eat it. The same cannot be said to Gherkin or Bananas.
And sometimes the reasons are political. There are parties who would benefit if the farmers were to stay as farmers. Addressing farmer issues is pretty easy, give a little fertilizer subsidies and you win the hearts and votes of a whole community; Where as if the farmers were to venture into trade, their needs would be far more complicated and cheap words and short term candy wouldn’t do any good.
In a broader perspective there are many reasons for why paddy cultivation is a tiring venture when dealing with small farmers. The crop itself is a water thirsty daemon. For 1kg of rice, more than 6000 liters of water is needed. The government spends a lot of money directly and indirectly on Irrigation (kind of like free education) which yields a very minute harvest.
When farmers complain that 21/2 acres (10,100 m2) of farmland is not enough to make a living, you have to agree that there is something terribly wrong somewhere.
I’m not suggesting anything in particular. Because frankly, there are a lot of things to be done. The first and foremost would be to create awareness on the fact that migrating from rice to another crop doesn’t necessarily make them a traitor to the nation. And secondly, that engaging in trade or business is not a criterion for Satan to open the gates of hell in their after life.
Ending note: Like industrial development, agriculture also needs to find its niche to flourish. Rice is a bulk crop and is best suited for countries like China that can afford cheap labour. We on the other hand need to diverse the little land and minute labour we have, and make the most of the resources available.
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