The Future of Farming and Farmers in India: Agriculture is a largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio economic development of our country. More than 80 percent of the farmers working in this sector are marginal and small scale farmers. India is an agricultural country with agriculture as a predominant occupation of two third of working population living the rural area. Agriculture is not only an important occupation of our people, but also a way of life, culture and custom. Most of the Indian customs and festivals are observed in consonance with agriculture seasons, activities and products. The rural Indians are dependent on agriculture as a main source of livelihood. There are many challenges facing today's farmers. The nature and scale of these challenges vary according to whether they farm large tracts of land with mechanized cultivation of high yield mono-culture crops boosted by petrochemical fertilizer, pesticides and herbicide inputs or farm small land areas with hand tools and without the use of any petrochemical inputs that results in degraded soil fertility; or if they practice a variety of farming methods between these extremes. Without change, the global food system will continue to degrade the environment and compromise the world's capacity to produce food in the future, as well as contributing to climate change and the destruction of biodiversity. There are widespread problems with soil loss due to erosion, loss of soil fertility, salination and other forms of degradation; rates of water extraction for irrigation are exceeding rates of replenishment in many places; over-fishing is a widespread concern; and there is heavy reliance on fossil fuel-derived energy for synthesis of nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides. In addition, food production systems frequently emit significant quantities of greenhouse gases and release other pollutants that accumulate in the environment. Understanding the needs and critical role of farmers in advancing sustainable development requires recognizing the commonly shared and the distinctively different conditions and capabilities that exist in the developing and developed world countries. There are 196 countries in the world. But in no country, other than India, a farmer is coerced to commit suicide for financial bankruptcy. There are many Contributing Factors for Farmers Suicides today. Failure of crops due to the failure of rainfall, drought, destruction of crops due to pests and use of low quality seeds. Increasing prices-The prices of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides have gone up and prices of crops have been pushed down to the extent even below the cost of production. The farming community experiences the financial stress due to price crash of agricultural products and as a result there is increase in the debt burden. Unwilling to adopt scientific practices in farming also make the farmers face the problems. due to failure of rainfall, failure of bore wells, sharp decrease in ground water table. Improper supply of electricity by different electrical companies' indifferent regions of the state results in the inability of the farmers to supply water to the fields. Inadequate services by the agricultural departments to provide proper counseling on farm technologies. Failure of the governmental institutions to meet out the needs and aspirations of the farming community. The farmers' varieties are not only used by the world community for consumption, but also by the plant breeders for developing new varieties. This shows the dual role played by farmers towards food security on the one hand, and their role as contributors to agro diversity, and thus a sustainable environment on the other. They also ensure food safety, as the varieties they conserve, preserve and develop are in tune with nature, and thus not harmful to the health of living beings. The crucial challenges faced by the Indian farming sector in particular and developing nations in general due to poor socioeconomic conditions, lack of technical knowledge, illiteracy, and awareness, small land holdings including modernization leading to barren land and calamities. These are ultimately leading the nation to rural poverty. Farming equipment and infrastructure are scarce in the exteriors of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Because many of the farms are small, the farmers are unable to afford irrigation systems that would increase productivity. Most big farms are owned by the families which run and may or may not take advantage of economies of scale - the concept that the cost per each unit comes out to be as output quantities increase, because the ill presence problem off land in big farms which prevents the farming of land to increase the rate if productivity because the subject who cultivates the land is careless for its development or productivity.
certain solutions that can help the farmers:
They need to be educated about various facets of farming
Centres of excellence need to be set up to help them
Agricultural universities need to discover new science-based practices and technologies Insurance is needed
They need to be given better access to credit and at better terms and conditions
Landholdings should be consolidated
Organic manure should be used
Mechanization is needed
Markets should be regulated
Direct provision of capital to farmers by government
Encouraging integrated, contract, and cooperative farming
Developing water sheds
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