N. Raghuraman’s column – Farmers can benefit by educating the next generation | एन. रघुरामन का कॉलम: अगली पीढ़ी को शिक्षित करके किसान लाभ कमा सकते हैं

N. Raghuraman, Management Guru

“The United Nations (UN) is like an old company that is not quite keeping up with the market, but is occupying space. In today’s world of startups and innovation, it is behind the times, and they are becoming mainstream in the market. Want, and want to see whether its main players are able to catch the new trends or not.

But when this does not happen, then like companies, countries also start doing things as per their own. Meaning, what is the relevance of UN today, it is playing the role of a mute spectator in its work. In the economic conference held in New Delhi this Sunday, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said this.

I related his comment to our age-old Indian farmers, who still get only one-third of the price of fruits and vegetables, while the majority is taken by middlemen, wholesalers and retailers.

In case of tomatoes, 36% of onions, 37% of potatoes, 31% of bananas, 35% of grapes and 43% of mangoes, farmers get only 33% of the price at which customers buy the goods. This has been revealed in RBI’s research report on inflation.

It also highlights other sectors such as dairy, where farmers get about 70% of the consumer price and egg producers get 75% of the consumer price. The report, co-authored by agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, suggested promoting farmer groups, restarting futures trading, building more cold storage facilities, promoting solar-powered storage, increasing processing capacity. Has gone.

Understanding this discrepancy, the next generation equipped with degrees is leaving the corporate life to adopt sustainable farming, and not just cultivating crops but making profits apart from creating a purpose for the profession, thus agriculture Creating new paths for the region.

Take the example of Sadhu Praveen Kumar, who after M.Pharma worked in reputed companies in America, then decided to leave his job and started farming in Hyderabad, that too at the age of just 26. In his four-acre farm, Kumar grows 20 different crops organically. This is not the only example.

Madhu Kudumula, who was working in a Singapore pharma company, decided to return to India at the age of 24 to work on his 12-acre ancestral farm, where he grows everything from mangoes and guavas to exotic crops like avocados and macadamia nuts.

Srinivas Battini, a 27-year-old MBA graduate, also left a corporate job in Hyderabad and returned to his roots to revive the legacy of his elders because he believed that farming is not just a career but a way of life.

It is not that only those with ancestral land are taking up farming. Families who never owned land are also returning to farming. Take Rajshekhar Challa, a successful software engineer in Hyderabad. Fed up with the adulteration of food items, especially oil and milk, he decided to provide healthy alternatives.

For this, he left his job and rented a three-acre farm in Attapur, Andhra Pradesh, where he organically produces cold pressed edible oil and milk from grass-fed cows. Their products have earned them loyal customers who have faith in their quality and purity.

The time has come that after completion of education, Indian farmers should hand over farming to the next generation. If there are more children in a joint family, then you can also go into different verticals – like commerce, logistics, marketing, market research etc.

The bottom line is that Farmers should not sell their land because they are getting direct money. They should strengthen the collective wisdom of the family by educating the youth to adequately respond to emerging crises in the farming community.