I am fine with "rich" farmers paying taxes, but that should always be made clear that only those with land above 10 acres or income above a certain threshold will pay taxes.
My family has a farm which has basically not been actively farmed since my grandfather died a few years ago. Quite big (50+ acres), but my father has barely been able to keep hold of the land, much less farm it since he didn't grow up farming like my grandfather. I've been thinking we should use the land and farm it properly - it's interesting to get some real insight into the challenges.
I especially recommend from 5:20 onwards where it isn't the DTE reporter talking but the Professor from IIM-A's Centre for Management in Agriculture is speaking.
As a first generation university degree holder from a primarily agricultural family from Punjab that most of you believe to be full of rich farmers I can say this -
1. On average a farming household makes Rs. 10000 per month per acre.
2. Around nine-tenths of farmers hold less than 4 acres of land in the country. In monetary terms, around Rs. 40000 per month.
3. This amount is not available monthly as the money only comes in at the end of a crop cycle.
4. With an average crop cycle of 4 months, the majority of the farmers make Rs. 1,60,000.
5. This amount is not really ‘income.’ It is revenue generated.
6. Part of it is reinvested in procuring seeds for the next cycle.
7. Another part of it goes towards paying ‘farm help.’ This is needed, at a minimum, to quickly reap the crop upon ripening and get it to the market before any unseasonal rain destroys it. Usually, the ‘help’ is in form of extra hands. Sometimes, combine harvesting machines.
8. Another part of the revenue generated goes towards repaying loans on things like tractors or submersible pumps (needed to irrigate the crop). These are loans that are occasionally waived by governments. However, till they are we do end up accounting for them from our revenue.
9. Another part of the revenue is used towards getting pesticides needed to keep the crop healthy over the next cycle. These are ones that are subsidized. But, we do pay for the part which isn’t subsidized.
10. Having removed all these costs from the revenue of Rs. 1,60,000 for every 4 month cycle, we are left with the ‘income’. This is not a single person’s salary like the one you guys get. This is the household’s income. The Indian government pegs it at 4 people.
11. Ab woh 80000/90000 per 4 months for 4 people comes to an income of around Rs. 5000/6000 per person per month. Kya dein isme se?
12. Lathi khaane ke baad doctor ka kharach isi mein se nikalta hai.
13. Namak, cheeni aur tel si basic cheez bhi yahin se aati hai.
14. Gai bhains ka kharacha bhi yahin se. If we don’t keep and tend to them, then milk and milk products ki cost padti hai.
15. My parents saved so much out of this to send to university. Couldn’t go a NLU like most of you because we never had the means to pay for it.
Bahut mehnat se iss zindagi bahar nikaala hai parents ne kyunki koi future nahin hai. Aur aap mein kuch isse ‘best career option’ samajhte ho. Sharam karo ki apne desh ke kisaan aur kisaani ke baare mein itna kam malum aur itni choti soch rakhte ho.
Not that much scope, unless you have shitloads of land. For paddy cultivation, you need water and will have to invest in machinary and it's upkeep. Paddy is also extremely labour intensive and you won't find the labour easily. Sometimes one labour could cost 500 per day even in low wage state like Bihar. After everything is done, you need to find a good market. In open market, the prices you get are extremely not worth the effort. Plus there's the risk of fire/floods/animals and other things. I'm just happy that I have to go through the daily grind in a law school rather than a field, no matter how shitty the job is.
you are nothing without farmers, stop talking ill about them, you will be starving everyday without them, it would have been better if your father visited a pharmacy
I come from a family which does some agriculture on the side, so I have some knowledge about the practical aspects (at least the finance side) of farming. We mainly produce paddy three times a year, after the costs, the MSP barely allows a maximum of 5-8% return. Once I did a calculation, unless someone has at least 8-10 acres, it is impossible to make more than 90k pm. It requires lot of planning and we are fully dependent on MSP. Personally I had supported the farm laws, however, most farmers were wary about the situation. Finally, most landed farmers in India have less than 0.5 acre of land with one to two crop cycles per year, so their average monthly income is usually 10-15k, you decide if they should pay tax on it. Unfortunately, the debate gets skewed by a few well off farmers like Amitabh Bacchan and a few in Punjab and Southern states where land ceiling is lax and who have some political clout. I would request the OP to travel 50km from wherever he or she is to a nearby farmland and speak to the landed farmer there and understand firsthand what the problems are. Then if possible speak to the landless labourers who work there. You would have a clear picture of why the loan waivers are granted.
I especially recommend from 5:20 onwards where it isn't the DTE reporter talking but the Professor from IIM-A's Centre for Management in Agriculture is speaking.
1. On average a farming household makes Rs. 10000 per month per acre.
2. Around nine-tenths of farmers hold less than 4 acres of land in the country. In monetary terms, around Rs. 40000 per month.
3. This amount is not available monthly as the money only comes in at the end of a crop cycle.
4. With an average crop cycle of 4 months, the majority of the farmers make Rs. 1,60,000.
5. This amount is not really ‘income.’ It is revenue generated.
6. Part of it is reinvested in procuring seeds for the next cycle.
7. Another part of it goes towards paying ‘farm help.’ This is needed, at a minimum, to quickly reap the crop upon ripening and get it to the market before any unseasonal rain destroys it. Usually, the ‘help’ is in form of extra hands. Sometimes, combine harvesting machines.
8. Another part of the revenue generated goes towards repaying loans on things like tractors or submersible pumps (needed to irrigate the crop). These are loans that are occasionally waived by governments. However, till they are we do end up accounting for them from our revenue.
9. Another part of the revenue is used towards getting pesticides needed to keep the crop healthy over the next cycle. These are ones that are subsidized. But, we do pay for the part which isn’t subsidized.
10. Having removed all these costs from the revenue of Rs. 1,60,000 for every 4 month cycle, we are left with the ‘income’. This is not a single person’s salary like the one you guys get. This is the household’s income. The Indian government pegs it at 4 people.
11. Ab woh 80000/90000 per 4 months for 4 people comes to an income of around Rs. 5000/6000 per person per month. Kya dein isme se?
12. Lathi khaane ke baad doctor ka kharach isi mein se nikalta hai.
13. Namak, cheeni aur tel si basic cheez bhi yahin se aati hai.
14. Gai bhains ka kharacha bhi yahin se. If we don’t keep and tend to them, then milk and milk products ki cost padti hai.
15. My parents saved so much out of this to send to university. Couldn’t go a NLU like most of you because we never had the means to pay for it.
Bahut mehnat se iss zindagi bahar nikaala hai parents ne kyunki koi future nahin hai. Aur aap mein kuch isse ‘best career option’ samajhte ho. Sharam karo ki apne desh ke kisaan aur kisaani ke baare mein itna kam malum aur itni choti soch rakhte ho.