Agriculture is a venture, Farmer the entrepreneur

Friends, all of us have different viewpoints towards agriculture. One where we know of people who are indirectly related to agriculture and second of farmers who themselves cultivate crops. Here’s my personal viewpoint as an Agriculture Graduate and also as a farmer.

I look at agriculture as a venture. In a venture, as we know, there are defined roles and responsibilities. There are departments and verticals that include everyone right from the owner to the peon, all appointed at different designations like Director, Consultants, Legal experts, Sales representatives, Accounts officers, and Quality inspectors and so on. How about this venture called agriculture? Here it’s different. The owner himself ends up being the only employee wearing different hats for all verticals. Which crop to plant? Which variety to sow? Are the weather and soil favorable? Is there water availability? Will I get a good rate for the produce? It is the owner himself, the farmer, who has to take all these decisions from the start till the end and also execute them all by himself.

It is the farmer, the entrepreneur of this venture agriculture, who has the readiness to take great risks with the available manpower and a generous heart to invest millions of rupees in the soil. Even pens that cost Rs. 2/- per piece or chocolates that have a manufacturing cost of 50 paise, they all have controlled manufacturing units that are located in secure places. Whereas the farmer’s venture produces its crops out in the open, all through the twelve months, be it rains, sun or wind, with just the open skies as shelter. The crops are always under constant threat from animals, wild beasts, and thieves. Yet, leaving his crops worth lakhs and crores of rupees under the open sky and still sleeping peacefully at night, who else can show such a heroic trait, but the farmer.

The farmer never asks for capital from his Accounts Department, he never consults any advisor and nor does he advertise or market his own produce. Instead, he sells his produce for the price he gets and balances it hard with the total expenses incurred. Even the factory that manufactures 50 paise refills for pens, also has the power to decide the final selling price to fetch adequate profits. However, in agriculture, the farmer, the producer of his own crop, is always at the mercy of the customer and the price the customer offers rather than the value of the sweat the farmer sheds as the whole and soul of his Company.

Does our entrepreneur lose his spirit?  Do you think the farmer would be distressed? No! He continues to sweat and continues to encounter every calamity with grit and determination. The reason why he does all this is that, at the end of the day, it is he, the farmer king who has to foster the entire world with food. Who else?

Buddhiman and Balwan! Jai Kisan!

Author: Tejas Kolhe, Senior Manager-Agronomy