Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]latest-news-updates/why-farm-reform-will-fail-without-tech-harshit-kohli.html"/> LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Why farm reform will fail without tech -Harshit Kohli | Im4change.org
Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Why farm reform will fail without tech -Harshit Kohli

-Livemint.com

* Market participation is meaningless without information. Should every Indian farmer get a smartphone?

* Without internet connectivity and market intelligence, the transaction cost associated with selling in places outside the local market are higher than the value of the produce

FATEHPUR: Kamlakant is a smallholder farmer in Daulatiyapur village of Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh. He is an enthusiastic vegetable cultivator and every season, he searches for answers to three basic questions—what crop to sow, how to grow it, and where to sell it.

The nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) is 50km away, and he is thus unable to travel that distance to access information. He is dependent on a local farm consultant who visits his farm every week and charges 100 per visit. Ever since covid hit, the consultant has stopped visiting. He began to rely on WhatsApp to seek advice throughout the lockdown, harvesting 6 tonnes of brinjal and 9 tonnes of cauliflower on one acre, earning 57,000. In a post-covid world, every farmer in India ought to be able to access information at his home like Kamlakant.

That basic right acquires even more urgency with the passage of two key farm bills by the parliament on Sunday. It is important to ask how much relief these farm reforms will bring to smallholders like Kamlakant? These reforms seek to increase the availability of buyers for farmers’ produce and motivate farmers to diversify crops by reducing existing restrictions on licenses and stock limits. The hope is that increased competition will result in better prices for farmers.

Please click here to read more.