Schools and Farming Education

Schools and Farming Education

 (By Suhana Ahmed ) 

Image By:- Sukriti Singh

India is an agricultural-based country. Agriculture is said to be the backbone of the nation's economy and the majority of the population is dependent on this sector for their finances. Being the primary sector, agriculture provides raw materials for the secondary and tertiary sectors to manufacture goods as well. Thus, without any hesitation, one can say that agriculture plays a very major role in every aspect.

There was a time where people used manual methods which were energy consuming for the sake of working on fields but with the intervention of science and technology different methods started to penetrate. Scientific methods of cropping came forth such as irrigation, machinery, pesticides and when the chemicals brought in were seeming harmful, a scientific method of organic farming was brought into action.

Since farming plays a major role in our lives, it is necessary for us to make sure that the right steps are taken and methods to improve the farming industry are implied. Also, it is a life skill that will be nothing but only useful for people.

The present condition of farmers isn't really pleasant. We have heard of farmers committing suicide due to failed crops and debt. This clearly shows that there is a need for improvement here. The farmer and field workers are abused too, in terms of getting paid, they do go under a major loss a lot of times.

Farming is a basic need and it deserves more recognition and respect. It also requires people to work and including that in the school's curriculum might increase the chances of generating interest in more people to opt for working in that sector.

It comes off with inferiority in people's brain leading them to think of agriculture as a menial or marginal job and not a necessity. That needs to be prevented and that will happen if they're taught about it.

The education system in India

 The education system in India focuses on so many traditional subjects which are now outdated and not at all required. The students studying such subjects then have to learn more skills outside the course curriculum and the subject they actually studied in schools and colleges were never used. 

 Also, a student is bound to study all and general courses even in senior secondary schools. What is the need for teaching detailed physics to a medical student? Why are students forced to keep 3-4 subjects compulsorily when they only want to study one of them?

Education and farming

 Education is a tool to get most out of least. There is a huge difference in the quality of work in skilled and unskilled works. The farmers in India use unskilled methods of farming. They are unaware of the right temperature for storage, the right humidity of soil for specific crops. They tend to use fertilizers in the wrong proportion resulting in damaging crops and making it toxic to eat. Education can make them knowledgeable and skilled about their profession and it would be easy for them to handle even the adverse conditions.

 One of the major problems that farmers have is that they don’t get the right price for their crops and middlemen to take away a huge portion of the profit they should get. Education can also help them know the right market and marketing technique for their crop. Besides, a farmer can themselves open a production centre for some food items like biscuits, oils, soaps etc. Also, they can create their own brand alone or in collaboration with other farmers and sell it directly to the consumer. But for that, we must have the right education about farming and a good system in place.

Use of machinery will reduce cost

The use of the right machinery can help farmers to increase their productivity and reduce the physical labour required. The cost will also decrease with the help of machinery. Farmers can also buy machines in collaboration if the cost of the machine is too high.

The taboo that farming is for poor

 Another sad reality of the country is that people consider farming as some low-class business which is only for poor people.  Whereas in many developed countries farmers are rich and are getting the right price for what they produce. It is a need that people realise the importance of the right methods of farming and know that one can even earn a lot if they do statistical analysis of their work and use the right way.

Job creation and exports

With the right knowledge about methods of farming the productivity will increase many folds and people will be required to sell, store, market the product leading to the creation of a lot of jobs in the market.

 Also, a lot of products can lead the country to become a trade surplus for that specific product, which can ultimately help farmers to get a significant amount from the sales.

To put in a nutshell, as mentioned before, farming is a life skill that is going to only help and never harm. Studying about it can lead us to make improvements in the sector and add on easier and more efficient steps for cultivation. It might also get people closer to nature and make people more sensitive and lenient towards the resources, and people might start getting better at respecting and protecting the things that matter.

Disclaimer:-

The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Light de Literacy and LDL does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.