Some of us thank farmers each time we sit down to eat. We at Bio Basics thank farmers each time we visit them, talk to them, and buy from them. And then, there are many others who go beyond thanking them and help them with their challenges of seed, production, markets and policies.
Why thank the farmer? Here are my 10 reasons.
1. For Food. Because unlike all other professionals, farmers are the only ones that negotiate with Mother Nature and produce food. Food that is the basis of our very lives. (Hence the name Bio Basics!) Everything else we can do without. And have done without, in the past. There is a reason “roti” comes first in “roti, kapda, makaan” (food, clothing and shelter).
2. For hard work. Speaking from experience, working on the farm is not for the weak-limbed. I knew within the first 6 months that I was not cut out for it. So will most of us. Toiling on the field, come rain or sunshine. Day-in and day-out. No travel. No vacation.
3. For Knowledge. Knowing one plant from the other itself is a challenge for me. But farmers know much more. About climate, pests, soil, crops, produce, and much much more. The body of knowledge of a typical farmer is as vast as it is under-appreciated.
4. For walking in the steps of our forefathers, remembering the nuances of farming, following the tradition of growing food, preserving the culture that we city-dwellers have alienated ourselves from, the farmers keep us rooted to the ground. (Pun intended!)
5. For taking all kinds of risks to grow food - climate vagaries, poor seeds, pest attacks, losing labour to populist schemes, prices, market, government policies. Price in all that risk, and we won’t be able to afford to eat what we do mindlessly each and every day.
6. For bearing unprecedented distress of low prices, high costs, high debt and climate change, and yet continue farming. The exodus of farmers from farming is alarming. So is the rate of suicides among them.
7. For tolerating being ignored. Despite being the single largest profession in India, farming is the most ignored and disrespected of all professions. Even farmer’s children don’t want to farm! Folks that ride on them - traders, wholesalers, retailers, and processors from tiny Bio Basics to all those mighty FMCG behemoths, have managed to build brands, and garner recognition.
8. For keeping chemicals away from our soil, air and water (organic farmers).
9. For preserving our crop diversity & heritage, by growing grains that don’t have a ready market. Driven by passion beyond mere commerce, they are not the “make what you can sell” kinds.
10. For reminding us, everyday, every meal, of our very identity, that we are part of Nature. And the food they produce is the last of our links with Nature. In the face of an unprecedented onslaught of technology across all other aspects of our lives.
So thank a farmer.
Never mind if you don’t see one around you. Just the way we thank Almighty - unseen, unheard, and yet, keeps us all going.
Bio Basics expresses “Nandri” (thank you in Tamil) to all organic farmers through the Bio Basics Nandri Awards of 2024.
Nandri!
