I am a cultivator,
    I have no cast or creed
I always produce food
    Out of healthy seed.
I wish to produce food
    With the natural breed,
and discard artificials
    So that the nature will lead.
Our father is the sky,
    Our mother is the earth,
We, as the members of the Global family,
have to love each other and enjoy the mirth.

Basudeiba Kutumbakam! We are from one origin!

Namaskar, Dear Friends! I have come from India. I got married to a man of a very good farming family in a small Indian village at the age of 16, though I was a poet from the age of 10. This paper is the essence of my direct experience of the life of a farmer and his or her problems. In this paper my focus will be “the marketing problems of the Indian small farmer.�
The Factors: a)Financial
        b) Irrigation and drainage
        c) Farming
        d) Marketing

a) Financial - Normally small farmers of India are not financially strong enough to sustain themselves. Over the last sixty years of my farming experience, I have seen the daily wages of farm-labor go from half a rupee to as high as seventy rupees, whereas the price of produce has remained at a maximum of twenty rupees, from the same starting point at half a rupee. Thus there is an inflation of 140 times the labor cost, whereas the price of produce has gone up only 40 times. This has broken the back of the farmers.

b) Irrigation and Drainage - The Indian farmer mainly depends on monsoons for irrigation, and there are practically no suitable drainage facilities during the floods. Thus, he or she often faces an unknown factor or loss.

c) Farming - Hybrid seeds, and suitable seeds not being made available, not only reduce long-run yield but also make the farmers dependent on separate sources. A small farmer cannot adopt mechanical farming due to financial constraints.
         The farmer is compelled to use chemical fertilizers and insecticides, which are not only harmful to the crop but also costly since he or she cannot maintain a large stable of cattle for natural fertilizers.

d) Marketing of Produce - With no proper organized marketing facility, the farmer does not get the proper value of his or her products. Procurement of seeds, hiring of farming equipments and the purchase of fertilizers and insecticides, compell the farmer to depend on third parties. He or she is then compelled to market through a third party or middle man, who takes the lion’s share and leaves peanuts for the farmers.

Conclusion: It is now heartening to know that certain NGOs are trying to globalize marketing facility. But it has got to overcome two problems. It must first eliminate third parties by supplying proper seeds, fertilizers, and insecticides, as well as reasonable rates for loans and equipment rental. Secondly, since licensing for farmers’ markets is prohibitively expensive, it is suggested that the farmer instead pay a small fee, a percentage of their sales, based on his or her volume of marketing.
    These suggestions are put up to the August gathering of experts for justifiable consideration. I used to produce very high quality scented rice and wish for the world to try it.