Agrarian distress refers to the

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

challenges faced by

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

s and

rural communities Sociologists have identified a number of different types of rural communities, which have arisen as a result of changing economic trends within rural regions of industrial nations. The basic trend seems to be one in which communities are requir ...

due to factors such as low crop yields, fluctuating prices of

agricultural produce Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, high input

cost In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which ...

indebtedness Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The de ...

, and lack of access to credit, markets, and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

. The term "agrarian distress" gained prominence in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the 1990s when a wave of

farmer suicides A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

occurred in the country. The reason for the suicides were due to various causes such as inadequate credit, poor market conditions, and insufficient technology that led to indebtedness. In the

2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest The 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest was a protest against three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The acts, often called the Farm Bills, have been described as "anti-farmer laws" by many farmer unions ...

, the issue of agrarian distress gained renewed attention due to the protests by farmers in India against agricultural bills that they claimed would hurt their livelihoods. The protests highlighted the long-standing issues faced by farmers in India, such as low income, lack of market access, and dependence on middlemen.

Neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

economic policies The economy of governments covers the systems for setting levels of taxation, government budgets, the money supply and interest rates as well as the labour market, national ownership, and many other areas of government interventions into the e ...

have contributed to the ongoing agrarian distress in India. Agrarian distress is not unique to India and is a global phenomenon. In many countries, small-scale farmers face challenges such as lack of access to resources, low yields, and volatile markets.

References

{{reflist Agriculture

See also

References