Farming Matters (EM)

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Providing training to farmers is often referred to as “extension services” and is often done through the same measures such as workshops, seminars and on-farm demonstrations. This is often carried out in India with public funds directly through Government staff, where the project I currently manage

Many people have asked me if there is a need to educate farmers in the UK when we have much higher rate of literacy and general increased level of awareness. Both UK and India need to communicate ideas and new technologies to farmers and it’s not always easy .

After talking with many different agriculturalists here in India I have found many similarities, despite the very different climate and geography. In the UK our average farm size is approx. 50ha which is much larger than India’s 2ha. Even with these differences in scale, I have learnt the farmers are actually similar. I have visited many farms in Karnataka, growing tropical crops we cannot grow in the UK, but the challenges are the same. Farms need to adapt an integrated system to provide a diverse income stream to allow for crops failing, drought or low market prices. This is something Indian farms are much better at. In the UK all our markets are private and prices change daily, but India certain crops are controlled by Marketing Boards where prices are set for the whole year.

I have learnt a lot about the workings of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), both in Mangalore and Shimogga and made some very useful contacts who I will definitely keep in touch with. UK farmers are not terribly good at working in cooperation, but I strongly agree with Mhatma Ghandi’s vision “I firmly believe that we shall not derive the full benefits of agriculture until we take to cooperative farming”. Wise words indeed from 1947!!! Farmers can definitely create better market prices by working together, but it will take time.

On another vocational visit in Mangalore I visited the Karnataka State Government Department of Agriculture and I feel the policy structure here in India works much better than the UK. The subsidy programmes for farmers run for 12 months and uses information gained from the Taluks (villages), which feeds into the regional and state policy. This bottom-up process is much more effective and able to deliver positive results, unlike in the UK where our policy comes down from the top, firstly from the European Union and then national UK Government. This approach makes it hard for UK farmers to understand and accept messages and is one reason why the training and extension services provided through our project – Rural Skills Cumbria - is so important and why I enjoy my job.

In Mysore I visited another Karnakata State Government office, this time an Agricultural Training Centre and learnt how staff work very hard to promote courses to farms, using native language and many posters, so even illiterate people can learn. In the UK farmers are very busy people and leaving the farm for 2 or 3 days is very difficult. Karnataka State Government pays for accommodation, travel and expenses to help encourage attendance and perhaps we can learn from this in the UK.

My last vocational visit took place in Shimogga I visited the University of Agricultural Science, which I found really interesting and made some very useful contacts that I hope we can work on collaborative projects in the future. The meeting consisted of the Dean of Education, Head of Research, Extension Services, Organic Department and Soil Scientists. Some PhD and Masters students were also present and I asked them the question “Will you find agricultural jobs when you graduate?” None of the students plan to use their qualifications for rural jobs, but instead work in IT or Commerce. This was very disappointing for me and I think India and the UK need to encourage youth to stay in rural areas and provide job opportunities which benefit the whole community.

Our official Vocational visits are now over but we are constantly learning from the various Rotarians we meet. A lot of people in India come from agricultural families of some description and have a good knowledge of farming practices. The opportunity to meet so many people connected to my industry has been amazing and I am truly grateful to Rotary for this wonderful opportunity.

Bye for now!!! Emily

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Photos

Karnataka Milk Federation
Members from the Shimogga office who kindly spent nearly 2 hours answering lots of my questions!!!