How Small and Big Farmers Contribute Differently to the World of Agriculture
Kitchen garden seems like a thing of the distant past, almost half a century back if you must, it was a reality even in metro cities like Delhi.
If you didn’t have a lawn, you had a terrace or at least one big balcony which the builder today had not shrunk to create the myth of a grand living room; you grew seasonal foods for your daily consumption and that’s what the government promoted.
It had its virtues and it was a very efficient economic model. It told a home-budget success story. More than anything it made you appreciate the hard work a grower puts in when he labours an entire season to see your favourite imported tomato seeds spring up the fruit as you patiently watered and tended to it.
And then it comes up almost suddenly one night while you were sleeping. Smallholder farms are somewhat similar to their single-plot farms, often run by families whereas the large farmers are the large corporations. Just as the home kitchen is run without the paradox of abundance, so the small farmer runs his enterprise.
They run efficiently but are more expensive and physically extensive because large farms have the funds to invest in work-reducing machinery, technology and economies of scale.
Why can’t a small farmer cast the same spell in today’s heightened reorientation towards organic farming? But the reality is that small-scale farmers exist either at subsistence level or are able to sell only small surpluses on their local markets.
Small and Large Farmers, Win Some Lose Some
Large farmers have their own importance, they represent India, they have their own agricultural research and development centres to explore modern farming techniques and methodologies to focus on cost reduction and profit increase as well as invest in better and newer technologies to improve their operational model.
Small scale farms are warm and you get the cliché ‘farm fresh’ produce that is not just delectable to eat but you could pay a visit at your own convenience and probably give your growing children a feeling of that good ‘kitchen garden’. The small farmer; however, cannot compete with the bargaining powers of the large corporations of farmers.
The large farmer also does not have any issues in procuring lines of credit which the small farmer struggles miserably with no marketable brand value, goodwill or market presence.
The large farmer also scores over the small farmer in efficiency as production cost per unit goes down for bulk orders. The same logic also applies to his inputs, he procures his farm inputs at competitive rates from all suppliers who find it convenient to process this one huge order vis-à-vis several small ones and that’s where numerous small and marginal farmers lose out.
The same logic applies to his manufacturing plant and distribution system, simply because he has better transport mechanism, better reach to the markets and better marketing strategy. The small farmer, on the other hand, works largely by word of mouth and point-of-purchase marketing. He has no advertising campaign but just the organic appeal of his family occupation.
Economies of Scale and Sale
Large farms have better provision and well chalked out mitigation and risk reduction plans which include best fertilizers, best pesticides and large storage spaces to ensure against unpredictable weather and market price fluctuations. Sadly, the small farmer will have to dispose of his produce at lower rates should he face insects, infestation or sudden rain or storm.
Small scale farmer is a one-man army, the head of the household is your grower, reaper, salesman, transporter, innovator and promoter, while a large scale farmer is a body of experts that put all these well-oiled machinery parts together and has the bandwidth to experiment, revamp and diversify into other crops and related trade too.
The large farmer has a variety of choices at his disposal even resources that he can rotate, unlike the small farmer who has no weekends, no days off.
Summarizing, the large farmer has lower overhead costs, efficient consumption of resources and machinery, the best brains in the market and the best practices. They are well-cushioned against uncertainties of business and can use their reserves for R&D for even greater growth. Why then are the larger economies of the world boisterously swelling with small farmers, producing the best models and surprising with its firm existence?
The Solitary Reaper — The Small Horticulturist
Small scale farmers offer that craved-for personal touch, the gentleness and un-robotic connection to the soil, producing what the neighbouring customer requests for. It’s like ‘creating your own sundae’ under the watchful eye of an expert.
And if crop cultivation is combined with poultry and dairy farming, that personal touch works like magic on not just the farm, but the output of cows or chickens. The yield is simply more healthy and nourishing.
Small scale farmer, however, is restricted to consistently supplying the same produce year on year and definitely not at the same price because his cost of production grows every year and his land size does not.
He has lesser expenses as the family income in consolidated within the same walls. Large scale farmer, on the contrary, has to deal with supervisory challenges due to the large scale operations and is lost, is faceless, amidst that large conglomerate.
Almost 50% of India’s total population consists of small farmers and their families, and 85% of all farms are less than two hectares. Plainly the situation of small farms is of enormous importance to the overall social wellbeing of India.
Having evaluated each of these farmers for their own merits, the two co-exist because there is a market for both and because they complement each other where the consumer is concerned catering to their popular and specific culinary demands.
