Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST
  • Home
  • Trending
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • More..
    • Odisha Special
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Careers
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Horoscope
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
  • Home
  • Trending
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • More..
    • Odisha Special
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Careers
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Horoscope
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
No Result
View All Result
OrissaPOST - Odisha Latest news, English Daily -
No Result
View All Result

Tomorrow may be too late

Post News Network
Updated: June 4th, 2018, 23:41 IST
in Edit
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on Linkedin

A smallholder who has known pain, suffering and hunger, and is compassionate towards his milch and draught animals, will not show his anger by discarding produce of any kind on the streets. Yet the farmers participating in the ongoing 10-day strike are doing just that. The factors that have driven the farmers down this path must be that compelling. The means they have adopted to express dissatisfaction could seem uncivilized to city dwellers but long-term suffering usually frustrates people enough to make them take extreme steps. It must be remembered, at least in the case of milk, that the nourishing liquid was originally meant for calves and not for humans. While it is sinful in itself to be harvesting milk for consumption from this standpoint, discarding milk on streets in a show of anger is an even greater sin that farmers have been forced to commit for their own survival. In fact the outlook of any group or organisation staging protests would primarily be to use any means to bring their dissatisfaction to the notice of powers that be. These means are not to be questioned because the struggle for the farmer in this country has never ceased.

No doubt the sheer wastage of food in a country where millions go to bed without a morsel is sad. Some may even express ridiculous opinions that it would have been a noble gesture had the farmers fed the hungry with their produce instead of letting it all go to waste. It is very easy to put out such holy opinions without understanding the grave and continuous damages we all have been inflicting on the farm economy of this country. One fact that gets covered up behind the whole façade is the real suffering of farmers. Factory farmers or those with large holdings may be able to withstand the steady decline in farm income but the subsistence farmer is crushed under every kind of deprivation. It is not the farmer who has acres in his possession, plantations with multiple crops and sound marketing support who is the real sufferer. It is the small, but larger in numbers, farmer who has to depend on the few gunthas that yield just enough for him and family to subsist on. The small extra that they can produce offers them the liquidity to survive. When that vanishes, the ability to buy medicines, send children to school or purchase bare necessities also evaporates. Farmers’ demand for better prices for their yield is justified. When their input costs are rising with each passing day, they must not be forced to sell produce at low prices. The reason why farmers do not have a strong say on farm prices is that their produce has limited shelf life. And it is the factor that has kept them at the mercy of market forces. The leverage they have, however, is that everyone is dependent on what they produce to fulfil the fundamental necessity, that is, to feed for survival. While all the well-to-do folks do not bat an eyelid before buying petrol at exorbitant cost, the same citizens turn their noses up to pay a little extra for food. Indians have always looked down on farmers as if that profession is avoidable and unnecessary for society. Rarely one would hear any parent talking of encouraging children to become farmers. Unlike in the developed economies, the educated Indian youth has only contempt for farming, not realising that humanity has survived without cars, aircraft, luxury homes and yatchs or even fashionable clothes.

Also Read

Trumpian Dilemma

4 days ago
Rights & Restrictions: AAKAR PATEL

Empty Ambition

5 days ago

Clichéd it may be, but it just cannot survive without oxygen, water or food. As we have no experience of modern day wars that have delivered long periods of acute food shortages resulting in food riots in many countries, we are comfortably numb to the spectre that looms large. Shortage of food will not manifest only for the poor but will engulf the rich and the middle class too.

This is the time Indian society, not just the government, has to pay attention to the anguished cry of the food givers. Tomorrow may be too late.

Tags: Farmer
Share10TweetSendShare
Suggest A Correction

Enter your email to get our daily news in your inbox.

 

OrissaPOST epaper Sunday POST OrissaPOST epaper

Click Here: Plastic Free Odisha

#MyPaperBagChallenge

Parbati Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Smitarani Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Spinoj Pattnaik

December 12, 2019
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Dibya Ranjan Das

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Praptimayee Biswal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Manas Samanta

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Priyabrata Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Nishikant Rout

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sibarama Khotei

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Aman Kumar Barisal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ipsita

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Mrutyunjaya Behera

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adyasha Priyadarsani Sendha

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sarfraz Ahmad

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Tapaswini Mallick

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ramakanta Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Tabish Maaz

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Narendra Kumar

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Anasuya Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Jyotshna Mayee Pattnaik

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Rajashree Pravati Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sarmistha Nayak

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Archana Parida

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Rajashree Manasa Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ankita Balabantray

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Akriti Negi

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Swarit Praharaj

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pitabas Tripathy

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Matrumangal Jena

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Archit Mohapatra

December 12, 2019

Archives

Editorial

Xi’s Purges

Brahma Chellaney
October 23, 2025

Brahma Chellaney During his 13 years in power, Xi Jinping has steadily tightened his grip on all levers of authority...

Read moreDetails

Behold Gen Z

GenZ
October 22, 2025

A new wave of political movements without any so-called ideological underpinning except for deafeningly noisy demands for basic citizens' needs...

Read moreDetails

Trumpian Dilemma

October 20, 2025

After showing admirable and decisive toughness in defusing the crisis in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump has been...

Read moreDetails

Empty Ambition

Rights & Restrictions: AAKAR PATEL
October 19, 2025

When was the last time you read or saw something about India and the G20? And what do you recall...

Read moreDetails
  • Home
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
Developed By Ratna Technology

© 2025 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

  • News in Odia
  • Orissa POST Epaper
  • Video
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Metro
  • State
  • Odisha Special
  • National
  • International
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Horoscope
  • Careers
  • Feature
  • Today’s Pic
  • Opinion
  • Sci-Tech
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs

© 2025 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

    • News in Odia
    • Orissa POST Epaper
    • Video
    • Home
    • Trending
    • Metro
    • State
    • Odisha Special
    • National
    • International
    • Sports
    • Business
    • Editorial
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscope
    • Careers
    • Feature
    • Today’s Pic
    • Opinion
    • Sci-Tech
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs

    © 2025 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST