I was born in a small hamlet in Rajasthan, in what we call a dhani—a settlement so tiny that everyone knows each other by name. I grew up in the home of a simple farmer, and from childhood I understood what it truly means to live off the land. I know what it means to rise before sunrise, to work until the last light fades, and to measure your day not by the clock but by the needs of your crops.
When I look at our society today, I notice a stark difference between the lives of farmers and those in other professions. Whether you are an officer, an employee, or even a laborer in another field, there are defined working hours. You might start at eight or nine in the morning and finish at five in the evening. You know your exact wages, and you plan your household expenses accordingly.
But for the farmer, there is no such fixed schedule. The sun, the wind, the rain—these are our timekeepers. From the youngest child to the oldest grandparent, from women carrying bundles of fodder to men guiding plows, the entire family is tied to the rhythms of the field. There is no retirement from farming; as long as hands and feet can move, the work continues.
Farming is unlike any other job because it is directly tied to life itself. All living beings—humans, animals, birds—are made of the five elements, and the earth is the source of those elements. When the earth suffers, every living creature suffers. This is why I often say: saving the farmer is not only about economics; it is about saving the planet.
Today, much of our land has been exhausted. Soil fertility is declining because we have overused chemicals and ignored natural methods. Barren land is increasing, and unless we turn to natural farming (prakritik kheti) and organic methods (jaivik kheti), our earth will not survive for long.
I have seen with my own eyes how once-profitable crops have collapsed in value. A crop like cumin, which once sold for ₹70,000 per quintal, has dropped to ₹17,000. When prices fall like this, both farmers and traders suffer. The farmer does not get a fair return, and the trader finds exports unviable.
It is easy to forget that there was a time when India faced severe food shortages. As a child, I remember the appeal of our then Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, asking citizens to fast for one day each week so that the nation could save grain. We were not self-reliant in food production.
But our farmers changed that story. Today, more than 810 million people receive free food grain in India—a scale unmatched anywhere in the world. This is a miracle made possible by the hard work of our farmers.
Yet this achievement has come at a cost. In our race to produce more, we have made our land “addicted” to chemicals. Now, the time has come to think deeply about how to restore its health.
One of the greatest opportunities before us is to bring barren and unused land into productive use. Even today, India has vast tracts of wasteland—land that lies idle. If we adopt modern techniques and sustainable methods, we can transform this land into fertile fields.
If we succeed, we will not only remain self-sufficient in food grains but also in pulses, oilseeds, fruits, and flowers. Just as we are exporting rice today, we could excel in multiple sectors, creating both prosperity for farmers and security for the nation.
I firmly believe that if we revive our wastelands, we will move closer to realizing the Prime Minister’s vision of making India a developed nation by 2047. No global force will be able to stop us if we strengthen our agricultural base alongside our industries and trade.
When we fall sick, a responsible doctor does not immediately prescribe medicine. First, they send us for tests—blood tests, urine tests—so they can understand the root cause. Only then do they prescribe the correct treatment.
In agriculture, we often skip this crucial step. Farmers rarely test their soil before applying fertilizers. Instead, we use them blindly, just as it would be dangerous to take random medicines at random times. This harms the soil in the same way that an overdose of medicine harms the human body. If we test the soil, we can provide exactly what it needs—no more, no less. This approach will help restore balance to the earth and ensure sustainable yields.
Even with government initiatives—such as the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, increased Minimum Support Prices (MSP), expanded agricultural budgets, and promotion of organic and natural farming—many farmers still do not receive fair returns for their labor. Why? Because the challenges are structural. Weather unpredictability, market fluctuations, middlemen, and lack of processing infrastructure all eat away at the farmer’s earnings. That is why reviving wasteland and diversifying crops are so critical. They offer both ecological and economic solutions.
Agriculture is not the farmer’s responsibility alone; it is the foundation of our nation’s survival. Whether you are a businessman, an industrialist, or a scholar, the health of our soil ultimately affects you.
I call upon our business community to invest in agricultural innovation, processing units, and storage facilities. I urge our policymakers to prioritize soil health programs and make organic inputs affordable. And I ask every citizen to value the food on their plate and the hands that produced it.
For me, farming is not merely an economic activity—it is a spiritual connection to the earth. The same five elements that make up the soil make up our bodies. When the earth is polluted or depleted, so are we. When the earth thrives, all life thrives.
This is why I believe that protecting the soil is not only an environmental issue but a moral duty. Reviving wastelands, adopting sustainable farming, and ensuring fair prices for farmers are acts of service to humanity itself.
A Path Forward
The path ahead is challenging but clear:
If we do these things, we will not only strengthen our economy—already climbing from the 11th to the 4th position globally—but also secure our place as a developed, self-reliant, and sustainable nation.
As a son of a farmer, I speak from the heart when I say: the farmer’s labor never ends, yet his rewards are uncertain. The land gives endlessly, yet we often take without giving back. It is time to restore balance—to honor the soil, the farmer, and the interconnected web of life they sustain. If we act now, the vision of a prosperous, sustainable, and developed India will not be a distant dream but a living reality.
By Bhagirath Chaudhary
Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
(The article is based on the speech delivered by the writer at Virgin Land Security Summit 2025, held in New Delhi.)
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