INDIAN AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS.

 INTRODUCTION

59% of Uttar Pradesh's workforce is engaged in agriculture, 55% population of Madhya Pradesh is involved in farming, 40% of Punjab's total manpower is directly dependent on agriculture and as per 2018, agriculture employed more than 50℅ of the Indian workforce and contributed 17% to the total GDP of the country. Agriculture is one of the strong pillars of development of India on which the majority of the Indian population depends( directly or indirectly). In 1965 India's second prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri made the entire country proud by giving the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan". And today in 2020 our prime Narendra Modi believes that Self-reliant farmers are key to "Atma Nirbhar Bharat".

AGRICULTURE- REAL POWER OF INDIA

In India during the year 2019 - 20 total production of rice is estimated at record 117.47 million tonnes, total production of wheat is estimated at record 106.21 million tonnes and that of pulses is estimated at 23.02 million tonnes. This makes India one of the largest producers of agricultural products globally. India is the world's largest producer of milk, pulses, spices, jute, and ranks as the second-largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables, fruit, and cotton. India is the seventh-largest agriculture product exporter globally. In FY19, the export of Indian agricultural and processed food products totaled US$ 38.49 billion, and in FY20 (till January 2020), its values are 28.94 billion. India ranks first in the number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming. Also, Sikkim became the first State in the world to become fully organic.

INDIAN CULTURE AND INDIAN AGRICULTURE- COMPLIMENTING EACH OTHER

India is a country of diverse culture, celebrations, customs and agriculture is an inclusive part of Indian culture because agriculture with its allied sectors is the prime source of livelihood in India. Indian Farmers are highly attached to their lands and hence they celebrate various festivals during harvest season. Farmers across the country celebrate their harvest with the festival Makar Sankranthi. South Indian people celebrate harvest festival Pongal every year with their traditional dish made from the new harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery. Lohri festival is a celebration of the winter crop season by the Punjabi folk. Similarly, Vaisakhi is another harvest festival for people of the Punjab region which marks the ripening of the rabi harvest. Bihu, Hareli, Onum, Nuakhai, and Mangala are some other harvest festivals that India celebrates with joy and happiness.

BOLLYWOOD AND INDIAN FARMERS- THE DEEP CONNECTION

Bollywood has always been a reflection of Indian society and culture. And since ages farmers and their challenges have been featured in many Bollywood movies. In 1957 Indian movie "Mother India" depicts the difficulties faced by small farmers. In the year 2001 Amir Khan's movie "Lagaan" displays the difficulties of Indian farmers during British rule. Also, Lagaan and Mother India are two of the three Indian films which received a nomination at the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Movies like Do Bigha Zameen(1957), Upkar (1967), Kissan (2009), Peepli Live (2010), and Kadvi Hawa ( 2017) have made common people aware from the situation of Indian farmers from time to time.