More often than not, the images we see are cliched - old, sun-burnt farmers and young IT professionals. The former under the sun - toiling away physically and the latter slumped in front of a computer expending copious amounts of mental energy…

The contrasts go on until you are faced with an alternative: a young person, perhaps in front of their computer, but sitting in a field rather than the IT department of some corporate entity!

And it is greatly delightful to note that this is happening in India in a big way. More and more young people are turning to agriculture and making a difference with some unique value additions.

Age and farming

In the year 2016, the average age of the Indian farmer was around 50 years. Young people were not too keen on tilling the soil because of:

• Availability of higher remuneration from non-farm sources
• The need to do something more lucrative in cities rather than villages
• Rural-urban migration for various reasons
• Agri students joining non-agri sectors (70 - 80% of agriculture graduates join the banking sector)

Youth power is important in agriculture too and it is interesting to look at the events unfolding in India. 

The transformative power of youth

It is noteworthy that the theme of International Youth Day 2021 is ‘Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health’. The need for transforming food systems and agriculture is especially important because of extreme changes caused by the pandemic, climate change, growing populations and so on.

In most cases, young people are at the forefront of development and adoption of new technology and innovative practices. In an indirect manner, social aspects of women empowerment and gender and caste equality are also changing the way India progresses and these aspects play an important role in agriculture as well.

Women’s leadership, young people turning agripreneurs, awareness of alternatives to conventional farming practices are changing the Indian agriculture scenario in significant ways. 

Youth and farming

Youngsters with degrees in engineering or management are turning to agriculture for their livelihood. Whether it is an Abhishek Dhama who left engineering and turned to farming or a Venkat Iyer who left IBM for a ‘field’ job, the next-gen farmer is not only savvy about their choices but is also comfortable in using modern tech in the old-world sector of farming. 

The Indian Young Farmers Forum was started in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and allows in members who are under 45 years of age! The aim is to help young people understand how to attain economic success via farming and in building a community that helps people with non-conventional information resources as well. Making agriculture ‘cool’ for youth is being made possible with idevelopment in training programmes, technological tools, value-addition to various agriculture processes and changes in government policies too.

It stands to reason that India will continue to involve more and more young people to make a difference in agriculture - a sector that has done well even during the pandemic and a sector that literally feeds the population of the country. And as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Azad said, “The ignited minds of the youth is the most powerful resource on the Earth.”