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People who have experience aren’t writing. Those who write don’t have the practical experience of farming. This is in a nutshell is the tragedy of farm journalism in India.

We have hundreds of farm journals for namesake. All these are published by government research organisations or agricultural departments. The writers are scientists or ‘subject matter specialists’. They write what they think is useful to farmers. Seldom do they bother to identify the information needs of the farmers. Nor do they take pains to meet farmers and document their experiences in black and white. Most of the articles that appear in such journals are run of the mill, library-borne and of no purpose for the community for which it is purportedly intended.

Not based on needs

While writing about a crop, the writer will explain the suitable temperature range, soil condition, diseases, pesticides to be sprayed etc., but never about the actual marketing prospects or the opinions of the farmers who have already grown it. Journalism requires the writer to have commitment towards his readers. Even in the so called ‘popular’ farm magazines, which are meant for farm readers, you don’t see any concern towards the farmers. They are far from being need based.

Lack of experience

The lack of farming experiences, especially understanding pains and stage by stage challenges involved in raising a crop or maintaining a dairy farm results in exaggerated write-ups like ‘cocoa – the brown gold’, or in statements like ‘by spending three rupees for the mushroom spawn (seeds) you can get a return of 75 rupees’. Many of our farm writings project half-truths. The farmer, who is attracted by the rosy presentation of half-truth, is left to explore the other half, which is more than often bitter and frustrating.

This sort of unbalanced, uncommitted write-ups, written with an eye on academic credit have lost credibility among farmers. That’s why even if journals which cost 8 or 10 rupees by way of production cost are offered at an incredibly low (subsided) price of 1 rupee, no government farm magazine has a circulation worth mentioning.

Communication gap

There is a big communication gap between farmers amongst themselves, between the farmer and the outer world and between the farmer and the government. If there is a revolutionary development on the other side of the ones fence, say growing cabbages without chemicals, the farmer on this side doesn’t even get to know it. When there is draught in a region, the government gives fertilisers in subsidy or constructs new roads to ‘generate employment’, without caring to know where to apply the ointment to heal the wound.

The media don’t gather the farmers’ public opinion that they need water not new roads. The moot question is: who is to bell the cat? Naturally it has to be the farmer, if he cares for his all-round sustainable development.

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