Gurugram: Do Haryana farmers have to venture out of their state for agriculture? Is farming not sustainable in the state? More precisely, how feasible is Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s plan of possibly helping farmers to take land in Africa for farming?

These are some of the questions doing rounds after Khattar announced his plan Saturday while addressing flood-affected farmers through audio conferencing.

“Farmers from Haryana will be able to take land on lease in these countries and grow crops. These countries have vast agricultural lands, and the hardworking farmers from Haryana can make a fortune by growing crops there,” Choudhary told ThePrint Tuesday.

He said that in September, Khattar hosted a dinner for ambassadors and embassy officials of African countries in Delhi.

Ambassadors and embassy officials from 18 African countries — Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, South Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Seychelles, Mauritius, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe — turned up at the event. 

Choudhary said that the state has been in touch with these countries ever since and looking into the possibilities of opportunities for the people of Haryana in various fields.

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But, Khattar’s predecessor and the Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda asserted that this is easier said than done as farming in African countries requires a lot of resources.

“Where are the resources? A majority of our farmers are already under heavy debt. From where will they bring the wherewithal needed to begin farming in African countries,” Hooda asked. 

The Congress leader added that he too initiated efforts to facilitate the farmers in getting lands in African countries during his tenure from 2005 to 2014. “There is no dearth of land in African countries, and people can get land on thousands of acres. However, it requires a lot of investment in land and agricultural equipment,” he told ThePrint Wednesday.

According to the state’s Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, about 70 percent of residents are engaged in agriculture. Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India’s central pool of food grains, it added. As many as 3.74 million hectare (84.6 percent of Haryana’s land) falls under cultivable area in the state. 

While 8.02 lakh (49.29 percent) are marginal farmers (having land upto one hectare), 3.14 lakh (19.28 percent) are small farmers (with landholding between 1 to 2 hectare) and 5.12 lakh (31.43 percent) fall in the other category (above 2 hectares of landholding).

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Farmer organisations not amused 

Like Hooda, Kisan Sabha national vice-president Inderjeet Singh and Rashtriya Kisan Manch state president Prahlad Singh Bharukhera were not enthusiastic about the announcement made by the chief minister.

Singh alleged that the BJP governments at the Centre and in Haryana were known more for their ‘jumlas (empty promises)’ than for their works.

“The children of farmers in Haryana are selling agricultural lands to settle abroad through illegal means, a trend that was earlier limited to Punjab. This is because farming no longer remains a remunerative vocation because of the government policies,” he told ThePrint.

Singh alleged that farmers have been agitating for their demands, including MSP for their produce, but the Khattar government was indulging in diversionary tactics.

Bharukhera asserted that the government should instead help the farmers in the state. “We, in our state, have the best of agricultural land and climatic conditions suited to farming. If the  government is interested in our welfare, it should think of improving our conditions by providing better seeds, subsidised inputs and remunerative support prices for crops. Once this is done, farmers can transform the agricultural production in the state,” Bharukhera told ThePrint..

Surinder Singh Vaidwala, a progressive farmer from Vaidwala village of Sirsa district, shared his experience in Mauritius where he went to explore opportunities.

“I went to Mauritius in 2019, a few months before the start of the Covid pandemic as a member of the India-Africa Forum Summit. Representatives from African countries participated in the summit. I was interested in exploring the possibilities of farming in those countries. I found that land and labour isn’t a problem, but the major problem is ensuring heavy investment in agricultural equipment,” he said. 

Vaidwala, who has large tracts of agricultural land, added that he dropped the idea after studying the costs involved in farming abroad.

(Edited by Tony Rai)

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