What A Farmer Believes In; And Why It Matters.

I think every person in their lives who talks about moving to a farm. It could be someone you know well; someone you know just enough to know this about them; or if you’re (un)lucky, someone you love!

I’m Ritvik Nagarkar, and I’m that person. I’m an engineering graduate from Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune. I have dreamt time and again about living on a farm, growing my food, raising my livestock, and escaping the dreaded city life we all love, albeit, love to hate.

While all this sounds all well and good, a question I’ve spent a lot of my time pondering over is this: What does it take to be a farmer? What is his unders

DRAFTJS_BLOCK_KEY:bbdokI think everyone has a person in their lives who talks about moving to a farm. It could be someone you know well; someone you know just enough to know this about them; or if you’re (un)lucky, someone you love!

tanding of this world? What does he think of things? and most importantly, What does a farmer believe in?

What does it take to be a farmer?

To answer this question, I actively spent over 6 months traveling to rural belts of Maharastra in this recent government-imposed lockdown. It was an educational experience, to say the least, and I will never forget some of the conversations I’ve had with the people. Besides realizing little we know about our farmers, I realized these are perspectives that people in the city will never understand. While a lot of these perspectives are circumstantial, most come from being a farmer at heart.

I’ve come to the conclusion that being a farmer is not a profession. It’s a mindset, a belief system. What a man believes in, makes him a farmer. Working a piece of land, growing food, raising livestock, and selling products for a nickel might be your idea of a farmer, but these few months have taught me otherwise.

So, what does a farmer believe in?

A farmer believes that the next revolution will happen in the field of agriculture.

A farmer believes that corporations that take advantage of him, spit on his face, and do not care for his existence, can be of genuine help and support. (better than the government, which also takes advantage of him and spits on his face.)

A farmer believes that true progress can be made with the right skill set and mindset.

A farmer believes that he does invaluable work, even though society cannot decide on a low enough price tag for the man.

And lastly, a farmer believes in giving.

Men and women that dedicate their lives to growing everything that keeps us alive and well is important. But I think keeping this spirit high, while emboldening it, is the least we can do for the humble farmer.