Tobacco growers feel threatened of 'unfriendly' regulatory

Tobacco farmers feel the most threatened because of "unfriendly" regulatory environment and lack of "livelihood-first" economic policies, a new study said today.
With tobacco farmers upping the ante against the "undemocratic" way "one-sided policies" are being framed at the ongoing global conference on tobacco control in India, the study said that 88 per cent of tobacco farmers feels that their livelihood is at stake.
"Tobacco farmers feel the most threatened followed by sugarcane and pulses because of unfriendly regulatory environment and lack of 'livelihood-first' economic policies.
"70.8 per cent farmers felt that their income has been decreasing, while 75 per cent of street vendors felt that they have been losing their incomes. 88 per cent of tobacco farmers feels that their livelihood is at stake followed by sugarcane 55 per cent and pulses 44 per cent," the study said.

The study 'Livelihood Challenges in 21st Century and Action for Redressal' was conducted by Public Response Against Helplessness and Action for Redressal (PRAHAR), a Delhi based NGO.
The study was conducted among more than 1,000 farmers, farm workers, street vendors and unorganised workers across the country.

It said that 59 per cent farmers feel that the drop in income has been the sharpest during the last five to 10 years, while 50 per cent street vendors feel that the income drop has been sharpest in the last two years.
Besides falling incomes, rising stress is a big cause of concern among farmers, street vendors and unorganised workers as they feel more stressed to retain their incomes.

"78 per cent of farmers and 93 per cent street vendors say they are feeling stressed. For both farmers and street vendors, unfriendly regulatory environment is emerged as a top reason for rising stress levels and falling incomes.
"This is surprising as the popular belief is that these sectors are unregulated. Under the garb of welfare measures, there exist many regulatory interventions or dependencies enveloping the masses, which are killing livelihoods," the study claimed while urging the government to constitute a think-tank to help weeding out such unfriendly regulations.
Abhay Raj Mishra, President, PRAHAR, said India intelligentsia and policy makers backing of glamorous sectors like Information Technology, automation and services to solve India's economic problems is a flawed approach.

"It is farming and SME sectors which are source of livelihood for 99 per cent of India's population today, with organised sector catering to a minuscule 1 per cent.
"To achieve economic nirvana, India needs ideas which reinvigorate and galvanise the farming and SME sectors as a singular focus," he said.