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Over 12 months, we interviewed 30 couples to better understand the challenges facing smallholder farmers today. This is the fifth in a series of blogs based on those interviews. Names and faces have been changed to protect privacy. Photo has been AI generated.

In the small farming village of Gidaur, Uttar Pradesh, 38-year-old Vihaan farms wheat, rice, and gram with his wife, Niyati (36), who helps support the family by selling milk and curd from their goats and buffalo. “I am proud to be a farmer,” Vihaan says. “We feel good when we are able to grow our crops properly.”

But life on the farm is not for the faint of heart. Vihaan and Niyati both work long, grueling hours in the fields, and for two months of the year their children miss school to help out as well. Their days start at 6:30am, preparing meals and completing household chores before heading out to the field. At 7pm, they return to complete the rest of the household tasks, prepare another meal and go to sleep around 10pm. There is no health insurance, and both Vihaan and Niyati have had to skip medicine or proper treatment for sickness when they could not afford it. They have borrowed money now and then - Niyati took a loan from a community co-op to buy the buffalo and goats, and then borrowed again to pay for a gift for their neighbor’s daughter’s wedding. The couple’s financial hopes for the future lie with their daughters, who work hard and are excelling in school. They have a son, but, according to his disappointed parents, he does not study, will not listen to their advice, and is considered “hopeless.”

For Niyati in particular, the burden of managing the home, the children, and participating in the fields is overwhelming. “I cannot manage everything well,” she says candidly. “I can manage farming or I can handle kids. It is not possible for me to handle both jobs at a time.”

The farm includes a garden with brinjal, ladyfinger, tomatoes and gourds, which feeds the family of six, but all other expenses are paid for with the milk money, as well as whatever odd jobs Vihaan is able to pick up on the side. “I do agricultural work,” he explains. “I also work as a mason and do wiring work. I install generator systems, meter systems, everything.” Vihaan explains that he is also trained to operate a welding machine, and has worked on renovations in big hotels in Delhi. When asked how they cope when finances are stretched, Vihaan says he just works longer hours, admitting that he feels his work has been “particularly tedious” lately. Within the past year, they also lost an entire wheat crop to fire, for which they received 1,800 rupees (about five days wages) from their FPO (AKPCL).

“Being associated with the FPO is a good thing,” Niyati says. “There have been a lot of changes in our household since we joined the FPO, as we get to know many things about farming.” She continues, “Being associated with the FPO has helped us in having better farming. The growth of the crops has been better, the yield is good (and) they provide us with seeds and manure.”

For Vihaan and Niyati, members of the Scheduled Caste/Tribe with limited education, the FPO provides not only tangible goods like seeds and fertilizer/manure, but critical education and training in new farming techniques. “In the meetings, a lot of things are discussed. When we do farming according to what they say, we are benefitted,” Niyati says. She also appreciates that she can buy her food directly from the FPO without having to go to the market. “They understand our needs and we get whatever we want from there only,” she says.

While he has attended many meetings and even recruited others to join the FPO, Vihaan has never been offered a leadership position, a fact he accepts with a certain amount of resignation. “I just used to go to the meetings and sit and listen,” he said, explaining that he did not feel like he could offer suggestions without a position of authority.

Niyati does not attend the meetings (she says she has never been invited), but says people generally listen to her ideas with respect and treat men and women equally. Her husband agrees: “We look at (women) in a good way,” Vihaan says. “Nobody misbehaves with women; everyone respects them and they are given a chance to speak.” He does not perceive any gender discrimination at the meetings, and says if there was, nobody would attend. “We are happy for women,” he says. “Everyone should have a say in this.”

When asked what improvements or changes they would like to see from their FPO, both Niyati and Vihaan have a lot to say. “If we get machines it would be good; like sewing machines and a water irrigation machine,” Niyati says. We don’t have a lot of water,” she explains. “We run with buckets in our hand to other people's taps.” She adds, “It would be nice if the FPO could provide us with a spray machine for using pesticides and a tractor for ploughing the field.” As a final thought, Niyati suggests a way for women to contribute through the FPO: “There should (also) be some employment in the village so that all the females can join up and work together,” she says.

Vihaan considers the question, “It would be really nice if we could get more facilities,” he suggests. “We need more farmers, and if they could increase the money we get then it would be really nice.” He continues, “Also, it would be nice if they could give us a flour mill so that we could make flour at home.”

Perhaps the most lasting benefit the couple has received from participation in their FPO is in the way they interact and share ideas together. “There have been a lot of changes in the communication regarding farming between me and my husband,” Niyati says. “As he is a member of the FPO and gets to know many new things about farming, he shares that information with me, like how and when to use the manure, how the fields should be watered and all,” she says. “We (now) have these discussions.”