The modern day food industry is looking for credible and safe sources for food and food ingredients. The moden day world looms large under uncertainties relating to unreliability and substandard quality. The increasing tendencies of mankind in resorting to terrorist means to sign victories over rivals has made the world more unsafe. There is no guarantee for anything and hence is more necessary that every part of life is taken care of with utmost care. Governments are looking into every possible avenues to plug risk prone areas. And one among the risky segment is food stuff especially food imports. The anti terrorism act in the US has brought to surface the importance of keeping vitil over imports of food stuffs. A wilful calculative adding of a poisonous stuff by a miscreant can ruin the future of a country. All these has riased many eyebrows and the result is clamping of stringet laws and rules on imports. The concept of traceablity also comes to prominence now. The primary source needs to be identified, process systems needs to be publicised, the men and materials involved known. These compulsions may be nerve racking when known at the fist instance. But sit back and think only to find that these are important in the modern day world. It is mandatory now to insist on sourcing food and food ingredients from safer locations where all the safety and hygiene norms are in place. Whenit comes to farm sector, the role of the farmer and the farm labourer who are at one end of the supply chain assumes lot of importance. People at the ultimate end of the chain usually speak of quality and assurances that go with that. When many people become vociferous. Yes of course this concern is addressed back in the supply chain. Till recently these concerns get referred back and it end with the quality labs at the exporting countries who will take action in testing and stopping consignments that do not qualify the tests. But how long can this go? At this rate there will not be any commodity to export. Besides this the domestic market requirements do not call for tests that are normally done on export consignments. But then one needs to think of the quality and safety of the food ingredients in domestic sector also. It is at this juncture that the food industry should look at the issue with a CSR [corporate social responsbility] angle. This means that education, motivation and getting things done should be in the entire length of the supply chain. Farmer and the farm labourer cannot be excluded since these are the two great factors at the source point.
Indian farm sector is facing acute crisis in the non availability of farm labour.Whether it be Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh, the farm skilled labour is almost extinct. The labour that you see in the chilli fields of Andhra are memebers of a whole family brought in trucks and tractors from across the Orissa border. In Kerala one can see guys from Nepal and Bihar working in the lands. The situation is more or less the same in other states too. We need to address these issues at great length. Without a committed labourer no farmer will be able to adhere to the required norms of plant care, plant protection and post harvest operations.
How much of our resources get drained in the name of experiments,product development and promotions. Only one segment of the population at the farther rosy end continue to get the benefit. At the tail end where all the inputs, stimulation and hard work take place, every one turn a blind eye.Without production there is no product, without product there is no process, without process there is no promotion and without promotion there is no prosperity. The land, the farmer, the labourer, the trader, the merchant, the processor, the exporter this is our supply chain.When we try to jump or break this chain, error creeps in and supplain chain gets corrupted.
It was Jai Jawan and Jai Kissan up to the 70s.
It was Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan and Jai Vyjanic up to the 90s.
What next !
Is it not fair enough that all of us say in unison
Jai Kissan, Jai Mazdoor!
Indian farm sector is facing acute crisis in the non availability of farm labour.Whether it be Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh, the farm skilled labour is almost extinct. The labour that you see in the chilli fields of Andhra are memebers of a whole family brought in trucks and tractors from across the Orissa border. In Kerala one can see guys from Nepal and Bihar working in the lands. The situation is more or less the same in other states too. We need to address these issues at great length. Without a committed labourer no farmer will be able to adhere to the required norms of plant care, plant protection and post harvest operations.
How much of our resources get drained in the name of experiments,product development and promotions. Only one segment of the population at the farther rosy end continue to get the benefit. At the tail end where all the inputs, stimulation and hard work take place, every one turn a blind eye.Without production there is no product, without product there is no process, without process there is no promotion and without promotion there is no prosperity. The land, the farmer, the labourer, the trader, the merchant, the processor, the exporter this is our supply chain.When we try to jump or break this chain, error creeps in and supplain chain gets corrupted.
It was Jai Jawan and Jai Kissan up to the 70s.
It was Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan and Jai Vyjanic up to the 90s.
What next !
Is it not fair enough that all of us say in unison
Jai Kissan, Jai Mazdoor!
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