Prospects and Challenges of Farming in Delhi: Evidences from the Field

Abstract

The farmers in Delhi are invisible and vulnerable due to the ever-increasing urban character of the city and multifarious challenges in agriculture. The paper investigates the conditions of farming in Delhi with a primary survey of 300 farmers in two districts. The findings indicate that wheat and paddy are the main crops cultivated but only half of the sampled farmers cultivate in both the agricultural seasons. The farmers lack motivation to continue with farming due to rising costs, unremunerative prices, lack of procurement at MSP and lack of policy support in the form of requisite infrastructure and subsidies. It is time that agriculture in Delhi should be made a part of official discourse and public knowledge.