5 Types of Farmers: Who Gains, Who Loses?

1. Innovative Farmers

Their number is very small — only 2.5%.
This category of farmers takes risks and loves to work on innovations and new ideas.

2. Early Adopters

These farmers are not as risk-taking as innovators,
but they quickly adopt new things because they always keep an eye on innovative farmers.
Their share is not very large — just 13.5%,
but they play a key role as they are very active in promoting and spreading new ideas.

3. Early Majority

These are the farmers who get easily influenced by promotions and word of mouth.
They adopt new techniques based on the promotion done by the first two categories.
They make up 34% of the total.

4. Late Majority

This category adopts technology only after seeing widespread promotion and others using it.
They are highly influenced by social media and make up a large portion of the farmer population.

5. Never Adopting Farmers

These are traditional farmers who do not want to leave their old methods and techniques.
Promotions and influence have no effect on them — they are content with what they already have.
They form 16% of the farmer population.

Who Gains, Who Loses?

Farmers in categories 1, 2, and 5 usually don’t face losses or face very minimal risk.
However, farmers in categories 3 and 4 are the most likely to suffer losses.

How?

Example 1: Quinoa Cultivation

Started around 2016–17.
Seed cost: ₹1000/kg
Buy-back agreement: ₹100/kg

But in 2018, farmers from the first two categories started selling seeds themselves,
and quinoa that used to sell for ₹100/kg dropped to ₹8/kg.

The 3rd and 4th category farmers were responsible,
as they jumped in just looking at the market price.

1st and 2nd category farmers made money by selling seeds.

This year, the same happened with red quinoa —
Processed red quinoa was selling at ₹300/kg,
but the seed was priced at ₹2000/kg,
and no one bothered to think critically.

When the harvest came, farmers were found humming:
🎵 "Loot gaye hum teri mohabbat mein..." 🎵

Example 2: Akarkara Crop (2021)

Suddenly, it boomed in the market, selling at up to ₹60,000 per quintal.
3rd and 4th category farmers got attracted.
Seed price went from ₹300/kg to ₹1000/kg.

1st and 2nd category farmers sold seeds and made money,
and 3rd and 4th category farmers ended up with nothing again —
neither profit nor peace.

A Thought to Reflect On:

"This habit of yours to jump in blindly, like vultures on a corpse, makes you spend a lot of money."
This habit needs to change.

If urea prices increase by ₹10 per bag, you raise a storm,
but here even a 2x seed price doesn’t bother you — which is shocking.

Think Again:

Premium dry garlic sold at ₹13,500,
and the wet one sold at the same or even double that price?

What's So Special?

What’s special is your demand.
As long as there is demand, they will continue to set prices on their terms,
and you will be forced to follow their lead.

So, if garlic prices crash like last year,
blame yourself for buying expensive seeds that don’t even recover the cost.
No one else is responsible for that.

Remember: 30–50% of total farming cost is just the seed.

✍️ Written By: Dr. Yatin Kumar Mehta
Project Director, ATMA
District – Neemuch (Madhya Pradesh)
Mobile: 7697487710