The Need to Solve Poverty

Poverty is not just a problem for poor countries but for even the most developed countries. For example: 16% of all children living in the United States of America are living in poverty. Isn’t this high for such a developed and sought after country?

There is no silver bullet to solve poverty, and it is a perplexing problem with many dimensions to it. We can start solving problems by focusing on something specific. Many people are affected by poverty and we shall look at one such case: Farmers

Farmers: In India, most of the employment is not from industries or services, but from farming. Most farmers are uneducated and often take loans from money lenders at a high rate of interest. They are not aware of any other sources of credit. Farmers must work hard to get a good harvest and work their backs off, and they must wait anxiously to ensure that everything goes according to plan: weeds must be killed, plant-eating insects must die, the soil must be well tilled and ploughed, and more. In return, moneylenders woefully exploit them and enrich themselves with large sums of money.

To solve this:

  • The government must step in to inform farmers effectively so that farmers lose dependence on money lenders.
  • Farmers must be educated on the basics of availing a loan from a bank to how to apply for a fixed deposit from a government agency.
  • The government can also team up with self-help groups to help empower both farmers and women.
  • The government must also set up government schools to educate the next generation of farmers for free.
  • The government must supply farmers with good quality seeds to help farmers grow a plentiful harvest.
  • The Public Distribution System must be well-maintained to lower the costs incurred on the basic need of food of the farmers and other residents of the village.

Conclusion: Poverty is a large multidimensional problem. In the case of farmers, the main problem is that they are uneducated and dependent on moneylenders. The government can take many steps to solve both issues.

Sai Vara Amruth Ananthula

Epistemo Vikas Leadership School

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