Across the world, work is becoming increasingly advanced, integrated, and specialized, encompassing a range of professions, from scholars to programmers to service workers. Yet, at the very foundation of the whole cosmopolis is the farmer – the producer of sustenance – making the world go round.
It is this reality that organizations such as the Agrifields Foundation, founded by Amit Gupta, seek to address by restoring attention, dignity, and opportunity to those who work the land. The farmer is the cornerstone of the world’s health and security, but is often one of the most overlooked roles in society because it is rural, toilsome, and inconsistently profitable.
The private farmer, however, is associated with higher levels of democracy and civic responsibility. Throughout history, the humble farmer has frequently stood to uphold the fabric of society in times of great need. Famously, for example, the Roman farmer-made-ruler Cincinnatus became a renowned symbol for the early republic, a vision of the hard-working and temperate leader.
Then, and still today, the farmer is easily relegated to the background of current affairs. In India, however—the country with the most farmers—this is not the case. Every 23 December, over 272 million farmers are celebrated on National Farmers’ Day. They comprise 43 percent of the nation’s workforce, tending small to medium-sized farms from across the Ganges River plain to the Deccan.
Since Prime Minister Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative began in 2020, the Atmanirbhar Kisan (self-reliant farmer) slogan has played a central role in empowering Indians and strengthening rural society. Farmers have long been the backbone of India, creating national resilience, unity, and self-sufficiency—an idea echoed both in government policy and in the work of civic entrepreneurs such as Amit Gupta and Agrifields. In 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri coined the phrase “jai jawan, jai kisan,” meaning “hail the soldier, hail the farmer.”
It marks a consistent theme reflective of Cincinnatus above, but more essentially of the Indian nation. India’s strength comes from its farmers, and with a burgeoning population expected to grow to 1.5 billion peoplewithin the next decade, farmers will have an even bigger role in feeding so many.
The Atmanirbhar Kisan Integrated Development Scheme has helped to foster farmer-producer organizations (FPOs) and has allocated government funding to support technological development, farm modernization, and crop diversification. The government has also introduced several initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), which provide risk management solutions and long-term security for farmers. PM-KISANhas distributed over $38 billion since 2019, while other funds like the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund(AIF), which provides subsidized loans for sustainable agriculture projects, have sanctioned over 84,333 projects with $5.72 billion distributed. The government has also supported the creation of women’s agricultural cooperatives, soil health promotion, and expanded market access through the development of FPOs.
Support for Indian rural communities has also grown through the involvement of civic entrepreneurs and grassroots organizations working alongside these national initiatives. Groups like the Agrifields Foundation, founded by Amit Gupta, are fundamental to empowering farmers and communities, often addressing practical needs that remain unserved by broader policy frameworks.
Agrifields, a charitable organization dedicated to increasing agricultural incomes and farmer well-being, has taken a holistic approach to rural development. Its missionto foster “a future where farmers thrive” aims to bring sustainable and profitable dignity to the cornerstone of society.The Foundation is also developing a farmer learning centre in India, equipped with the latest agricultural technologies, where farmers can be trained in best practices, share knowledge across regions, and exchange insights with farming communities globally.
The Foundation has hosted multiple health camps across India, often in remote villages, providing both continued healthcare access and educational opportunities for more sustainable agricultural practices. Its work adapts quickly to farmers’ needs and can deploy development tools more efficiently at the local level than large government programmes alone. India’s continued growth depends not only on national policy but also on focused, localized development. Organizations like Agrifields can help increase crop yields while fundamentally improving the quality of life for those who work the land.
As Amit Gupta has said, “the true potential of agriculture lies not only in increasing yield, but in creating a thriving ecosystem that benefits everyone involved.” Through entrepreneurial efforts such as Gupta’s, the fabric of rural society can be meaningfully strengthened. A true Atmanirbhar Kisan—a truly self-reliant farmer—is supported well enough to live soundly, freely, and securely, while providing food security to the rest of society. Government initiatives have helped to meet basic funding needs, yet in the long run, civic organizations like Agrifields will work in tandem with rural communities to sustain progress toward dignified agricultural living and a healthier India.
As M. S. Swaminathan, the founder of India’s green agricultural revolution, once said, “If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right.” Much like Cincinnatus in Rome, farmers—and those working to empower them—remain among India’s strongest sources of leadership, democracy, and security.
