It came as a rude shock. Six months after I had joined  a leading English newspaper as an Agriculture Correspondent at Chandigarh in the early 1980s, it was a Punjab farmer who gave me what I think is the ultimate lesson in farm journalism. “I read you regularly,” he said, and added, “but please don’t become another Krishi Darshan. We need you to be our voice, the voice of the voiceless farming community.”
It did come as a bolt from the blue. The more I thought about it the more I realised how right the farmer was. I recall vividly what he had subsequently told me: “You are reporting what the agriculture scientists have to say. It is time you start reporting on what the farmers want, how the farmers are becoming a victim of agriculture policies, the politics of technologies and so on…”
It changed my perception about reporting news on agriculture, and my analysis became more sharp, focused and in-depth. I was not surprised when after a few years the Punjab unit of Bhartiya Kisan Union wrote a letter to the editor of the English newspaper requesting him to publish a Punjabi edition of the daily.
The reason why I am telling you this story is not to pat myself. For a discerning reader, there lies hidden a strong message that could have revitalised Krishi Darshan; turning it into a powerful interactive medium for the farming community, and in essence make it the most watched television programme in the country. What pains me is that almost 40 years after its launch, Krishi Darshan remains at the bottom of the heap, amongst the least watched television programmes. Earlier when Doordarshan was the only channel, it was not unusual to find viewers switching-off television sets when it was time for Krishi Darshan. Now they very conveniently pick up the remote to switch channels. You cannot blame the viewers for their lack of interest. The programme continues to be badly conceived and produced. 
Despite claims to the contrary, even in the rural areas it is not a hit. I have not met many people who swear by Krishi Darshan. The reasons are obvious. Only the top brass of Doordarshan fails to see it. 
At a time when 40 per cent of the farmers have in a latest NSSO survey expressed the desire to quit farming, and at a time when thousands of farmers have taken the fatal route to escape the humiliation that comes from the continuing apathy and neglect, Krishi Darshan continues to keep its eyes closed to the harsh ground realities. Instead, it goes on featuring middle-rung agricultural scientists from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi (and sometimes from other universities) advising farmers on whether to grow the crop in two rows or on ridges; what pesticides need to be strayed for the vegetable pests etc. etc.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s repeated assertion that Indian agriculture is faced with a terrible crisis has failed to provoke Krishi Darshan to examine the reasons behind the fiasco. Nor has it ever tried to talk to the families of farmers who have committed suicide to know what prompted the farmer to kill himself. Still more importantly, after the death of the bread-earner how was the family surviving to make both ends meet.
I am sure even the Prime Minister would have found time to watch such a programme, so as to learn from what probably he has never been told. After all, his own revival package of Rs 3,750-crore to Vidharbha in June 2006 has failed to stem the tide of farmer suicides.
There is no dearth of exciting subjects. Food pockets of the country – comprising Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh – are suffering from second-generation environmental impact following the collapse of the green revolution. Drylands are gasping for breath. Water mining resulting from an intensive cropping system – wheat followed by rice and more so by encouraging the water-guzzling sugarcane – has already taken a heavy toll in the irrigated belt.
Shifting emphasis on contract farming and corporate agriculture is sure to acerbate the existing agrarian crisis. What about the World Trade Organisation? How will the Free Trade Agreements impact Indian farmers? And so on.
Let there be no doubt, India’s 60-crore farmers can easily propel Krishi Darshan to top of the TRP charts. No “Saas-bahu” serials or crime thrillers can dream to match its reach and appeal. All it needs is a sincere and determined effort to overhaul and redesign the programme, to bring in a new professional team that understands the politics of food and agriculture, unwinding the complexities of global issues for the local audience. It has to shed its “lab-to-land” approach and take on serious issues. 
Krishi Darshan needs the right mindset and vision. With private channels treating agriculture as a downmarket subject, Doordarshan can easily revitalise Krishi Darshan into a flagship programme.