Sidelining Real Issues confronting Bharat?s Farmers

By now it is well recognised that the resultant farm reforms are the need of the hour. These reforms empower farmers and are in their interest. This is the reason why there was a political consensus on these reforms. This consensus can be found in the fact that India’s Opposition party too wanted the same reforms and they were a part of its manifesto. However, dishonesty and political opportunism resulted in quick erosion of the political consensus as Congress even ignored the Montek Singh Ahluwalia Committee’s report that was prepared for the Punjab Government during the pandemic.

 

 

Fact remains that the policy of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and excessive subsidies to farmers of Punjab and Haryana come at the expense of small and marginal farmers across the country. Moreover, the policy was skewed to benefit large farmers who produced marketable surplus. Thus the previous policy was known to perpetuate and widen inequality. Moreover, the excessive use of fertilisers and electricity subsidies made agriculture unsustainable in Punjab. The attempt to shift people away from agriculture has been unsuccessful. Consequently, people in Punjab are no longer witnessing an improvement in productivity levels and they are finding less non-farm employment opportunities. No wonder the State and its people feel that they need a new deal.

 

However, the existing problem is an outcome of the bad policies of MSPs and asking for their continuation is only going to accentuate the problem. The new Farm Laws are an attempt to provide relief to farmers and increase their income levels. The reluctance to do so is based on misinterpretation of laws – whether by farmers or their leaders. This is tragic. Concerns regarding false interpretation of laws around MSPs, Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) or issue of farmers land must be redressed. The fact is that these new Farm Laws do nothing to MSPs or APMCs. In fact, they only protect the farmers’ interest.

 

 

The new Farm Laws simply create a parallel market mechanism for our farmers. This is essential for improving their incomes. Crops such as avocados or dragon-fruits are in demand in the country and they fetch a high price. However, there is little production of these crops because the market where farmers sell these products has no demand for them. This mismatch in demand for what is being consumed and what is being produced by farmers is limiting and restricting them from moving up the value chain. 

 

Now that there has been a rally on Republic Day with significant violence and destruction of property, it is worth asking whether we can expect some sense of responsibility or ethical conduct from the Opposition. Unfortunately, Opposition is unlikely to take an ethical stance on this issue 

The new laws would have simply corrected this distortion and farmers in the three States of Punjab, Haryana and some parts of Uttar Pradesh would have emerged as major winners. This would have resulted in positive outcome of these reforms. Their opposition is thus puzzling as it is neither based on logic nor on considerations of morality. The explanation has to come from the Opposition party. It is indeed sad that the country had to witness a two-month blockade for reforms that would benefit the farming community.

 

 

Now that there has been a rally on Republic Day with significant violence and destruction of property, it is worth asking whether we can expect some sense of responsibility or ethical conduct from the Opposition. Unfortunately, Opposition is unlikely to take an ethical stance on this issue. But, the Central Government must formally recognise that these laws are much needed and that the decision to even delay their implementation or staying them was unwarranted. Irrespective of the talks, the fact is that the protests are political and have little to do with the interest of farmers. The Government must implement the Farm Laws and stop any form of engagement with the protestors.