Now Bharat Bandh

TO politically highlight farmers’ plight, opposition parties have decided on a Bharat Bandh. They demand, among other things, implementation of the Swaminathan report. The National Commission on Farmers headed by MS Swaminathan (2004-06) has submitted five reports, studying issues like loans, land reforms, irrigation, food security, employment, farmer competitiveness and productivity of agriculture.  It is the recommendation about 50 per cent profit over input costs that has caught national attention, particularly since the 2014 BJP manifesto mentioned it. 

All these years Swaminathan’s report had gathered dust. None of the political parties, including the Congress-led UPA, had cared to examine it. They played cheap electoral politics, offering farmers whatever they thought would fetch votes. None bothered to tackle Green Revolution’s side-effects, the impact of excessive chemical use on human, cattle and soil health. Politics of free power/water ruined the state financially and depleted its resources. The subsidy paid was not added to the input costs, thus resulting in a lower-than-actual MSP. Corporate interests prevailed; they used bank loans to thrust tractors on reluctant buyers and benefited from the fertiliser subsidy given in the name of farmers. In Punjab, arhtiyas exploiting farmers enjoyed political protection. As Chief Minister, Badal had used his influence to scuttle a Central plan to make direct payments to farmers. Also, the Akali Dal and the BJP opposed the entry of supermarkets which could have modernised the farm produce supply chain and cut waste.

Apart from inaction on the Swaminathan report, the Modi government has further hurt farmers, first with demonetisation, then with curbs on cattle trade. Cow vigilantes cannot lynch cow transporters so frequently without state patronage. When wheat prices spiked, the Centre lowered the import duty to check price rise. The note ban soaked up cash and hit sales of vegetables and fruits. Farmers cannot dispose of unwanted livestock. Promises of loan waivers have raised hopes that are hard to satisfy. Money that could have brightened up a child’s access to education or healthcare may go into settling loan defaults, willful or otherwise.  The present agrarian crisis is as much a result of bad government policies and shoddy electoral politics as of low returns from agriculture.