Govt betrayal over MSP fuelling farmers’ anger

IT is sad to see farmers on the warpath again over the issue of minimum support price (MSP). They have given a nationwide call for ‘Vishwasghat Sammelan’ and ‘Chakka Jam’on July 31 to protest against the Central Government’s failure to accord legal guarantee of MSP. The betrayal is more agonising as the government has not implemented the written assurance given to the agitating farmers even regarding forming a committee on MSP. This was promised to the farmers when they had agreed to discontinue their 18-month-long protest against the ‘black laws’.

It is important to look at how the government, every year, announces MSP for 23 crops but procures mainly paddy and wheat from farmers who constitute just about 6 per cent of their community. The bulk (94 per cent) of the farmers are deprived of the benefits of MSP. It is gross injustice to the farmers.

They were also held to ransom when the government banned the export of wheat but only after it had exported over 10 million tonnes. The profits of the export were not passed on to the farmers. They were grabbed by a handful of private sector exporters. The mishandling of wheat exports has posed a serious threat to our food security.

Then, the government has changed the ratio of wheat and rice allocation for PDS. There is a huge cut in the wheat allocation to 10 states. The stock of wheat in the Central pool has gone down even below the level of 2008 — the lowest in the past 15 years. The crisis is bigger when we look at 80 crore people who are direct beneficiaries of PDS. During the 2021-22 rabi season, 43.34 million tonnes of wheat was procured for the Central pool. The procurement was just 18.73 million tonnes this season as against the target of 50 million tonnes.

It is annoying to see the wheat export policy being heavily tilted in favour of some exporters. This led to the wheat prices going even below the MSP of

Rs 2,075 per quintal in local grain markets, even as its international prices were up to Rs 3,500 per quintal.

In the current kharif season, farmers are hardly getting the MSP for moong and maize. This is no way to deal with the farmers, who are at the core of our food security mission.

The Centre must assure legal guarantee of MSP and a Bill in this regard should be tabled in Parliament during the Monsoon Session beginning on July 18. Buying farm produce at a rate less than the MSP should be punishable by law. MSP calculations should be made as per the C2 formula and the recommendations of the committee headed by farm scientist MS Swaminathan. The lack of accountability on the part of the current regime over MSP is painful.

The government indulges in doublespeak on issues related to farmers. Flagship schemes aimed at enhancing the income of farmers are falling apart. The ambitious goal to double their income by 2022 has proved hollow. Now, all big goals set for farmers are to be met during the next 25 years, also called ‘Amrit Kaal’. This will be nothing more than an act of abracadabra if the farmers’ issues are not taken up with honesty and transparency.

As per the government’s Doubling Farmers’ Income Committee report, the benchmark household income in 2015-16 was Rs 8,059 per month. It was to be doubled in real terms, taking inflation into account. As such, the target income by 2022 should be Rs 21,146 per month. At the mid-way point of six years, the estimated monthly income of farm households in 2018-19 was Rs 10,218 per month in nominal terms, as shown by the National Sample Survey Office. On the contrary, the cost of agricultural inputs, like fertilisers, has almost doubled in the last couple of years.

A NITI Aayog member’s recent statements indicate that the government is not in favour of legalising MSP. The best way for the government would have been to expand and strengthen the existing MSP scheme and ensure that the majority of the farmers get the MSP for all 23 crops under the support price regime.

It is the utter lack of commitment towards MSP that justifies and fuels the farmers’ demand for a legally guaranteed price for their crops. The MSP of wheat went up from Rs 580 per quintal in 2004 to Rs 1,310 in 2014, averaging an increase of 12.2 per cent per annum. However, in the eight years of the BJP-led government, the MSP of wheat has gone up by an average of only 5.5 per cent.

The vision of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who said ‘everything else can wait, but not agriculture’, the inspiration of Lal Bahadur Shastri through the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, the hard work of agricultural scientists like Ramdhan Singh, MS Swaminathan and Verghese Kurien and the toil and sweat of our farmers and farm workers together transformed a food-deficient country into a self-reliant and food-surplus nation.

We are aware of the present agrarian crisis and stand committed to resolving it with a humanitarian and compassionate approach towards enhancing farmers’ income, alleviating poverty and improving the quality of the life of farmers and farm workers. Agriculture is not merely a vocation or economic activity but a way of life for the majority of the population of this country. It is more than land and crops. It is the heritage of a farmer’s family and also his future.

I believe that agriculture reforms and policies should be farmer-centric. We must aspire to ensure that the farmer gets at least 50 per cent of what the consumer is paying for the agricultural commodity. A detailed study is needed on the issue. The nation needs a comprehensive relook at policies to address issues that are leading to farmers’ distress.