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Boon or Bane?

At the moment, people with no knowledge of farming are making the most noise; the Government should disregard the advice of such busybodies and use its own good sense. Not for nothing did US President Dwight D Eisenhower say: ‘You know, farming looks mighty easy when your plough is a pencil, and you‘re a thousand miles from the corn field‘

Boon or Bane?

The farmers have been sitting at the borders of the national capital since November 26, 2020. (Photo: IANS)

The war of words between proponents and opponents of farm laws has totally obfuscated the real issues involved. Rhetoric has replaced informed debate, with the Government side declaring the Farming Acts as the ultimate beneficial legislation, and the protesting farmers demanding the immediate repeal of the said Acts.

The farming laws have much to commend them, a point that the Government is assiduously making in a well-designed publicity blitz, yet there is also a significant downside to them, as pointed out in these columns in Farmers and Farming (30 June), Agricultural Revolution (15 September) and Climate and Agriculture (28 October). Significantly, even prior to the passing of the laws, the Farming Ordinances, which were the precursors of the Acts, were opposed tooth and nail by farmers. On the other hand, the laws have been acclaimed by trade bodies, indicating clearly who would benefit by the new laws.

At a time when the Coronavirus pandemic rages unchecked, and Chinese troops are massed at our borders, the immediate priority for all concerned should be to seek an end to the farmers’ protests, which are affecting the daily life of ordinary citizens adversely and which also pose a threat to the life and health of the protestors. In a PIL by some public-spirited citizens for clearing the roads around Delhi, the Supreme Court sensibly observed that the Government should end the impasse by meaningful discussions with farmers, after putting the new Acts on hold.

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Yet, no side is in a mood to relent. Prime Minister Modi’s personal popularity has ensured that till now there has been little opposition to the Government’s actions, even to those that affected the general public negatively, like demonetisation and GST. Protestors against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were generally those opposed to right-wing ideology, so it was easy for the Government to discredit the CAA protests by labelling the CAA protestors as anti-nationals and Pakistanis. Later on, many prominent CAA protestors came to be the arraigned in the Delhi riot cases.

Right-wing social media supporters have branded the protesting farmers as middlemen masquerading as farmers, accompanied by a small number of farmers misled by opposition parties. The protestors have even been called Pakistani and Chinese agents. Even Central ministers have supported such calumny. Suffice it to say that such vituperative rants enrage the farmers and makes the resolution of the conflict difficult.

The farmers’ protests have put the Government in a quandary, because farmers and soldiers are iconic figures in India; agriculture being the main occupation of Indians since pre-historic times. The country also owes a debt of gratitude to farmers, who, after the Green Revolution, have made the country selfsufficient in food, growing enough food grains to feed the ever-growing Indian population and generating a sizeable surplus also. Presently, FCI godowns are overflowing with grains, holding 2.7 times of our annual requirement. This is not a one-off phenomenon; as on 1 April 2020, food grain stocks stood at 73.85 million tonnes which are three-and-a-half times of the reserve requirement of 21.04 million tonnes.

Agriculture is also a remarkably resilient sector; farmers reaped a record harvest during the Coronavirus pandemic. Export of agricultural commodities for the first half of FY 2020-21 increased 43.4 per cent to Rs 53,626.60 crore ~ at the time when overall exports declined by 21 per cent and touched their lowest level in the last ten years.

Thus, the problem before us is not that of increasing agricultural production but that of ensuring a remunerative price for farm produce. The farmers’ insistence on MSP being non-negotiable should be viewed in this context. Affluent societies like the US and EU handle the problem of over-production by providing incentives for limiting the production of agricultural commodities. This solution may not be open to us but changing the mix of the crops planted by farmers and better marketing facilities for farm produce would change the face of Indian agriculture. Burgeoning farm exports suggest the existence of a large export market.

Votaries of the Farm Acts vociferously argue that the Farm Acts would achieve exactly this result but forget to mention that a large amount of spadework would have to be done before farmers can adapt to the changed environment. For example, there are mandis for particular commodities at various places where that particular commodity is freely bought and sold. Before suggesting the planting of a new crop, a stable market for that crop should be developed. Of course, this presupposes that the farmers had been provided with the necessary expertise, along with seeds and the necessary finance for growing the new crop.

As such, farmers planting nontraditional crops have to face the vagaries of the market ~ during the lockdown starred hotels shut down, leading to huge losses for floriculturists and producers of exotic vegetables. Despite all risks, many hardy farmers in Punjab and the Kutch region of Gujarat, which was previously barren, cultivate non-traditional crops like dragon fruit, strawberry, bell pepper and mangoes.

However, for most farmers, the market beyond food grains is treacherous, imperfectly developed and poorly understood. When fracking took off in a big way in 2012, the use of a derivative of guar gum, Fast Hydrated Gum (FHG), increased exponentially, leading to the price of guar soaring to Rs 28,500 per quintal, from its earlier level of Rs 2,000 per quintal. Thereafter, market forces got activated and guar prices dropped sharply in the next season. Depending on the price of crude in the international market, the price of guar currently ranges between Rs 4,200 to Rs 6,000 per quintal, while the export price of FHG is around Rs 27,500 per quintal. Obviously, a properly developed market for guar would ensure much higher prices for guar farmers.

Farmers are poor people, and contrary to what internet trolls are imputing, they are not having a ball camping on the borders of Delhi in cold-wave conditions. So far, no consensus could be reached between the farmers and the Government, because the legalese of the Farming Acts is beyond the comprehension of farmers, who know that the impact of a law depends more on the way it is interpreted and implemented. Farmers also suspect that the Government favours urban consumers over farmers; soon after promising remunerative prices to vegetable farmers under the TOP (Tomato, Onion and Potato) initiative, the Government banned onion exports in September 2020. The ban was lifted in early October but by the end of October, the Government had made preparations for importing 30,000 tonnes of onions and potatoes to depress the prices of these commodities.

A Government working for the welfare of farmers and for doubling of farmers’ income by 2022, should forego the small satisfaction of having its way on the Farmers’ Acts; rather it should work with farmers to reform the agricultural sector and better the lot of farmers.

The Government could end the farmers’ agitation by staying the operation of the Acts in Punjab, UP and Haryana. Thereafter, the Government could share its vision about the farming sector with all stakeholders. Talks should be held with farmers on the ways to achieve this vision, which should be broken down into objectives and sub-objectives.

The dialogue between the Government and farmers should thrash out the nitty-gritty for achieving each small sub-objective. No doubt, such negotiations would require a lot of homework for both parties but true consensus can be achieved only when each side is clear about the points in issue and also about what the other party wants.

At the moment, people with no knowledge of farming are making the most noise; the Government should disregard the advice of such busybodies and use its own good sense. Not for nothing did US President Dwight D Eisenhower say: “You know, farming looks mighty easy when your plough is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.”

The time has come for the Government to listen to farmers and not to armchair experts.

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