In protest against the agricultural laws brought by the government last year, the farmers had to agitate by surrounding Delhi for almost a year, in the end the government had to bow down and withdraw all the three ordinances. Farmers may have got partial success in this struggle of life and death, but their real issue is still the same. Once again the farmers are forced to agitate for the demand of MSP, which has started in Pipli, Haryana. The current farmer’s movement is not born out of any book figure, but out of concrete ground situation, which has exposed the country’s power structure and the basic character of this government. Even though it has been 75 years since the independence of the country, the condition of the farmer is the same.
The farmer is becoming poorer-to-poorer. The policies of all the governments have been responsible for the plight of the farmers. The Modi government has made this problem more serious with its policies. That’s why, within three years of his reign, farmers’ movements arose in different states of the country. The policies of the Modi government are considered to be pro-capitalist and urban class-oriented. The agriculture sector became the first victim of the policy of artificially controlling inflation to keep its urban supporters happy as soon as it came to power.
Under this, on the one hand, the state governments were prevented from giving bonus on agricultural produce, and on the other hand, instead of increasing the MSP appropriately over time, the cost of agricultural inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, diesel etc. remained in the name of privatization. also finished. Because of this, the prices of these commodities increased rapidly, due to which farming has become even more loss-making business. Demonetisation, implemented in November 2016, exacerbated the crisis by abruptly stopping the flow of cash in rural areas.
If seen, even after a long period has passed before and after India’s independence, only a nominal improvement is visible in the condition of Indian farmers. Due to increasing population, industrialization and urbanization, while there is continuous decline in the cultivable area, on the other hand, due to loss, the mind of the youth is getting disenchanted with agriculture. This is a sign of food crisis coming in the future. Agriculture has an important role in the economy of India. Agriculture has been the medium of our economic, social and spiritual progress. For the people of India, agriculture is not just a means of earning a living, but a way of life. According to the 2011 census, 55 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture and related activities.
According to the current prices, the contribution of agriculture to India’s GDP in the year 1950-51 was 52 percent, which was reduced to 18 percent in the year 2013-14. According to the Indian Central Statistics Office, the contribution of agriculture and allied sectors fell to 17.4 per cent in 2016-17. Despite the decline in the agriculture sector, its contribution to the Indian economy is higher than the global average of 6.1 per cent. In terms of cultivable land in the world, India is in second place due to having 15.74 crore hectares of cultivable land. There are only 15 climatic zones in the world, while the number of agro-climatic zones in India is 20. India is included in the world’s leading producer and exporter, this is enough to make everyone feel proud, but despite this, the farmer is forced to commit suicide. Today the situation has become such that the Indian farmer is born in debt, lives his whole life in debt and dies in debt. The situation has come to such an extent that if the crop is not good, the farmer commits suicide and even if the crop is good, he does not get the price in the market for which he worked hard.
The reason for farmer’s suicide is not only not getting proper compensation for the crops. The huge decline in the level of ground water can also be considered as the biggest reason for the plight of the farmers. Recently, more than 25 organizations participated under the banner of Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA) in Hyderabad. In this, all in one voice demanded from all political parties to include the demands of the farmers in their respective manifestos for the Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2024. Along with the establishment of the Farmers Commission by the organizations, the demand for inclusion of farmers in MNREGA along with measures to ensure the income of farmers like employees on the lines of business to the Union Agriculture Minister is included.
In the manifesto, there is a demand for increasing subsidy on agricultural implements like fertilizers, pesticides, tractors, harvesters and reducing GST, making diesel available at 50 per cent subsidy, removing the Essential Commodities Act for long-term marketing and lifting restrictions on the movement of agricultural products. Was done. To prevent damage to crops from wild boar, nilgai and monkeys, local gram panchayats have been empowered to execute wild animals and guaranteed payment of crop insurance by assessing damage to crops within 30 days using remote sensing technology. There was also a demand to give There was a demand to reconstitute the CACP as an autonomous organization to decide the actual MSP of the crops and to increase the membership of the farmers in the Commodity Board, to elect a chairman from among the farmers.
There was also a demand for incentives for the government to share profits with the farmers supplying raw materials to the processing industries. In developed countries, farmers are given subsidy for direct cultivation per hectare. Like European countries, the government should also ensure the one-time income of the farmers. Animal husbandry and other industries supporting agriculture should be promoted, whose objective is to improve the standard of living of the farmers while increasing their income. Only then the farmer who is the creator of the country’s fortune will be able to sleep peacefully.
(These are the personal views of the author)
