Let us face the fact that "no farmer ,no food " is as true as "no mason, no home" or "no driver, no transport" or "no doctor, no healthcare"; or several other similar combinations. We need them all but more importantly we need all of them to work seamlessly together. Idealism apart real life works out rather differently. So there are different interest groups looking after the interests of their own. Often times one group's interests run counter to another group. Mill owner's association has a different perspective compared to mill workers association. Obviously!
It is the reason we have laws. Laws govern the relationship between different constituents of the society. It is a system that strives to ensure that the big picture that emerges is congenial and takes every one's rights,plans and aspirations on board. Ideally! Let us now circle back to the farmer's again.
According to National Crime Records Bureau of India 10,281 farmer's committed suicide in 2019. Mental health is certainly is not a major factor. Greatest reason for world's highest rate of farmer suicide is socioeconomic. Something we can and should take head on. According to the Journal of Epidemiology and Global health,"This has multiple manifestations, including a lack of agricultural
investment and irrigation improvement, use of cash crops, the increased
use of non institutional credit sources, and the reduction of trade
barriers".
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210600615300277
It is self evident that the Indian farming sector is in serious trouble. The question is what are we going to do about it? Now here comes the old competing interest group factor in play. Who is this farmer we are talking about? Someone with a small piece of land in an arid remote area or someone with large canal fed farms with easy access to markets? Clearly their immediate needs and interests are not going to be same.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/05/17/india-agriculture-issues-priorities
A frame work is required to be implemented on an urgent basis. Are the much maligned Farm bills an answer? On the face of it the laws are trying to provide an answer to the most dogged challenges to the farming sector. It addresses farm credit, technical inputs, storage and access to bigger markets. Everything that study after study has underlined as areas of immediate concern.
Why is there such violent opposition to these laws then? I have formed my own opinion after some due diligence and there is this feature from usually inimical and biased BBC which I think is well rounded.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54233080
I believe the main issues here is the fear of change! Change is hard and to top it off the laws are an
unknown quantity. No knowing how they will fare in actual
implementation. Secondly there is a lack of trust in the government. As a number of previous aggressive reform and restructuring initiatives of the
very same government has shown, there will be some collateral damage. Probably collateral costs can not be entirely avoided during a reform process. Thirdly there is the political reason. 100 million reasons actually! That is the estimated number of farmers in India. A massive voting block by any reckoning. If the opposition manages to turn it away from the ruling party .... it can realize instant nirvana!
There is a fourth reason and here I am on a sticky wicket ! I will go out on a limb and say it because it needs to be said! Three words,"Farming Interest Groups". Over the past decades some farming areas of the country have gotten used to free / cheap electricity; subsidized fertilizers; unfettered exploitation of water resources; mindless cash crop rotation; fearless burning of stubble closing eyes to the unfolding environmental disaster and unkindest cut of all is that they have been handsomely rewarded for it ! Government after government has blindly bought their crop at a pre-determined floor price usually higher than the world price for the same commodity. It eats up 50% of India's annual expenditure. Per capita income in India is $1,640 US/ year; but this group can afford to buy tractors costing around $10,000 US, they can afford to send their children to college in Canada and Australia and they move around in a luxury SUV. They are worried sick about upsetting their "bank rolled by the exchequer" life style. This group and wannabes form the backbone of the most violent opposition to farm reform laws.
So the government grain storage's are full to the rafters that forces massive tonnage to be left open to the elements; rotting and feeding rats. It can not be even exported because prices are lower in the world market and the quality of the procured crops vary dramatically. No body has the guts to bell this cat. There are only 23 crops on this privileged list. Wheat, rice and sugar cane prominent among them. It benefits few farming communities but excludes millions and millions of other farmers.
I am not a votary of the free market without social check and balances. However I do see its benefits too.I do not believe in making the rich poor but I also believe that poor should not remain poor. Is it too much of an ask? Why can't we provide easy credit, scientific guidance and easy market access to our farmers? Why can't we tell them what crops will keep their land's productivity at optimum and still sell well in the market? Why can't we allow them to choose how and who they will sell to? Why can't we place a fool proof system to protect their land rights and commercial interests?
Having a law is only the beginning. Laws need other implementing and oversight system to be operating in tandem. It needs a sensitive and responsive administration that is quick to do a course correction if needed. I do not understand why we can not climb down from our rigid my way or the highway stand.I
do not know if these bills will do the trick. What I know is that doing nothing is not an option.10,281
dead farmers are shouting this my ear! Let us shape the bill around poorest of the poor farmer's interests. As someone once told me ," do not tell me how this will not work; tell me how can we make it work"!
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