About 50% Indians depend on farming sector in India, about 13 crore farm owning families along with farm labour and those involved in farm related activities. However, the farming sector contributes about 15-17% to the national GDP. Another basic fact to be noted is that out of these 13 crore land owning families about 12.5 crore own less than 1 Hectare of land. We must understand that this chunk of 95% of farmers even with a small family of 4 persons can only live as extremely poor on the basis of the produce from his holding of about 1 Hectare. ( Say anything between Rs 50000 - 60000 ).
Now, any measures to improve the lot of this large chunk of about 50 crore people should be fair to one and all and has to be thought of in the light of following facts.
- Minimum Support Price ( MSP ) covers only a small fraction of farm produced commodities, some 25 odd commodities only and there also the procurement of about 5% of the total produce is bought by union government.
- We should never ignore that no farmer can live solely on the goods produced on his farm. In fact a majority of any farmer household's kitchen, food and clothing requirements also come from the market.\
- If 50 crore are dependent on agriculture produce, there are 120 crore consumers of this produce. This additional 70 crores comprise of all labour and workers, small vendors and businesses. Their additional earning requirements because of food price rise could result into the prices of everything spiraling upwards, thereby erasing the gains of the farming community.
- Agriculture has been a state subject, i.e. it forms a part of the state list of our Constitution, which essentially means that states are supposed to address all the issues related to agriculture. But on Jun 20, 2020 Entry 33 in the concurrent list limits the power of states in agriculture and empowers the Centre by stating that both the state and the Union government can legislate regarding production, trade, supply and distribution of a range of foodstuffs and agricultural raw materials.
A big majority number of states and the country as a whole has been at the mercy of one particular party and its allies for all but 11 years and they have failed the farmers, Dalits, other poor and minorities even because they resorted to the model of creating and empowering Philosophy Of Corruption Empowerment - Bane Of Seven Decades Of Independent India which resulted in the Birth and Rise Of Corruption Empowered Cabal In India and controlling these big vote banks through the weapons of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed and hollow slogans wielded through these cabals without caring for the plight and welfare of hapless masses.
Now that these parties are no longer in power and they themselves and the elitist as well as all levels of empowered cabals have lost out on their illegal earnings, they have started their campaign with following nonsensical suggestions.
- Firstly these parties want 100% of farm produce to be procured by union government from the present 5% being procured. Great idea but why did it not strike them when they were enjoying the power. Because either they did not know that value of 17% of GDP i.e. Rs 27 lakh crores exceeds the annual budget of India. And supposingly Indian government procures it, then who sells it to the market. Or perhaps they just want to criticize the government of India to justify their salaries and perks.
- Secondly these parties want that total produce should be sold by farmers in Mandis at Minimum Support Price. Since they are ruling in majority of states and the state governments can formulate such policies as per constitution , why are they leaving such a welfare measure to Modi to take credit and win future elections?????????
In the light of all this, what is the real answer to the farmer woes in India? First and foremost any subdivision of individual holding below one Hectare is catastrophe for a farming family. This clearly implies that the country has to not only put a control on population but also wean away a few tens of millions from these farming households to industry, services and other professions to maintain present parity.
Secondly, the country has to find solutions to losses of farmers by natural calamities like floods, hailstorms, famines, as also man made problems of rotting of grains and perishable items because of lack of infrastrucure such as normal storage, cold storage, quick movement of produce from areas of abundance to areas of shortage, development of adequate food processing and losses because of rodents, pests, disease etc.
Thirdly, saving the farmer from the clutches of inspectors, Aahrtiyas, middlemen, commission agents, wholesalers, retailers etc. In short, a system has to be evolved where the ratio of the price which a farmer gets and the price which a consumer pays is not less than 0.5.
