FARM BILL PROTESTS -- PROTESTS BY FARMERS OR CORRUPTION EMPOWERED POLITICAL CABAL

 The three legislations namely,

Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) 2020, 

Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services 2020,  

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) 2020,

concerning farm produce and its sale have been passed by the Indian parliament and have become acts after signing by the President of India. It had raised a lot of hue and cry during its passage in the parliament and even now protests against the act acts are taking place. It is worthwhile to remind here that these provisions formed a part of manifesto of Indian National Congress from 2012 onwards. The other political parties mostly regional though some of them termed as national parties technically never seem to think in terms of country as a whole.

First of all, what is the extent of protests. The involvement of citizenry is almost at the same level as that of protests in the case of Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizenship, at best a couple of thousand people at various places. Yes, the polity of all hues (except the BJP) with their touts and corruption empowered cabal they have nurtured for almost seven decades is on the streets. There are media guys who feel their wings are clipped by the present ruling dispensation have used big big qualitative adjectives like massive, the nation on the boil etc. etc. for these protests. For their information, India has about 13 crore farmers/cultivators and a few thousands at some places in the country is a miniscule representation for a class. What is their motivation?

Agriculture has been a state subject, i.e. it forms a part of state list of our constitution, which essentially means that states are supposed to address all issues related to agriculture. An entry 33 in the concurrent list was made by the present union government in Jun 2020 which limits the power of states in agriculture and empowers the Centre by stating that both the states and union government can legislate regarding production, trade, supply and distribution of a range of foodstuffs and agricultural raw materials.

Since centre has come into the agriculture from Jun 2020, all the Woes of The Indian Farmer emanate from the failure of all state governments who have been looting the farmers ever since independence. In fact truth about these protests came out from one state politician from Tamil Nadu that these acts are an intrusion on the federal structure of India. Polity all over the globe and Indian polity in particular doesn't believe in powers unless a big earning opportunity  is attached to it. Incidentally about Rs 25 lakh crores worth of agriculture is produced in India and sold in the Mandis of the country. Furthermore, the ratio of what a farmer gets and what a final consumer pays for any goods at best is perhaps as low as 1:4 and in many cases it can touch 1:6 and for perishables much higher. The Rs 25 lakh crore figure is in terms of price paid to the farmer. One needs to understand that for the state government bigwigs of polity, arhatiyas, commission agents and middle men, it is a game involving Rs 50-100 lakh crores annually and more than 90% in cash only. An extremely lucrative  activity for black money earners and political funding. Farmer has nothing to lose, in fact he is going to gain only. 

That exactly is the reason of so much agony  thrust on Indian polity through these farm related legislations. If only these states ruling guys cared for the plight of farmers they would have increased the MSP in their states to the level of their liking and enacted legislations that all agricultural produce will sell only above MSP irrespective of the fact that it is bought by government or a private party. Polity of all hues has failed in not standing with the ANNADATA all these years and fooling him with hollow catchy slogans. Let us make a sincere beginning in the right direction to improve the lot of our Annadata with more and more of such measures to raise the earnings of farming community to give him a  reasonable living standard. 

    

FARMER WOES IN INDIA

 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.