Niti Aayog member sparks farm income debate
Amid the ongoing showdown over farm laws, a member of Niti Aayog comments that the goal of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022 will not be met if the three new laws are not implemented immediately, which has sparked new debate.
Farmers and agricultural experts called the statement an excuse to protect the central government, which had announced in 2017-18 its goal of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022, and asked how these laws can double their income when there is no provision or even insured. Minimum Support Price (MSP) in these laws.
The debate began when Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said: “I will say that if these three farm laws are not adopted immediately, then I don’t see that goal being met (of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022).”
He answered a question about whether the government is still confident of doubling farm incomes by 2022.
Gian Singh, an agricultural expert and retired economics professor at the University of Punjabi in Patiala, said that even if these laws are implemented today, they will never be able to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. “These laws place more emphasis on privatization. and the private mandis. Can the private actor pay farmers so much that their income is doubled? ” I ask.
He further said that the per capita income of a farmer’s family was 54 rupees per day in 2015-16 and even if it is doubled, i.e. 108 rupees per capita, he cannot meet his basic needs such as food, shelter. , education, health. etc.
“The pandemic has also shown that a human being can survive without cars, airplanes, large houses, but cannot survive without food. The government must realize the contribution of farmers and must do something seriously to increase their income instead of implementing these laws that are not guaranteed to even get a price equal to the current MSP, ”said Professor Gian Singh, adding that During the pandemic, India and particularly Punjab farmers have acquired unprecedented rice and even India has exported more rice this year to other countries.
“But our government, instead of rewarding them, is punishing them by running away from government buying. To double their income, we need a farmer-friendly model, not the business-friendly model,” he added.
“In Punjab, wheat and rice are the two main crops that the government procures at MSP and now the government is running away from this by giving various excuses in the name of direct payment, providing a land registry of farmers, etc. Farmers have less than five acres and the government is running since the purchase of the MSP, how can these laws double the income of farmers? “asked Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the Bharti Kisan Union (Dakaunda).
“We had long and extensive discussions about each clause of these laws with the government, but the government was unable to explain how farmers’ income can be improved by adopting these laws when the government has no control over private actors,” he said. , adding that farmers’ income can be increased only if the MSP of each crop is given in accordance with the recommendations of the Swaminathan report.
“Our demand for legal MSP status for each crop is only because this is the only way to double farmers’ income,” he said.
Another expert from the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Ludhiana, said that the Ramesh Chand 2014-15 committee had several good recommendations according to which it had recommended MSP of crops, but according to these three laws, the government is not talking about MSP But on mandis and private players, which means minimizing the government purchase that would result in no purchase at MSP.
“Niti member Aayog is thinking from the point of view of private actors, not from the point of view of farmers and assumes that private actors are paying farmers far more than the government price. How can you assume things when everyone knows that an entrepreneur (private actors) is much more concerned with his own profit than with the welfare of farmers? ”
“Only the state can think about the welfare of farmers, but the state is fleeing its responsibility,” said BKU (Ugrahan) Secretary-General Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan.
“If the government says it wants to double the income of farmers, it must take those measures, not the ones it has taken in the form of these three laws that are more suitable for private actors,” he added.
“The lives of small and marginal farmers are already in a miserable state and now these laws will drive them further into poverty, as they are not in a position to negotiate with private actors and sell their harvest by going from one place to another. “Kokrikalan said. and asked if Niti member Aayog convinces farmers in common language about how these laws would double their income.
“Can you even cite such a model where small and marginal farmers are making a respectable income without government support?” He asked.
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