Farmers’ Voice: Will It Remain Unheard Forever?
Report by Jag Mohan Thaken
16 September 2024, Punjab: Farmers in the country, especially in Punjab and Haryana, have been struggling for a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) since 2020. The united farmer unions protested at the Delhi borders for more than 13 months during 2020-21, demanding the repeal of three agricultural laws, where over 700 farmers tragically lost their lives. Even now, farmers from these two states have been sitting in protest at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders for the past seven months, as per media reports. The organizers of the protest have announced their next course of action, planning a Maha Panchayat at Pipali in Kurukshetra, Haryana, on September 22, 2024.
Both of India’s major political parties, the BJP and the Congress, blame each other while claiming to be the true well-wishers and protectors of farmers. But the question remains—who is genuinely acting in the interest of the farmers?
On September 14, 2024, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is farmer-friendly and that agriculture and farmers’ welfare are his top priorities. He mentioned key decisions made by the Modi government in farmers’ favor, such as increasing the import duty on edible oils from 0% to 20%, which, with additional components, brings the total effective duty to 27.5%.
During an election rally on the same day in Kurukshetra, a stronghold of the farmers’ movement, Prime Minister Modi criticized the Congress, accusing the party of ignoring farmers’ needs and making false promises while spreading anarchy.
In an article published in a national newspaper, PM Modi is quoted saying: “Congress has never cared about the problems of the people. There is no other party more dishonest and deceitful than Congress. Congress talks big for farmers and shows them big dreams, but it’s nothing but a lie. These people make noise about MSP, but it is in Haryana, under BJP rule, that 24 crops are purchased at MSP. I challenge Congress—if it has the guts—why doesn’t it implement its farmer schemes in Karnataka and Telangana, where it is in power? How many crops do they buy at MSP? In these states, all development work has come to a standstill. Congress is a dishonest party.”
The Prime Minister’s statement came shortly after the Union Cabinet, chaired by him, approved increases in MSP for all mandated Kharif crops for the 2024-25 marketing season. A PIB release dated June 19, 2024, highlighted that between 2003-04 and 2013-14, the minimum absolute increase in MSP for Bajra was ₹745 per quintal, while for Moong, it was ₹3,130 per quintal. In contrast, between 2013-14 and 2023-24, the minimum increase in MSP for Maize was ₹780 per quintal, while the maximum increase for Nigerseed was ₹4,234 per quintal.
The release further stated that the MSP increases align with the Union Budget 2018-19’s announcement, setting MSP at 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production. The expected profit margin over the cost of production is estimated to be highest for Bajra (77%), followed by Tur (59%), Maize (54%), and Urad (52%). For other crops, the margin is estimated at 50%.
On the other side, Kumari Selja, General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee and a former Union Minister, claimed the BJP’s MSP announcements are mere election gimmicks. She pointed out that neither the Vajpayee government nor the Modi government over the past decade has adequately increased the MSP of crops compared to the Congress. Under the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government, the MSP of paddy rose by 143%, whereas the Modi government has only managed a 54.1% increase in ten years. Similarly, Congress raised the MSP of wheat by 126%, while the Modi government has only increased it by 39.3%.
Kumari Selja further added that during Congress rule, the MSP of all crops saw a 150-200% increase, unlike the Modi government’s 50% increase, which came at a time when the cost of farming surged. She highlighted rising fertilizer and diesel costs, taxes on farm equipment, and higher electricity prices, which have collectively burdened farmers.
Why Are Farmers Not Satisfied with MSP?
The central government claims it considers all expenses, including hired labor, seeds, fertilizers, irrigation charges, and depreciation on equipment, when calculating MSP. However, farmers argue that MSP is set at 1.5 times the Cost of Production (CoP) based on the A2+FL formula, while the Swaminathan Commission had recommended MSP be based on the C2+50% formula, which includes additional costs like interest on owned capital assets and rental value of owned land.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers’ unions, has criticized the government’s reliance on the A2+FL+50% formula. SKM claims that while the C2+50% rate of paddy is ₹3012 per quintal, the current rate (based on A2+FL+50%) is only ₹2300 per quintal, leading to a ₹712 per quintal loss for paddy farmers in Haryana. According to SKM, this amounted to a ₹3851.90 crore loss for paddy farmers in Haryana during 2023-24.
The Persistent Question
If the BJP government is as concerned about farmers’ welfare as it claims, then why has the demand for legally guaranteed MSP not been met despite the historic 13-month-long protest, during which hundreds of farmers lost their lives?
As the Haryana assembly elections approach, this question looms large. The SKM has vowed to expose what it calls the BJP’s anti-farmer stance in the upcoming elections, calling the recent MSP announcements “mere election tricks.”
Farmers have not forgotten the repression they faced during the protests of 2020-21, and their voices continue to be raised. On September 15, 2024, a Maha Panchayat under the SKM banner convened in Jind’s Uchana Kalan, once again demanding a legal guarantee of MSP on all crops.
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, speaking at the event, reminded the gathering of the lives lost in the protest, stating, “Our struggle is not to elect MPs or MLAs, but to protect the future of farmers and laborers. We ask you to vote against the party that used batons on us.”
The question remains: will the voice of the country’s farmers be heard, or will it continue to be suppressed by political tricks and indifference?
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