Revisiting the deliberation on the three Farm Laws | Part 1
As I write this piece on May 15, 2021, it has been six months that farmers’ from across the country have been peacefully protesting at the borders of Delhi. The national capital, however, has turned it’s eyes away from their grievances- this, mind you, includes not just the political leaders, but even the common man- who have, unfortunately, become oblivious to the miseries of thousands protesting at the borders.
However, what needs attention is that the three laws introduced by the Government last year in June, amidst the pandemic, continue to exist. And so, our opposition to them should also continue with the same spirit as it started. With the protest entering another month of undeterred demonstrations, it becomes imperative for us to revisit the laws and the grievances of the farmers against it.
It is important that we do this, we continue our conversations around the laws, we continue talking about the state of Indian agricultural system- because when the other side relies on rhetoric to squash the integrity of the protests; knowledge is our armor.
The Centre in a bid to ‘alleviate’ the Indian agricultural system, introduced the contentious three farm laws, amidst strong opposition and ruckus in the Parliament- something which we all must be well aware by now. The three laws, under the broad heads of- Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act- aim at apparently revolutionizing the agricultural system as we know it today.
However, a small peak into the history would be enough to indicate the devastation these laws would cause to the farmers. The sugarcane industry was deregularised/de-liscened in the year 1998- in a bid to attract more private players into the sector. It is important to note that state support has always been crucial in the well-being of the farmers. However, rather than the de-regularising bringing any benefits to the farmers, it only increased their miseries. In a study by Abnave Vikas and M Devendra, titled, ‘State Intervention: A gift or threat to India’s Sugarcane Sector’ it was revealed that sugar mills owe huge arrears to the cane farmers. In the state of Uttar Pradesh, one of the major cane producing state, mills had arrears amounting to rs 2.29 thousand crores till December 2013. The arrears in the case of Karnataka and Maharashtra increased to about rs1.48 and rs 0.42 thousand crores respectively. The study further states, “Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh also had the highest position in total sugarcane arrears pending till December 2013. In both these states, the sector is dominated by private sugar mills which may explain the high unpaid arrears in these states.” (Vikas, Devendra, 2017)
Even a bird’s eye view on one of the three acts- the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act would be enough to uncover the real intentions of the Government behind this act. This particular act was mainly in place to put a cap on and let the government control the production, supply, procurement of commodities designated as ‘essential’. However, with the new amendment in place, Government will be taking a backseat and there will be no such cap. In simple words, with the coming of private players in the Agri market- these entities will be free to hoard without any limit. Now, basic economics tells us that hoarding leads to- black marketing, which further results in- price increase for the consumers.
This can be understood from the current scenario as well. Drugs being commonly used in the treatment of Covid-19 cases have seen an exponential rise their demand. With absolutely no supervision present, it was seen how dramatically the prices of these specific drugs shot up. Some drugs which usually costed up to rs 3,000 were (and unfortunately, still are) being sold by private entities for prices running in lakhs. This is precisely why Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel demanded certain drugs to be declared as ‘essential commodities’ under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
The prevailing situation can serve as a basic example of how this act can be dangerous for the consumers as well- who have no direct relation to farming. While the farmer continues to get extremely low prices for his/her produce, and continues to be exploited at the hands of the private companies’ - the only entity that ends up profiting in this process is of course, the private individuals/corporations.
As for all the coffee table discussions on Agriculture, which come down to blaming the ordinary farmer for not diversifying and continuing with the years old pattern of growing rice and wheat- I have only one question- who starts with the research, development and technology dissemination for the same? All that noise around diversification, but from where does a farmer who has been accustomed to a set patter of crops and technology get to know about it? It has been a known fact that Indian Governments over the years have not focused on investing in the field of Research and Development. Notably, it was for the first time that Department for Agriculture Research and Development was allocated rs 8,514 crore in the Union Budget. However, studies over the years have found that none of this ever gets utilized to it’s full capacity. There are less incentives and practically no priority given to this particular department.
Even in the ongoing debate regarding Agriculture system in India, which emerged as an upshot of the three farm laws- any mention of the Research and Development was missing from the picture. Agriculture being a practice/profession being heavily dependent on nature- and with rapid climate change and related changes- research becomes all the more important. In a study by Fan, Hazell, and Thorat (1999)- it was found that investment in research in agriculture yields higher marginal return (in terms growth and poverty reduction)when compared to other investments.
Sitting out on the roads, miles away from the comfort of one’s homes, battling all kinds of changes in weather- is not easy and is definitely not something that one wishes for. But, farmers’ continue to battle against these odds to protest against the apathy of the leaders comfortably residing in their political chairs in the National Capital. It should be understood that these laws aim at bringing a 180 degrees change in the agricultural system as we know it today. And these intend no good of the farming community; rather it is the corporate powers that these laws intend to please. Reforms should be welcomed, but only when they aim at making things better for the masses, and not to profit certain entities. It is time we open our eyes and glance at the situation of the Indian farmer today. The ongoing farmers’ protests have brought together years of resentment and ignorance of their needs, too many homes have seen too much suffering, too many suicides, huge debts, and now when the resentment has come out, it is only ‘fair’ that the Government finally answers to their demands.
Recommended reading: https://www.sciencepolicyjournal.org/uploads/5/4/3/4/5434385/kumarsinha_2014_status_and_prospect_of_research_and_development_in_agriculture_in_india..pdf