Farmers betrayed — at highest level

Sucha Singh Gill

The decision of the Union government to shift its responsibility to states for doubling of farmers' income displays the betrayal of the distressed farm community and farming at the highest level in the country. During the Budget session of the Parliament on February 28, 2015, it was announced that farmers' income in the country will be doubled by 2022. This was taken seriously by the farmers, academicians and policymakers. Several seminars and discussions were organised by academic institutions and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) during 2016-17.  NITI Aayog also took this matter seriously. 

This had followed the Swaminathan Commission's Final Report (2006) which talked of raising the income of the farmers. The Swaminathan Commission had stated that "success in agricultural progress should be measured by the growth of farmers' income and not just by production figures." 

Farming becoming unviable

It is well known that the share of agriculture in the GDP of the country has fallen from close to 30 per cent in 1990-91 to 14 per cent in the recent years (2014-15). This is the reason that income security of the farmers is being focused by many scholars in view of continued phenomenon of farmers' suicides in the last two decades. It is accepted by the Government of India through National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data that more than 3 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the country since 1997 when these figures began to be collected in the country. It was also brought out in the National Sample Survey (NSS) 66th round that more than 40 per cent of farmers had expressed their desire to leave agriculture as it was a non-viable occupation. It was also found that the majority of the cultivators in the country comprised small and marginal farmers. They constituted more than 4/5th of the total holdings that have become unviable. Their income was falling short of annual expenditure and it was pushing them to mounting debt traps and suicides. 

Farmers’ hopes dashed

The idea of the doubling of the farmers' income seemed to be attractive to retain them in farming and protect national food security. Narendra Modi announced in the rallies for the 2014 parliamentary elections that the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations to pay farmers 50% over and above their cost of production as a measure to raise their income would be implemented. But after coming to power, the Modi government submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court that this recommendation cannot be put into practice, dashing the hope of the poor farmers. 

If advisers of the Government of India believe that this is achievable target then suddenly why has the Union Agriculture Minister asked the states to prepare plans at their level to double farmers' income? This is because the announcements of the GOI are not matched by actions at the ground level. The area under irrigation is not increasing, the livestock economy has been derailed by cow vigilantes, diversification of crop process is ruined by crashing prices of new crops (fruits and vegetables, pulses) for want of price support, and demonetisation misadventure; non-farm employment is not picking up because jobs are eaten up by capital-intensive technologies. 

The crippled agricultural research and extension services have not allowed to plug the gap between lab and land, leading to very slow improvement in agricultural productivity. The farmers' suicides and tragedy associated with them continue. The peasant unrest is spreading everywhere. The farmers are demanding better prices for the produce, loan waivers, price support system, friendly crop insurance schemes and minimum level of income. 

Centre has shifted responsibility

As the Union Government has neither the will nor the capacity to act to affectively change the ground situation, it has thought to pass on this responsibility to the state governments. The state governments are crippled in terms of their capacity to provide loan waiver, make adequate resources for price and institutional support to the farmers and invest adequately in improving area under irrigation by increasing water efficiency. They can decide to pass on this buck to the village panchayats. It is strange that government which decided to dismantle the Planning Commission to replace it by NITI Aayog without any mandate to prepare plans is asking the state governments to prepare plans for doubling of farmers' income, that too without providing any additional funds to the states. The implementation of GST in the country without proper preparation has put most of the state government on the mat and added to the ongoing slowdown of economy. By shifting the onus of doubling farmers' income on the states, the GOI is putting salt on the wounds of the distressed farmers. 

How to double farmers’ income