MSP hike fails to improve their lot

Deepender Deswal

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The much-hyped increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of various kharif crops in July last year by the Central government has failed to alleviate the woes of farmers in Haryana.

A reality check reveals that there has been little change in the economic condition of farmers since last year, though they got better prices for mustard and bajra crops. Some farmers claim that while the input costs continue to rise, they have to struggle to get even the MSP fixed by the government for their crops. The middlemen, who have a strong lobby and can influence the government, are the real beneficiaries of farm income, say farmers.

Agriculture experts say that the wheat-paddy cycle of cropping has already reached a plateau, while further increase in the MSP could lead to inflation. The goal of doubling the income of farmers can be achieved only with an agriculture growth rate of 18-20 per cent, which is an impossible task. Dr Ram Kumar, an agriculture expert who retired from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), Hisar, says income can be increased through multiple factors like a scientific mode of farming with the maximum use of technology, marketing of the agricultural produce by the farmers along with giving an impetus to the processing industry. He says the farmers should diversify from the cropping pattern by switching to horticulture and other avenues.

Subhash, a farmer from Sikarpur village of Hisar district who owns two acres, says he grows vegetables on one acre and cultivates paddy and wheat on the other acre.  “Growing vegetables is a profitable occupation if the weather conditions are favourable and there are no crop diseases. I grew ladyfinger on three kanals this summer and earned Rs 40,000 in a season of four months. But it requires labour by the entire family as roping in labourers for the farming work will further diminish the returns,” he adds.

Highlighting the unpredictability of the market, Subhash says the farmer cannot decide the prices of his crop as its the wholesaler who fixes the prices of the vegetables on a daily basis. “Farmers recently sold onion at Rs 5 per kg. But the same farmers, like other consumers, are forced to purchase it at the rate of Rs 80 per kg,” he rues, adding that the farmers are too busy to learn the ropes of marketing, thus they fall into the trap of the middlemen.

Another farmer, Ashish of Kirtan village, states that there is no improvement as far as the returns from agriculture are concerned even after the hike in the MSP of the main crops by the Centre. “I got a total income of about Rs 35,000 from three acres where I sowed cotton, guar and bajra during the kharif season. With an input costs of about Rs 20,000, I got returns of about Rs 55,000 —Rs 10,000 for bajra, Rs 15,000 for guar and Rs 30,000 for cotton. Besides, this three-acre land gives average returns of about Rs 1.5 lakh in the rabi crop,” he adds.

Ashish says dependence on agriculture is not viable for a marginal or small farmer having less than five acres. “Most of the subsidies and the promotional schemes of the government are availed by the big farmers. They have the financial backing to take risks. But the small farmers cannot take risks. There are many villages in Hisar, Bhiwani, Jhajjar and Jind districts where more than 50 per cent of the farmers are defaulters of banks or cooperative societies. While the farm incomes have been declining for many years, a farmer cannot withstand the loss due to unfavourable weather, leading to non-payment of loans,” he adds.

Balwan Singh, who sticks to the wheat-paddy pattern, says agriculture is no longer a full-time job. “I work as a schoolbus driver but also do farming on my land. I recently sold paddy worth Rs 54,000 and hope to earn about Rs 35,000-40,000 in the rabi season. However, it’s like working a double shift. Besides the fixed duty hours as bus driver, which gives me about Rs 10,000 per month, I work in the fields with my entire family to get additional income,” he says.

‘Flawed system’

• Ram Kumar, an agriculture expert who retired from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), Hisar, says the cooperative system has not been successful in Haryana. “The cooperative societies, self-help groups or other initiatives taken to assist the farmers have never appealed to the community here. In fact, it has resulted in frauds which have further hurt the interest of the farmers,” he says.
• Agriculture experts say wheat-paddy cycle of cropping has already reached a plateau, while further increase in the MSP could lead to inflation. The goal of doubling the income of farmers can be achieved only with an agriculture growth rate of 18-20 per cent, which is an impossible task.