Farmers' Protest Season Is Back: Here Are Five Outrageous Demands Of Protestors

Farmer groups from Punjab and Haryana have given the call for a protest march to the Parliament in Delhi on 13 February and are currently heading towards the national capital.

In the renewed season of protests, farmer outfits have demanded swift implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation and promulgation of a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP), among others.

According to reports, representatives of the protesting farmer groups last week met ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Minda, and Nityananda Rai.

While the government stated that the final report on farm laws by the committee appointed will be ready in a few months, protestors have remained firm that law guaranteeing MSP be promulgated before 13 February 2024.

Apart from the demands raised in the previous protests launched after the government passed three farm reform laws, notably some of the protesting outfits this time have also demanded a monthly pension amounting to Rs 10,000 to all farmers and farm labourers above the age of 60.

Here are some of the absurd demands of the farmer protest groups:

1) A law guaranteeing MSP

The protestors have demanded that the MSP be guaranteed through a law fearing that the union government might rescind the policy in future.

However, the figures provided by the union government prove that leave rescinding, the MSPs for the 22 crops covered have only increased year-on-year.

For instance, wheat and paddy (i.e. rice) are the two major crops the government procures in large quantities. The MSP for paddy has increased 61 per cent from Rs 1,360 per quintal in 2014-15 to Rs 2,183 per quintal in 2023-24. Apart from this, the MSP for wheat has increased 57 per cent from Rs 1,450 per quintal in 2014-15 to Rs 2,275 per quintal in 2023-24.

2) Complete debt waiver

Several studies have shown that agricultural loan waivers are no panacea to the problems faced by farmers. Once an agricultural loan is waived off, say on account of drought or natural phenomena, no guarantee will ensure that the farmer does not default on the subsequently sought loans.

On the fiscal side, such loan waivers not only add to the existing fiscal deficit of the union as well as state governments but also affects credit availability in the market.

Moreover, large amounts being utilised in financing debt means less disposable money available for executing irrigation schemes suggested by the Swaminathan Commission. In addition to this, there is also the issue of lack of vigilance over who benefits from such waivers as there have been several instances of farmers ineligible for waivers having benefited from the waive-offs.

3) Monthly pensions to all farmers and agricultural labourers

Sarvan Singh Pandher, General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, has demanded that the government must pay a pension of Rs 10,000 per month to all farmers and farm labourers above the age of 60.

While this might give the impression that the government on its part has left the well-being of farmers to the mercy of market forces, it is worthwhile to note that the union government ensures minimum income support for the farmers. Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisaan Sammaan Nidhi (PM-KiSaN), all land owning small and marginal farmers receive a sum of Rs 6,000 per year in three installments.

This part, farmers also benefit from income support given by several state governments. For instance, under the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme of Andhra Pradesh, those farmers benefiting from the PM-KiSaN receive an additional sum of Rs 9,000 while those not covered by the latter are assisted with a sum of Rs 15,000.

4) Reintroduce the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 across the country to guarantee the written consent of farmland owners and a compensation four times the collector rates

The demand to increase compensation, experts say, would be detrimental to the rural economy in the long run as it will make the construction of infrastructure in these areas exorbitantly costly for the government.

5) Cease all existing free trade agreements and withdraw from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to protect Indian farmer’s interests

India has consistently used the WTO platform to raise concerns regarding the ill effects of blanket application of free trade agreements.

In fact, member countries like Canada and the United States have often criticised the Indian government for ensuring MSP to crops like sugarcane and wheat. This according to them affects their ability to freely market their agricultural produce in a large market like that of India.

For instance, a large number of US Congressmen have been questioning the legality of the subsidies provided by the Indian government for rice, wheat, and cotton. This according to them is in contravention of the WTO’s agreement on Agriculture that limits subsidies to 10 per cent of the production value, contrary to India’s subsidies for rice and wheat which are more than half of the production value.

Apart from standing its ground on the question of agricultural subsidies, the government has resisted agreements under the regional comprehensive economic partnership that could have led to dairy products from China, New Zealand, and Australia being dumped in India.

A complete withdrawal from WTO and ceasing off of the existing FTAs will undo India’s efforts to be a part of the negotiation process while safeguarding its own interests.