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One year of Modi as PM: Where are the 'achche din' for farmers?

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Ashok Upadhyay
Ashok UpadhyayMay 25, 2015 | 14:31

One year of Modi as PM: Where are the 'achche din' for farmers?

On March 30, 2014, Narendra Modi, the then prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, addressed a rally in Vidarbha. Blaming the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) policies for the spate of farmer suicides in Vidarbha, he said the Centre chose to ban cotton exports, badly hitting cultivators, but provided subsidy on mutton export. He noted: "They have turned Lal Bahadur Shastri's slogan of Jai Jawan Jai Kisan into Mar Jawan, Mar Kisan." Referring to farmer suicides in Vidarbha, Modi said Gujarat too had cotton growers, but they were not taking the extreme step like their counterparts in Maharashtra's cotton belt.

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More than a year later, Gajendra Singh, a farmer from Dausa in Rajasthan, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in full public view in the presence of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rally. It was on April 22, this year. By then, Modi had completed around 11 months as India’s prime minister. A day later, expressing his "anguish" in the Lok Sabha, Modi said a farmer cannot be left "helpless". "For several years, farmer suicides have been a cause of worry for the nation... The problem is old, deep-rooted and widespread and we have to seek solutions in that context... There should be a collective resolve in this regard. We have an open mind to consider any suggestion that is made."

During electioneering he blamed the UPA’s policies for farmers' death and put forward his Gujarat model as a solution. But in power, he is seeking a collective solution, which also includes the UPA. Does this mean the prime minister has let the farmers down? This may not be true in totality, but on several fronts, farmers are feeling let down.

Farmer suicides

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As many as 601 farmers have killed themselves in Maharashtra in the three-month period between January and March this year. This works out to almost seven farmer suicides every day. In 2014, the state had reported 1,981 farmer suicides. In just three months this year, it has reached 30 per cent of that figure. This despite the state government's claims that halting farmer suicides is its top priority. Agrarian distress seems to be deepening and the farmer suicide belt is widening. It is no more restricted to the "Big Five" states, or the "suicide belt" comprising Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It has reached up to Bihar, which has recorded four farmer deaths, in the third week of May.

Insensitive comments by ministers

On April 22, after Gajendra Singh committed suicide in Lutyens' Delhi, Prime Minister Modi said that he was "deeply shattered" and "disappointed" over the suicide and told the farming community not to consider themselves to be alone. Just seven days later, Haryana agriculture minister and BJP leader OP Dhankar described farmers who committed suicide as cowards and criminals not worthy of help from the government. He said, "Why should we help them?" adding that the Haryana government could not support such farmers. Seventeen days later, on May 9, Maharashtra agriculture minister Eknath Khadse said his government had no solution to stop farmer suicides in the state.

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No promised Minimum Support Price (MSP)

The National Commission on Farmers, headed by eminent agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan, in its final report had said: "The Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production." The BJP in its election manifesto for the 16th Lok sabha elections had promised to ensure MSP to the peasants on the lines of the recommendations of the Swaminathan commission. But the affidavit submitted by the Modi government to the Supreme Court has stated it would not be able to enhance the MSP for agricultural produce to 50 per cent more than the input cost. It said that "prescribing an increase of at least 50 per cent on cost may distort the market".

Just 3.2 per cent increase in MSP

Soon after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government took over in May, 2014, the MSP for wheat and rice was increased by just Rs 50 per quintal. Last year, the wheat farmers received a price of Rs 1,400 per quintal, and this year, they are being paid Rs 1,450 per quintal, an increase of only 3.2 per cent. On the other hand, government employees have been paid two dearness allowance (DA) instalments in the same period which add up to 13 per cent of their salaries. This increase of 3.2 per cent was much lower than the average increase of 9 per cent per year in the MSP of rice since 2007-2008.

Land Acquisition Bill

The government has amended section 10(A) of the Land Acquisition Act, which deals with social assessment and consent of owners. According to it, if land is acquired for five sectors, namely national security, defence, rural infrastructure including electrification, industrial corridors and housing for the poor, the government does not need the consent of 80 per cent of the owners to acquire the land. The opposition alleges that the lack of social assessment means only land owners will be compensated; workers on the land will not be.

Cut in agriculture budget

In its manifesto, the BJP had promised that it would "increase public investment in agriculture and rural development". But in the Budget, the Centre’s total outlay for the agriculture sector declined by 10.4 per cent, from Rs 31,322 crore in 2014-'15 to Rs 28,050 crore in 2015-'16. The Budget increased the target for rural credit substantially, but lowered the Centre’s share under irrigation and other centrally sponsored schemes such as the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) by nearly Rs 5,500 crore, hoping that the states will chip in with increased tax devolutions. Even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated farmers’ body – the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) - has termed the budget "discouraging for farmers".

Farmers to get more compensation

On the positive side, while coming to the rescue of farmers hit by unseasonal rains and hailstorm, Modi announced higher compensation for crop damage and eased the criteria for them to avail government support. The criteria of 50 per cent crop damage to be eligible for compensation has been reduced to 33 per cent which will help more farmers get compensation for their crop losses. The amount of compensation has been increased by 1.5 times. So if an affected farmer was getting Rs 100 as compensation earlier, now he will get Rs 150. This has been termed as one of the biggest decisions since Independence by Modi.

India loses 2,035 farmers every day to other sectors, said a study by the non-governmental organisation (NGO), Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, and about 76 per cent are ready to quit agriculture for better jobs. There are nearly 15 million fewer farmers than there were in 1991 and more than 7.7 million less since 2001, as the latest Census data show. This paints a very scary picture for this sector.

Swaminathan, the father of India's Green Revolution has said, "Political parties only pay lip service to agriculture. Before the elections, Narendra Modi also said, achche din aanewale hain. Farmers are in majority here and their votes are important. However, it is sad that no positive steps have been taken to change their predicament." The need of the hour for the Modi government is to have a sustainable and long-term policy for this sector. He can win one election by promise but for a second victory, he would need to take along this 53 per cent of the population. And for that he will have to deliver.

Last updated: May 25, 2015 | 14:31
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