The Prime Minister had announced in June 2017 that the income of the country’s farmers would double by 2022, and he further promised to double the farmer’s income in many places. It was reiterated in every annual budget of the central government till 2021. But he stopped mentioning it after the farmers’ agitation against the new agricultural laws and the[Read More…]
The performance of the country’s agriculture sector in the economy and the life of the common farmers are becoming difficult day by day. As much as the economy has changed in the last thirty years after the implementation of new economic policies, the agriculture sector does not seem to have had a positive impact. In that, there is a lot[Read More…]
The Modi government announced to increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of rabi crops including wheat by Rs 110, barley by Rs 100, gram by Rs 105. The recent announcement by the Modi government to increase the (MSP) of agricultural grains needs to be analysed in a larger context. The comparative study of increase in the MSP during the one[Read More…]
To Shri G C Murmu Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) Dear Shri Murmu, The Ministry of Agriculture had introduced a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) around 5 years ago for providing comprehensive crop insurance for farmers. Insurance under PMFBY is a precondition for farmers to take crop loans. From the website of PMFBY and[Read More…]
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, most humans were engaged in agriculture. Our relationship with nature was immediate. Within just a few generations, however, for many people across the world, their link with the land has been severed. Food now arrives pre-packaged (often precooked), preserved with chemicals and contains harmful pesticides, micro-plastics, hormones and/or various other contaminants. We are also being[Read More…]
Rhetoric not matched by budget allocations so far The government admitted in July 2019 in a reply in the Rajya Sabha that doubling of farmers’ income was not possible by 2022 at the current rate of growth in the agriculture sector, but added that it was trying to promote the growth of allied sectors to achieve the target. (see PTI[Read More…]
(Some impromptu personal thoughts) An interview of Gurmukh Singh, of Jamin Prapti Sanghash Samiti (जमीन प्राप्ति संघर्ष समिति) published in Forward Press recently has again brought a fresh fragrance in this ‘Kingdom of Denmark’ where so many things are rotting. The question of Dalits in this land, their right on this land was again brought to forefront. And why not.[Read More…]
Nation for Farmers (NFF) announces the process for formation of a ‘National Kisan Commission’ Nation for Farmers and other collaborating platforms and organizations announce the process of formation of a ‘Kisan Commission’ to assess and report on the state of agriculture. As the challenges facing the farmers of all the different states and sectors encompassed by agriculture and allied sectors[Read More…]
The Prime Minister of the country Narendra Modi has given the slogan ‘Small farmers, the glory of the nation’. His slogan is quite accurate, as evidenced by a report by the United Nations. The report highlights the fact that family farming is the only way to ensure food security for the whole world and save the environment from pollution. The[Read More…]
The last week in Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a surge of disappointment and discontent among apple growers of Himachal Pradesh as the price received by them has been much below their expectations. Local newspapers have been full of these reports and Amar Ujala, a leading Hindi newspaper, went to the extent of full page coverage of this issue, apart from[Read More…]
At present, there is a discussion of farmers’ movement all over the country. The Supreme Court has constituted a four-member committee. However, one of the members withdrew his name. During the hearing of the case, the apex court directed the farmers’ lawyer A.P. Singh said that women, children and old men of the movement should be sent home. The women[Read More…]
In many countries with varying levels of development, a large number of farmers have been losing their land , sometimes to the extent of even losing their status as independent landowning farmers. Various economic, technological, social, political, legal and other factors are involved, and one is hesitant to generalize or oversimplify a complex situation. Nevertheless this much can be stated[Read More…]
One of the most widely prevalent beliefs of development discourse is that the number and share of farmers and farmer households in total population must inevitably decline in the course of progress. This is based on historical experience as also the fact that technological change and rising productivity make it possible to produce necessary food and raw materials by a[Read More…]
The category of ‘farmers’ is a hasty one, an entity perceived as homogenous by consumers in urban settings. This erases class, caste, gender and geopolitical differences which exist within the category of ‘farmer’, varying from large scale landholders, moneylenders and middlemen, to small or landless farmers and farm labourers. This is discounting agrarian producers not themselves involved in farming, but[Read More…]
Girdhari worked as a farmer for over four decades, toiling in scorching summers and shivering winters. At the age of 62 he could no longer work and was confined more or less to his home. Savitri, who had contributed no less in the farm apart from shouldering heavy household responsibilities, had even more health problems. They now often longed for[Read More…]
To appreciate what is happening to agriculture and farmers in India, we must first understand how the development paradigm has been subverted. Development used to be about breaking with colonial exploitation and radically redefining power structures. Today, neoliberal dogma masquerades as economic theory and the subsequent deregulation of international capital ensures giant transnational conglomerates are able to ride roughshod over[Read More…]
Recent events have again demonstrated the strength of farmers’ organizations as a force of resistance, as organizations that have the economic means, social base and moral strength to offer strong resistance to authoritarian regimes. Hence those interested in bringing more broad-based social change in India should engage with farmers’ organizations on a more regular basis so that justice and equality[Read More…]
The world is fast losing farms and farmers through the concentration of land into the hands of rich and powerful land speculators and agribusiness corporations. Smallholder farmers are being criminalised and even made to disappear when it comes to the struggle for land. They are constantly exposed to systematic expulsion. In 2014, the Oakland Institute found that institutional investors, including[Read More…]
The police brutality on the farmers protesting against the farm bill passed by the Parliament need to be unconditionally condemned. The farmers are agitating againsnt these bills since they were passed without proper discussion in Parliament. The fear is that the bills will pave the way for corporatisation of agriculture and will leave the farmers atg the mercy of corporate[Read More…]
Three new farm Acts were recently introduced in the country. The most important of these, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 is aimed at putting an end to the monopoly of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis. Earlier, under the 1964 APMC Act, all the farmers were required to sell their produce at the Government-regulated mandis.[Read More…]
Co-Written by Dibyendu Chaudhuri and Parijat Ghosh Deskilling is a process of elimination of skilled labour within an economy. Separation of intelligence from muscle helps ruling class dominating both (Braverman, 1974). Advent of modern agriculture, characterised by hybrid seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, etc., is considered responsible for deskilling in agriculture. In agriculture, deskilling is understood as a process in[Read More…]
The farmer’s job is to cultivate and harvest. Not to construct grain silos. Prime Minister Modi on Aug 09, 2020 launched a new financing scheme under the Rs. 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund meant for setting up storage and processing facilities, which will help farmers get higher prices for their crops, according to the government statement. “The scheme will[Read More…]
During this COVID-19 pandemic one of the worst among sufferers are about 11 Lakh Milk producers family of Odisha who have been facing with crisis of milk sale since March 2020 and continued uncertainty. Even in normal time also, diary sector in the state have been struggling with the crisis of distress sale with continued problem in supply side arrangement[Read More…]
The food crisis that could follow in the wake of the various lockdowns that were implemented on the back of the coronavirus may have long-lasting consequences. We are already seeing food shortages in the making. In India, for instance, supply chains have been disrupted, farm input systems for the supply of seeds and fertilisers have almost collapsed in some places[Read More…]
In his 1978 book ‘India Mortgaged’, T.N. Reddy predicted the country would one day open all sectors to foreign direct investment and surrender economic sovereignty to imperialist powers. Today, the US and Europe cling to a moribund form of capitalism and have used various mechanisms to bolster the system in the face of economic stagnation and massive inequalities: the raiding of public budgets,[Read More…]
As the Lok Sabha debates the No confidence motion against the Modi government thousands of farmers from across the country marched from Mandi House to Parliament Street. The foot march was organized by All India Kisan Sangarsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which is an alliance of more than 201 farmers organizations across the country, formed in late June 2017. The main[Read More…]
The farmers in northern Maharashtra had suffered badly on account of low yields of cotton; additionally, the government procurement prices for cotton were pegged low. As a result, our loan recoveries plummeted. I conducted a detailed assessment of the farmers and realized that their plight was genuine and a rehabilitation package had to be worked out. I informed my[Read More…]
What might a future India look like? If current policies continue, it could mean dozens of mega-cities with up to 40 million inhabitants and just two to three hundred million (perhaps 15-20% of the population) left in an emptied-out countryside. It could also mean hundreds of millions of former rural dwellers without any work and thus anywhere decent to live in these cities. And what[Read More…]
While the government is set to forgive billions of dollars of loans of farmers, the actually distressed class among them will have no respite from their misery .They owe their debts to moneylenders whereas the government waiver applies only to formal credit. Almost every farmer in India’s massive rural swathes is tethered, in one way or another, to the sahukar, the[Read More…]
The plight of farmers in India has been well documented. A combination of debt, economic liberalisation, subsidised imports, rising input costs and a shift to cash crops (including GM cotton) has caused massive financial distress. Over 300,000 (perhaps closer to 400,000) have taken their lives over the last 20 years. From the effects of the Green Revolution (degraded soils, falling[Read More…]
They are in Delhi for last 15 days for demanding compensation and relief as Cauvery water supply in Tamilnadu is drying up resulting in massive drought. Over 250 farmers have committed suicide since October 2016 as their loans piling up and they are unable to pay the huge debts which they have taken to survive. Most of them grow rice[Read More…]
India is witnessing a drastic decline of farmer income in relation to its GDP. While over 60% in India is employed in agriculture, the contribution of Agriculture to GDP is merely 15%. The gradual declining share of Agriculture to GDP points to the upcoming situation. The declining income, farmer indebtedness and farmer suicides point to this emerging crisis. It is[Read More…]
The Indian women farmer, almost never publicly acknowledged, reviled by superstition and patriarchy, and increasingly troubled by entrenched social and cultural mores and taboos bears the real burden of farm labour. Nearly 98 million Indian women have agricultural jobs, but around 63% of them, or 61.6 million women, are agricultural labourers, dependent on the farms of others, according to 2011[Read More…]
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Our beloved K.P.Sasi is no more. Filmmaker, cartoonist, writer, mentor, friend and above all tireless activist championing the cause of every underdog, Sasi breathed his last, mid-afternoon this Christmas day – after battling a medical condition for months. I remember the last time I met him, almost exactly a month before he passed away, at the ayurvedic healing center in[Read More…]
