Don’t turn them into beggars!

Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan was a slogan that motivated a generation not so long ago. The slogan coined by the second prime minister of India was aimed at enthusing soldiers to defend our nation against attack from Pakistan and cheering farmers to increase food production to feed a people who were faced with acute food shortage.

Alas, the second part of the slogan always had a hollow ring to it. Bharat has more often than not given a raw deal to the food providers to this great nation. Even Jawans can’t march on an empty stomach.

There is no end in sight to the farmers’ agitation being held on the outskirts of Delhi that has entered the second week. The seven-and-a-half hour long marathon talks held with farmers’ leaders on December 3 ended without reaching any solution. With the Central Government refusing to withdraw three controversial laws but offering to consider eight amendments and the farmers’ leaders continuing to stand firm on their demand that all three laws be completely repealed the talks ended inconclusively.

The discussions are scheduled to resume on November 4. Farmers are hell bend on their demand for the complete withdrawal of the recently enacted farm laws, which they fear will ruin small and medium farmers. They are worried about the possible withdrawal of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the dismantling of the public procurement of grains.

Farmers say that by leaving them to the mercy of the open market, the stage has been set for large private players to take over the agriculture sector. Even though the Government claims that the new laws would only increase options for farmers and that the MSP regime would continue, and that the system would not be dismantled, the rushing through of the laws without adequate discussions among the stakeholders have created nothing but distrust about the Government’s intentions among the farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana.

The Public Distribution System is the lifeline in these States with the farmers heavily dependent on public procurement and assured price through MSP. With nearly 88 per cent of paddy produced and 70 per cent of wheat output absorbed through public procurement in Punjab and Haryana, farmers in these two States and far more dependent on the system than in any other State of the country.

The government has to work towards addressing the trust deficit among farmers about its intentions with the Farm Acts. It needs to address immediately the lacunae in the acts, mainly the absence of a regulatory mechanism and the lack of transparency in trade area transactions.

The Central Government needs to adopt a conciliatory approach than a confrontationist one to allay the fears of the food providers to the nation. Let us not make them beggars but respect them with a honourable solution to this important issue.