For months now, thousands of farmers have camped at sites outside Delhi to protest against what is commonly known as the Farm Bills, also described as the Indian agriculture acts of 2020. These are three acts passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020 that received the assent of the President on 27 September 2020: The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.
Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihoods in India. About 70 percent of India’s rural households depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood. Land holdings have shrunk over the years and about 82 percent of India’s farmers are small and marginal.
India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses in the world. India is also the largest producer of milk with annual milk production of around 165 MT (2017-18), and the second-largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton, groundnuts, fruits and vegetables. Yet, Indian agriculture has many growing concerns. As the Indian economy has diversified and grown, agriculture's contribution to GDP has steadily declined over the years. India has achieved food sufficiency in production and is an exporter of food grains, but ironically, it still accounts for a big portion of the world’s hungry and malnourished population. Improving farmer’s income is essential to keep India growing and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Whether it is removal of poverty, or improvement of nutrition and life spans, India cannot progress without uplifting those engaged in agriculture. According to an FAO report, agriculture in India has achieved grain self-sufficiency but the production remains resource intensive, cereal centric and regionally biased.
There are serious sustainability issues too, as free power has encouraged farmers to resort to indiscriminately pump groundwater for water intensive crops in water stressed areas. Desertification and land degradation threaten India’s agriculture sector. Environment is also under stress in north India from pollution, to which stubble burning has been a significant contributor. Smog in winters in Delhi, forces children to stay indoors. Apart from addressing pollution, groundwater depletion, over exploitation and excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides, it is important that a modern system is set up for Indian agriculture through strengthened market linkages, and investment in the entire supply chain, including through a competitive, efficient and well-regulated private sector. Government has clarified that the new laws are aimed at benefiting farmers by giving them the option of selling their produce to private players, removing agents and brokers, thereby giving greater control in the hands of the farmers.
The modernisation of India’s agriculture would be a long process. At the WTO, developed countries have been asking India to reform this sector. Thus, it came as a surprise that a certain western leader was critical of the reforms that would introduce the very changes that his country had been seeking at international fora. Some celebrities too have jumped on the bandwagon, without developing a full understanding of the various nuances of the issue.
Farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh have apprehensions about the impact of these reforms. Protests by farmers against the new acts gained momentum in the last quarter of 2020. The matter went before the Supreme Court of India, which stayed the implementation of the farm laws on 12 January 2021. It also appointed a committee to look into the grievances related to the farm laws. The committee has asked the public for suggestions related to the farm laws by 20 February 2021. A number of rounds of discussion have taken place between the government and representatives of farmers and government has, interalia, agreed to withdraw penalties imposed for burning crop residues and has offered to suspend the farm laws for eighteen months. The government has also expressed its desire to continue talks on the subject.
India has adequate institutions of Parliament, courts, media, and public opinion, which is all important in a democratic polity. In a democracy, doubts about government policy can and should be addressed through dialogue and not intransigence of either party. Peaceful protests and open dialogue are needed to solve the many problems of poverty and development that India faces. It is hoped that apprehensions and doubts about the farm laws will be cleared and resolved peacefully at an early date so that the farmers can return to their lives instead of suffering the cold on the outskirts of Delhi.
