Announcement of MSP has been always aimed at electoral gains

Last week, the cabinet committee on Economic Affairs announced a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 24 crops. This move should have pleased the farmers and the market, but reality tells a different story. Only 5.8% of the total farmers in the country are able to sell their crops at MSP, says a report by a high level committee on restructuring the Food corporation of India. The committee chaired by the former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, appointed by the NDA government itself.

Avik Saha, is the national convener of Jai Kisan Andolan and the founder member of Swaraj Abhiyan. A farming activist and a lawyer who practiced in High court, Saha is now a full time son of the soil.

The presidium member of Swaraj India, who along with Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan had presented a farmer’s budget in Kisan Sansad in February last year, speaks to Angad Taur about the recent MSP hike by the NDA government and farmers issues in India.

India has witnessed farmer’s agitations in various states for MSP and loan waiver. Why this unrest.

Simple. On August 15, 1947, the country had announced that we have to shift our focus gradually from Agriculture to other sectors to strengthen the economy. We had dreamt of being prominent in Industry and sectors like IT. But not farming. This approach has been repeated in the last 70 years. It has been assumed that farming is a very primitive process to merely produce grains for food. India should only produce rockets, missiles and what not. The efficiency of farming has declined than its expected natural growth. The responsibility lies to the government. Be it of any political party.

What are your observations on recent price hike by NDA government as the tussle for taking credit begins?

Let's see, the numbers are fact and one can't offer an interpretation on that. The Congress, BJP and we all have figures. When we compare the data, growth in MSP under the Manmohan Singh government was comparatively more in numbers.

Secondly, Be it any political party, the MSP decision is always aimed at an electoral gain rather than being inspired by a sound long term economic vision and welfare of farmers. Take for instance 2009, 2014 and 2018, the increase has been announced exactly less than a year before or around the next general election.

However the statistical history is that the farmers have never received the MSP, neither in Manmohan Singh government, nor in Narendra Modi’s regime. All have made only announcements.

Doubling the farmers incomes announced by the PM is not based on comprehensive basis (C2) but by (A2+FL) Is it ambitious to press the demand for (C2)?

Interestingly now just at the word ‘ambitious’. We all know the cost is always fact, it is a form of truth. If A2+FL is the sufficient formula for farmers, then why does the CACP invest its time in calculating the MSP by C2 also?

The government knows the C2, which includes you may call depreciation value, interest applicable to any capital investment should be included in farming too. That is basic economics. You just calculate the MSP by C2 and pay only as per A2+FL.

There has been a pattern in the faulty reception of MSP by farmers.

The MSP, in simple language, is just like a price printed on the packet kept for selling at Rs 100 at a grocery shop. It is a fair deal if someone purchases the same packet at the same price. But if the buyer can buy the same packet at Rs 50 because the shopkeeper is effortless and has to has sell the packet on that specific time when he urgently needs money. For how long time can one survive in this business?

If the farmers are under distress, the government duty is not just announcing the MSP but to also ensure its enforcement in the market and make sure that nobody is made to sell their yields of hard work at a low and unfair price.

The Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana by the Madhya Pradesh government or Tur procurement by Maharashtra and price deficiency schemes have not seemed to help so far.

All these schemes by the government based on the money of the taxpayers are needless. Theoretically speaking- the government’s procurement is aimed at stabilizing the market only. Suppose there are two counters, one by the government and other by a private trader. If the government counter offers MSP and the other 10% less than the MSP naturally farmers will go to the government counter.

But this sounds good only for arguments. Because the government can never be a trader in any case. What to do with that all procured farm produce? Trading is out of domain of any state. What the state can do, is to enforce MSP on traders by any means like deterrence or punishment. That will help farmers.  It is very simple. Farmers produce, Traders procure at the MSP and the government plays the active role of a regulator.

Last budget mentioned Farmer Producer Companies, digitalization of Mandis. Your take on this?

As we all know, FPCs are nothing but a group of small farmers. It is all about scale. If I cannot sell my two quintals of wheat in the market, then I will join 20 farmers like me and we all will form a company. The point is that they are not privileged in achieving MSP assuredly in the market just because they are united. Farmer Producer Company does not have special negotiation value in the market. FPCs are helpful for small farmers but it has nothing to do with getting MSP in Mandis. Though FPCs need to be pushed ahead.

The farming communities, are they suffering because they are not a solid vote block?

The pride of this profession has been robbed. You feel gratified being called a Doctor and Engineer but not as a farmer because it is not bringing money in your hand. So you don’t want to say that you are a Farmer and that is your profession.

When the farmer doesn't find identity in the soil, he will try to find it on other grounds like religion, caste and regional aspirations etc. And it is very easy to gain for any political party to fight and win when farmers are divided as Lingayats, Kurmi, Patidar and Maratha and so on. Farmers are even divided on what crop they sow.

If we start saying I am a farmer, and farming is my Jati, then the political parties would have to start contesting elections on agriculture issues.

But I am hopeful. Farmer organizations are clubbing together to a large extent and even awareness of things like MSP is spreading in farmers. Upcoming elections may also be fought on old tactics and formulae, but for any political party it will be important to address the issues of youth and farmers.