Agricultural Struggle in Our Epoch: Escalating Farming Crisis and the Placement of the Farmers' Protests
Title: Unraveling the Agrarian Crisis in India: Insights from Namita Waikar's Book
In the heart of India's agricultural sector, a simmering crisis has recently gained global attention through the peaceful farmers' movement on the outskirts of Delhi. Addressing the crux of this issue, Namita Waikar's book sheds light on three essential questions: the farmers' demands, the government's reform efforts, and the plans of corporations, farmer producer organizations, and other entities for India's agricultural economy.
According to government data, eighty-five percent of Indian farmers operate less than 2.5 acres or between 2.5-5 acres. These small-scale farmers have fallen victim to a spiraling crisis due to increasing debt and the tragic consequence of more than four lakh farmer suicides between 1997 and 2022, a count that does not include women farmers, tenants, and farm laborers who took their own lives.
At the core of farmers' aspirations is the desire for agriculture to become profitable and an end to their exploitation by traders and corporate entities. This struggle intensified following the nation's new economic policy in 1991, and especially after 1994-95, when investments in agriculture from both the Union and state governments decreased to maintain fiscal discipline.
In Waikar's perspective, these policy decisions have imposed restrictions on farmers, affecting their access to vital resources like water, electricity, credit, input subsidies, health, and education, escalating the cost of living and cultivation. The low crop prices, particularly the minimum support price (MSP), were kept artificially low to prevent urban inflation, while public procurement remained limited to a few regions.
The farmers' key demands include a loan waiver, MSP for the full 23 crops announced by the government, legal MSP guarantees based on the Swaminathan Commission report, and the disallowance of private markets parallel to Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis to prevent forcible land acquisition by corporate entities in the guise of contract farming.
A significant obstacle to the success of farmer movements is the absence of civil society support. Waikar argues that the earlier mobilizations of farmers in Maharashtra and southern states and the formation of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) in June 2017 played a crucial role in uniting farmers' unions during the Kisan Mukti Morcha in November 2018, ultimately leading to the formation of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) in October 2020 to demand the withdrawal of the three controversial laws enacted by the government in 2020.
Historically, the farmers' movement in India traces its roots to the country's colonial and post-independence agrarian struggles, while current issues reflect ongoing tensions around economic policies, corporate influence, and government actions. The battle for a better deal for farmers continues, and Waikar suggests that the movement must extend its support to the invisible farmers, such as landless tenants, agricultural laborers, women farmers without land rights, and Adivasis, to ensure a comprehensive resolution of the agrarian crisis.
- The agricultural crisis in India, as outlined in Namita Waikar's book, highlights the need for policy changes that address the education and health needs of farmers, in addition to issues like access to resources and fair pricing.
- Technology plays a crucial role in the Agrarian Crisis discourse, with its presence being felt in the farmers' demands for updated agricultural machinery and tools to improve productivity.
- In the ongoing debate over the agrarian crisis, various opinions unfold, ranging from the need for stronger farmer producer organizations to stricter regulations on the activities of corporations and private markets in the agricultural sector.
- The crisis in India's agricultural sector extends beyond news headlines, with real-world implications for food security, as small-scale farmers struggle to sustain their livelihoods due to factors such as low crop prices and increasing debt.
- Policies and legislation surrounding agriculture, trade, and land rights are integral to the resolution of the agrarian crisis in India, as the continued exploitation and marginalization of farmers heralds a call for a more equitable and inclusive approach to agriculture.
