Even though agriculture is a completely private sector and agriculture being the main occupation of masses of India, it is still tightly bound by various government regulations. The sector can only survive if it gets financial freedom.
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No figures are needed to tell what is the condition of farmers in the country today. One of the major reasons for the dire state of agriculture, on which most of the people in the country depend, is the government's agricultural policies. These policies are sidestepping the major problems facing the agricultural sector. On the other hand, it is horrible that farmers' dependence on the government is being increased by simply introducing schemes like debt waiver.
- To understand this horror we need to understand the following statistics.
- Today, a farmer's family in our country earns only three thousand rupees a month from net farming. If he is doing some side business, he gets six and a half thousand rupees.
- Out of about 90 million farmers across the country, 52% of their homes are in debt.
Many small farmers have not benefited from the 2008 debt waiver program. On the contrary, many who did not qualify benefited from the waiver. The CAG report also revealed that a scam of Rs 52,000 crore was committed in the debt waiver scheme that year .
All the above examples show the situation of farmers in the country. It is true that the country underwent major economic reforms in 1991, but it was all non-agricultural sectors. During the economic reforms, policy makers completely neglected the agricultural sector, on which more than half of the country's working population depended entirely for their livelihood. Even though agriculture is a completely private sector, it is still tightly bound by various government regulations. The sector can only survive if it gets financial freedom.
In a country where 50 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture, no government has taken the initiative to address the root causes of agricultural problems. All the political parties announced temporary help to the farmers and kept the farmers in suspense. It is true that the government announces plans for the farmers by calling them 'food givers', but by not offering a solution to the root problem, the farmers' dependence on the government increases. Every government is interested in crippling the farmers by depriving them of their right to earn money with self-respect.
Farmer Jerry comes across an already unpredictable natural situation. It was further fueled by irregularities in the government's agricultural policy. It is clear that the government's control over the agricultural sector is increasing through the agricultural policies of today. Farmers: Whether facing drought or debt, inflation or falling commodity prices, further controls on agriculture do not seem to be easing.
Control over farmer's property
The main asset of every farmer, his capital is his land. But the farmer does not have the freedom to sell or lease the land he owns. The state of land ownership records across the country is deplorable! Even if he owns agricultural land, the farmer cannot use it as his capital. The farmer can use his land only for farming and he can only sell it to the farmer. Today the situation is such that farming is profitable for him, let alone for the farmer. Since agricultural land is only allowed to be bought by another farmer - no other farmer has the credit to buy it, nor is he interested in it! Therefore, the farmer's property has no value in the market, nor can he use the land he owns as capital.
Credit control
When the use of land owned by a farmer as capital is brought under control, it also automatically gets control over its loan. 66% of minority farmers depend on informal sources for loans. The nature of agricultural credit has changed drastically in the last few years. With the increase in short-term crop loans, the proportion of long-term land development loans has decreased. This has had an effect on capital formation and agricultural productivity.
Technology control
Farmers, however, have to wait for years to reap the benefits of modern science while the whole society is being equipped with the latest tools. For example- genetically modified crops. Farmers had to agitate in 2002 to get Bt cotton. Today , 95 per cent of the total cotton production comes from GM seeds. GM technology was so successful that the government decided to control the price of seeds to make it available everywhere. This posed a risk of spreading fake seeds. This not only endangered the crops but also the lives of the farmers.
Control over many matters related to agriculture
Every one of the essential water, seeds, fertilizers, electricity is not available to the farmer, or it is degraded due to price or regulatory control.
Rate control
The government has fixed guaranteed prices for about 24 crops, but the government buys only 6 main crops, including rice and wheat. The government buys, so farmers in some states only produce those crops, as they believe in getting a guaranteed minimum price. Other crops may fetch higher prices, but the government is unlikely to buy them. The same thing happened last year with pulses and then the farmers have no choice but to sell the produce to the traders for a small price. Instead of making a profit, they are in trouble. The sharp fall in commodity prices in 2017 and 2018 was the cause of farmers' grief.
Government agricultural rate control disrupts market economy. Rate control artificially changes the supply and demand situation. Rate control in the agricultural sector is a big blow to growers.
Market control
Farmers are not allowed to take their produce to the designated market place. Also, basic facilities like transport and good quality roads are not available for transporting agricultural produce. Laws like the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) have restricted farmers' access to the market, while the Essential Commodities Act has created problems for traders in terms of investment, storage and transportation.
Farmers, who occupy the largest part of Indian society, still do not enjoy economic freedom. The policy of denying them agricultural freedom, denying them access to the market and throwing pieces of debt waiver in front of them is a blow to their self-esteem. We need to keep in mind that no country has developed by pushing farmers into poverty.
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