Sir,
Being connected to farming closely, I have seen how the conditions of farmers have been going from bad to worse year after year for many decades. The simple and rightful demand of farmers of MSP for crop procurement to be fixed at 1.5 times of total production cost, has been ignored by every successive government. Now the government wants to scrap the Mandi act and leave farmers at the mercy of big retail companies.
Farmers were already in a terrible condition and the pandemic crisis has made it worse. The debt-ridden farmers really need immediate loan waiver relief but instead the government is asking them to take more loans! This government can do loan waiver for capitalists of Rs. 5 to 6 lakhs crores but not for farmers. This shows for whom this system works.
With every year farmers’ suicides have been increasing. Instead of addressing their issues, the government chooses to hide the data of farmers’ suicides! None of the governments, does not matter which party is ruling, has really cared to improve farmers’ condition.
In the article titled “Increasing monopoly capitalist loot in the name of boosting peasant incomes” it has been very well explained how new policies and reforms are made in the name of boosting peasants’ incomes, but that is a lie. They are yet more attempts to loot and push peasants deeper into poverty and indebtedness.
The policy of making contract farming legal is clearly not to address the farmers’ problems but definitely to loot their toil and make them live at the mercy of capitalist companies and corporate houses.
There was constant demand from capitalists to connect farmers directly to the open market which will compel farmers to deal directly with big players like Walmart, Big Bazar, Reliance Fresh etc. As farmers have weak bargaining capacity in front of these big players, they will end up selling their crop at a low price.
It is pretty evident that this system is to loot farmers and not to serve their interest. The only solution is to replace this system and make new system which will guarantee crop procurement at good rate and in the times of natural calamities like flood or drought, provide damage compensation.
Jeet, Navi Mumbai