Context: Recently, the farmer started their agitation against reforms in agriculture.
Significance of agricultural reforms:
Ends the monopoly of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees: Resulted in an increase in out-of-mandi transactions.
Strengthened the supply chain: This will help in curbing food inflation, improving agricultural productivity, increasing infrastructure investment and farmer incomes.
Reasons for the farmer agitation
Vested interests: Introduction of market factors into the supply chain and the destruction of monopolies will result in loss of power for some having vested interests.
Fear of corporatisation: of the agricultural marketing system.
The spread of misinformation about the fate of the minimum support price (MSP): Farmers are being misinformed that the MSP will be removed. But it seems that the government has no such intention.
Concerns about nature of support: available to farmers during difficult times.
Political parties are influencing farmers: for their political gains.
Failure of government to introduce healing measures: since the government failed to anticipate the objections to the reforms.
Way forward:
Design and publicise alternate mechanisms of support: Support systems without undermining the new agricultural marketing laws.
Design new forms of price support: That does not distort the market or violates India’s international trade obligations.
For e.g. an all-India income support plan, price compensation schemes to make up for the difference between market prices and MSP.
Take steps to avoid distress sales: by using warehouse receipts as recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).