New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today said it would soon constitute a multi-member committee to amicably resolve the grievances of farmers “for all times”.

A bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, which posted the matter for further hearing on September 2, asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to give tentative issues concerning farmers to the committee.

The Punjab government informed the top court that in compliance with the August 12 order of the top court, they held a meeting with the protesting farmers in which they had agreed to partially open the blocked highway.

The bench asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to keep engaging with protesting farmers and persuade them to remove their tractors and trollies from the highway.

On August 12, the top court asked the Punjab government to persuade the farmers protesting at the Shambhu border since February 13 to remove tractors and trollies from the road, saying that “highways are not parking space”.

The court was hearing the Haryana government’s plea challenging the high court’s order asking it to remove within a week the barricades erected at the Shambhu border near Ambala where protesting farmers have been camping since February 13.

The Haryana government had set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February after the ‘Samyukta Kisan Morcha’ (Non-Political) and ‘Kisan Mazdoor Morcha’ announced that farmers would march to Delhi in support of their demands, including legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for their produce.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Farmers pushing the government to revamp the MSP, or minimum support price, policy met Congress MP Rahul Gandhi inside the Parliament complex Wednesday morning.

Mr Gandhi, who is also Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, met a delegation of 12 farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

Senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Deepender Singh Hooda were also part of the meeting, as were MPs Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

There was confusion before the meeting as the farmers were not allowed inside. “We invited them… but they are not allowing them inside Parliament. They are farmers, maybe this is why…” Mr Gandhi said.

“…you will have to ask the Prime Minister the reason for this…”

कुछ किसान मुझसे मिलना चाहते थे, इसलिए मैंने उन्हें अंदर ऑफिस में बुलाया था।

लेकिन उन्हें अंदर आने नहीं दिया गया, इसका कारण आपको प्रधानमंत्री से पूछना पड़ेगा।

: नेता विपक्ष श्री @RahulGandhi

संसद परिसर, नई दिल्ली pic.twitter.com/jbidAjAFqV

— Congress (@INCIndia) July 24, 2024

“Rahul Gandhi will raise the voice of farmers inside Parliament…” Mr Warring told NDTV after the meeting. On reports the farmers are planning another march on Delhi, he said, “They have all rights to come to Delhi and protest (and) if a private member’s bill is required then we will bring that too.”

Earlier, sources said the farmers spoke to Mr Gandhi about issues in their respective states, and also asked him to introduce a private member’s bill to fulfill long-standing demands – to revise MSP and ensure legal backing. These demands have been at the core of their protests since it began in 2020.

Farmer unions across the country want the MSP – a purchase guarantee set by the government to protect agriculturists from steep fall in crop prices – to be based on the Swaminathan Commission’s C2+50 formula, which factors in cost of capital and land rent when calculating support prices.

READ | “Rejected”: Farmers Dismiss Centre’s 5-Year MSP Contract Offer

The government, however, is reluctant to drop the existing A2+FL+50 per cent method.

Apart from changing the formula, farmers also want legal backing for this purchase price; at present the government is not obliged to buy, for example, 10 per cent of a paddy crop at the floor price.

In 2020/21 lakhs of farmers gathered to march on Delhi, prompting the government to set up war-zone like defence measures around the national capital. The ‘farmer army’ – complete with tractors and supplies for a months-long siege – was held to makeshift camps blocking key roads into the city.

NDTV Explains | What Are Key Demands Of Farmers That Remain Unresolved?

The furore over the protests also made international headlines and sparked bitter fights between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition, led by Mr Gandhi’s Congress.

After months of blockades around Delhi and violent clashes between farmers and police in various states, the government was forced to stand down and roll back three contentious farm laws.

The MSP issue, however, has rumbled on, with farmers insistent the formula change.

A second round of protests – a ‘Delhi Chalo 2.0’ that also demanded loan waivers and freezing of electricity tariffs for farmers – erupted in February, months before a general election in which the BJP lost seats in key states and after talks with the farmers failed to resolve the situation.

READ | Farmers Prep For Delhi March After Haryana Told To Remove Blocks

The February protests were paused after the government made a fresh offer, but that was rejected by the farmers; the government had, they said, again failed to meet a core demand – the MSP row.

NDTV Explains | Centre’s 5-Year MSP Plan, And Why Farmers Are Not Convinced

The government had proposed a five-year MSP contract, based on the old formula.

Meanwhile, on Monday two farmer unions – the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha – declared they would burn effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

They also plan to take out a nationwide tractor rally on August 15, Independence Day.

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Protesting farmers will march to Delhi after the Haryana government clears roadblocks at Shambhu border separating Haryana and Punjab. Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Sidhupur, told NDTV they will continue their peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Maidan in Delhi.

The farmers have been protesting against the Centre over various demands, including a Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee for crops. They have been camping at the Haryana border since February, when clashes broke out between cops and the protesters trying to march to Delhi.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has now directed the state government to remove the barricades at the border. The high court has said the blockade is causing inconvenience to the commuters. The Haryana government has challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court, citing law and order concerns.

The farmer leader said if they are stopped again and the road is blocked, “the government will be responsible”.

Mr Dallewal said they have planned a peaceful protest at Ambala tomorrow and the day after to express solidarity with Navdeep Singh. Navdeep Singh was arrested during the protest in March and faces multiple charges, including rioting and attempt to murder.

Responding to the Haryana government’s challenge in the Supreme Court, the farmer leader said, “It is the government that has blocked the road, not farmers.”

Mr Dallewal also raised questions over the probe panel formed to investigate the death of Shubhkaran Singh during a clash between protesting farmers and Haryana security personnel in February.

A resident of Bathinda, the 21-year-old was killed at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has asked tough questions of the Haryana government after a High Court order this week directing the re-opening of the Shambhu border crossing, which has been locked down since February to block farmers protesting the centre’s agricultural policies from marching on Delhi.

“How can the state block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic… we are saying ‘keep the border open, but also control it,” the top court said Friday afternoon in oral observations on the matter.

In a humorous but telling moment, the two-judge bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan asked the state’s lawyer if he travelled by road, and specifically the highway.

“I think you travel by road…” Justice Kant asked, to which the lawyer replied, “Yes.”

“So you (too) must be facing trouble…” the judge shot back.

The state had appealed a section of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order, which directed a judicial inquiry into the death of farmer Shubhkaran Singh, 22. Mr Singh – one of thousands who had marched to Shambhu (on the Punjab-Haryana border) after talks broke down, and were met with fortifications of barbed wire, shipping containers, and cement barricades – was allegedly shot dead.

READ | High Court Orders Removal Of Barricades At Shambhu Border

The war zone-like blockades set up by the state stopped the army of farmers but also halted all traffic on the highway, which is one of the key roads leading into the national capital.

The High Court on Wednesday directed the highway to be re-opened within a week “on an experimental basis”, noting the number of farmers camped at the site had dwindled to a few hundred. “Both states shall endeavour to ensure the highway at Shambhu border is restored…”

Both states were also directed to take “effective steps to enforce law and order” at Shambhu and along the highway, “… if protesters do not remain within limits set down by the state”.

Faced with the High Court’s order, the Haryana government then moved the Supreme Court, and was promptly asked, “Why does the state want to challenge the order?”

The Supreme Court also reminded the ruling BJP that “farmers are citizens”, and suggested authorities, should they face mass protests in the future, ensure a measure of consideration.

“Give them food and good medical facilities. They will come, raise slogans and go back…”

Farmers’ Protests In February

In early February around 200 farmer unions – an estimated one lakh farmers from neighbouring Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh – began moving towards Delhi in a replay of the 2020/21 protests, in which dozens died and the city was blockaded and cut-off for months.

First visuals of clashes between the farmers and police from Shambhu, which is around 200 km from Delhi, showed outnumbered cops dropping smoke bombs from drones to disperse the farmers.

NDTV ARCHIVES | Farmers Try To Cross Punjab-Haryana Border, Tear Gas Used

Videos also showed farmers, with scarves wrapped around their faces, jumping concrete barriers to push aside metal barricades, and war zone-like scenes with green fields shrouded in smoke and gun fire (from tear gas guns) in the background. In one video farmers are throwing stones at the police.

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Are the protests for a legalised MSP justified?

Lakhwinder Singh: These protests have been building up over time. In 2018 too, we saw tens of thousands of farmers from Maharashtra take to the streets. But their demands are perhaps not being listened to seriously, whether by State governments or the Central government.

Watch |What is Minimum Support Price?

There is a context to this. India introduced economic reforms in 1991 with a promise that we will soon become industrialised and the rural workforce will move from the agricultural to the industrial sector. More than 30 years later, agriculture has been squeezed in many ways but no one is talking about this agricultural crisis.

One of the most important demands of the farmers protesting this time is a legal guarantee for MSP. The public distribution system (PDS) gave support to farmers and ensured national food security. Now, India is expected to shift from food security to nutrition security. A legal guarantee for MSP for 23 crops is perhaps the way to do this. The farmers also want India to exit the WTO. We are in a phase of de-globalisation. When we have food shortages, for instance, the government imposes a ban on exports of food items (in defiance of the WTO). In a way, the demand of the farmers is in consonance with what the government does.

Also read | ‘MSP guarantee can nudge farmers to diversify beyond paddy and wheat, bolster incomes and consumption’

Siraj Hussain: The farmers are rightly concerned about the low prices of various crops. But their demands will not be accepted by any government in a hurry. We need a detailed, thorough review of agricultural trade policies and production and also what will happen to agriculture in the next 20-25 years.

After the 2020-21 protests, the government took seven months to set up a committee to look into this issue of MSP. More than a year and a half later, the committee has not even submitted an interim report.

Also read | Legal guarantee for MSP will make farmers drivers of GDP growth: Rahul Gandhi

Should MSP on all these crops be legalised? And will MSP survive without public procurement?

Siraj Hussain: The mandi system in the form of APMCs (agricultural produce market committees) is functional only in a few States. In most others, it is not functional. Less than one-third of the crop production in India is traded through mandis; the rest is sold by marginal farmers to village traders. So, even if MSP becomes legalised, it will be difficult to implement it because there is no record of who is buying and selling and at what rate. The government cannot be buying all the 23 crops – even for wheat and rice it faces lot of difficulties in procurement.

Lakhwinder Singh: Legalisation of MSP is in national interest. A large number of farmers sell commodities in informal markets. The government wants to make transactions digital and formal, so this is in consonance with the government’s aim. Also, the gross fixed capital formation in the agricultural sector after the 1991 reforms has gone down tremendously. Farmers are in distress. Legalising MSP is the answer. Let me add that the government is not expected to buy all the 23 crops. But if at least 5-10% of the produce is purchased, it would be a marginal intervention and stabilise the prices.

Editorial | Farming consensus: On the government and the farmers on protest

Is it possible to extend the MSP system to the entire country, especially for subsistence farmers, as the government claims?

Siraj Hussain: Yes. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha have shown that the procurement system can be expanded. Even in Bihar, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, procurement of rice has increased over the last few years. But that is not the question. The question is whether the government should be procuring so much. It has been procuring 50-60 million tonnes of rice. Is that a good policy regime? The root cause is PDS and now the government has made it free. That means that the government will continue to procure large quantities of wheat and rice.

Another concern is that legalised MSP will result in high prices affecting the consumers.

Siraj Hussain: I do not think it is possible for any government to procure all the commodities. It is not possible for the government to fix an MSP for everything. The basic question is how to ensure a remunerative price to farmers. My view is that it should be a State by State policy. Every State has a different regime. In Punjab, for instance, a price payment deficiency system is possible because the mandi system is well developed and the distance between two mandis is only 6 km, whereas at the all-India level it is 12 km. The States and the Centre should be talking to one another. Experts have to come up with a policy which will ensure that farmers receive a fair and remunerative price.

Where is the farmers’ protest heading? | In Focus podcast

Another question which you should be asking macroeconomists is on food inflation. The government must also look after the interests of consumers. They have to try and balance the policies of import, export, and domestic MSP.

Lakhwinder Singh: When the government is not interested in legalising MSP and intellectuals are not interested in discussing these issues, fear is created among consumers that they are going to be fleeced. And a binary is created of farmers and consumers. The government is an intermediary, which has to protect the rights of both consumers and producers.

In Frames |Farmers’ protests 2024

The most striking issue is food inflation. The local prices at which farmers are selling their produce are very low and do not cover the major costs involved (in production). On the other hand, consumers are facing huge price rise. Legalising MSP will reduce inflation, protect consumers, and give a relatively reasonable income to the farmers.

Also, regulating markets is important. The government has withdrawn from the regulatory mechanism and therefore in unorganised markets, intermediaries are active and creating inflationary pressures on the economy.

Farmers are also worried about input cost calculation methods such as A2+FL and C2+50%. What could be the best mechanism to calculate the input costs?

Lakhwinder Singh: The idea of C2+50% cost has come from industry. Agriculture requires remunerative prices. I think the C2 estimation of costs for agricultural crops is going to be almost comparable with other prices which we have in various sectors of the economy.

Siraj Hussain: There have been several suggestions, including a report by Dr. Ramesh Chand, about certain changes in the methodology of calculating the cost of cultivation. Those changes have not yet been decided. The problem is whatever price you fix, you are not able to ensure the A2+FL price. Sometimes, the price is so low that it is below the cost of cultivation.

Also read | Don’t consider our discipline and preference for dialogue as weakness: RSS farmers body tells government

The answer is not easy to find. The government cannot be deciding the prices of every agricultural commodity. Many farmers and organisations prefer selling to corporates because there used to be a lot of glut of at one point of time. Now, at least there are some large buyers. So, we can’t say that corporates should be completely prevented from purchasing and storing agricultural commodities.

Are cooperatives an alternative to help farmers?

Siraj Hussain: Cooperatives have been successful in certain sectors. For example, in the milk sector, they brought the White Revolution in Gujarat. It was due to the failure of cooperatives that the government came up with the idea of farmer-producer organisations (FPOs). Now, we are going back to cooperatives. Any form of aggregation which can help the farmers in realising better prices is welcome. But both cooperatives and FPOs have been captured by influential vested interests in rural areas. If cooperatives can create storage structures where the farmers can store their produce at reasonable prices to reap the benefits of higher prices in the off season, they are welcome.

Lakhwinder Singh: When we have to look for alternatives, we cannot rely on a single intervention. If you want to promote cooperatives, bring in a law and storage capacity. Government-supported cooperatives have failed because of corruption. This organisation has a future, but we need a legal framework within which they can flourish. And they need supportive infrastructure.

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Workers at Vinchur onion market in Nashik. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Centre has imposed a ban on the export of onions until March 31, 2024, to curb the surging local prices of the product.

A Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) order late on Thursday said: “Export policy of onions… is amended from free to prohibited till March 31, 2024.”

Earlier, on August 19, the Union government had imposed a 40% duty on the export of onions (minimum export price of $800 per metric ton) until December 31, to increase domestic availability amid signs of increasing prices and provide relief to local consumers.

In its order, the DGFT also said that the onion exports, however, will be allowed based on permission granted by the government to other countries based on their request and that shipments, whose loading had commenced before the fresh notification, are allowed to be exported.

In response to the Centre’s announcement of a ban on the export of onions until March 31, 2024, farmers in Maharashtra’s Nashik district took to the streets, blocking the Mumbai-Agra National Highway at three locations and disrupting auctions

The farmers also halted auctions in Lasalgaon, Asia’s largest wholesale onion market, Chandwad, Nandgaon, Dindori, Yeola, Umarane, and other places in Nashik.

Stating that the ban would adversely impact farmers, protesters staged road blockades with tractors for hours. With no auction at the Lasalgaon APMC, over 600 onion-laden vehicles were redirected to Vinchur with wholesale prices ranging from ₹1,500 to ₹3,300 per quintal.

Lasalgaon APMC chairperson Balasaheb Kshirsagar condemned the government’s decision, claiming it was unfavourable to farmers.

“Onion prices had recently come down, and the ban would lead to losses. Presently, onion prices range from ₹1,000 to ₹1,200 per quintal, despite some selling at ₹3,000 per quintal,” he said, alleging middlemen for artificial price inflation.

Mr. Kshirsagar demanded direct government sales without the involvement of middlemen.

“Farmers had already suffered losses due to unseasonal rainfall and hail. It must revoke its decision on the ban to support farmers,” another farmer said.

The farmers and traders associations are likely to meet Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputy Ajit Pawar, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar to express their concerns.

Report picture of a farmer protective his hard paddy from rains by means of protecting it in plastic sheet
| Photograph Credit score: VIJAY SONEJI

Farmers from the flood-ravaged States in north Republic of India have introduced to bundle in Union Dimension of Chandigarh on August 22 to press for instant reimbursement from the Centre executive.

Farmers related to as many as 16 farmer outfits from the States Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand could be taking part within the demonstration of their display of energy. Farmer outfits are not easy an instantaneous shed of reimbursement for flooding sufferers in the entire States, that have perceivable the flooding anger within the ongoing monsoon season.

The outfits come with — Kissan Majdoor Sangarsh Committee, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Karantikari), BKU Ekta-Azaad, Azaad Kissan Committee (Doaba), BKU (Bheramke), BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), BKU (Sir Chotu Ram), Bharti Kissan Majdor Union, Kissan Maha Panchayat (Haryana), Pagri Sambhal Jatta (Haryana), Azaad Kissan Union (Haryana), Ambitious Farmer Entrance, Aathrai Kissan Manch, Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, Joint Kisan Sabha and Rashtriya Kissan Sangathan.

Additionally learn | North Republic of India extra suffering from El Nino

“The Centre government has been indifferent towards our problems, and hence we have decided to stage a demonstration to wake the government,” Sarwan Singh Pandher, normal secretary of the Punjab unit of Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee.

He stated the Central executive will have to announce a distinct bundle of ₹50,000 crores for the wear brought about by means of floods in North Republic of India, but even so a reimbursement of ₹50,000 in step with acre will have to be given for the lack of all plants. “The government should also pay ₹1 lakh for the loss of cattle, arrangements should be made for mining of fields that have been filled with sand due to floods, and all loans and interest should be waived for one year. These are our few demands among others,” he stated.

One at a time, the All Republic of India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has additionally expressed fear over the frequent devastate brought about by means of a new spate of bulky rains and cloud bursts in numerous portions of Himachal Pradesh.

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