The crisis in rural India reflected through a crisis in agriculture has been a matter of persistent concern. This has led to two farm-related peaceful marches in Mumbai and in New Delhi in 2018.
Many state governments, in recent times, have come up with different schemes. Telengana has waived off loans and water dues, provides free electricity to farmers, gives insurance for farmers, and has revived the age-old tank based irrigation system among others. It has also come up with the Rythu Bandhu scheme to provide investment support of ₹4,000 per acre per season.
The states of Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have also come up with loan waivers and are planning other things. However, it is said that debt waiver can be iniquitous across regions and across farm sizes. Further, it may lead to a culture of non-payment of loans.
Odisha's KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) with an acronym that is a popular name of Lord Jagannath allays some of these fears. It has five instruments: ₹5,000 per cultivator per season for five seasons for all marginal and small farmers, ₹12,500 per landless agricultural labourer household for three years to take up non land-based allied agricultural activities, ₹10,000 to vulnerable households who cannot take up any activity, life insurance for all cultivators and agricultural labourers, and interest subvention on crop loan up to ₹50,000.
The KALIA scheme is being implemented on a war-footing and almost all officials from agriculture and sister departments as also staff specifically employed for this are burning mid-night candles. This shows that if the powers that be want then they can stretch the system to its physical limits and also deploy additional human resources to implement pro-people programmes. This needs to be applauded. However, this urgency and importance should also be taken beyond its immediate implementation and extended (if not in its entirety) but at least in its spirit (with a limited rigour) to this as also many other pro-people programmes that have a knowledge-intensive approach such as in Paramparagat Krishi Vigyan Yojana, Integrated Farming and Odisha Millets Mission among others.
Getting back to India, a rough estimate for 2019 puts the number of rural households at 20 crore (200 million), of which nearly half are likely to be cultivators/farmers. These farmers may be contributing ₹10 lakh core (₹10 trillion) or 5 per cent of the ₹200 lakh crore (₹200 trillion) economy, ie ₹1 lakh (₹100,00) per farmer household. The Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers in 2013 indicates an average income per farmer household from all possible sources of income for 2012-13 at ₹77,112.
If ₹2.5 lakh (₹250,000) is considered as a minimum basic income per annum per household (similar to the minimum salary for a central government employee) then the shortfall, with the possibility of being an underestimate, is ₹1.5 lakh (₹150,000) per household, or, ₹15 lakh crore (₹15 trillion) for the 10 crore (100 million) farmer households. Similar shortfalls may be assumed for other rural households like agricultural labourers and casual labourers, which may also be ascribed to lower returns to farmer households.
The shortfalls are an outcome of farmers not being paid adequately for their produce and for not being paid anything for their ecosystem services. In short, the farmer has been subsidising the nation.
Ironically, the system may incentivise production that may harm ecosystems and may also propagate application of harmful chemicals in our food.These need to change.
There is a need to incentivise and facilitate systems that encourage no poison in our food. There is a need to provide minimum basic income support to farmers. For this, Rythu Bandhu and KALIA may be good beginnings, but it only opens up the door for more.
#NoPoisonInOurFood #IncomeSecurityForFarmer #iStand4Farmer
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