Know Why Farmers in Uttar Pradesh are in an Unhappy Dilemma

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KEY STORY

  • As Protests Spiral Over Farm Bills in Haryana and Punjab, Farmers in Uttar Pradesh are unhappy
  • Observers say that in Punjab and Haryana, farmers have large landholdings, they hold an influence over the government and that’s why mandis have worked well for them; also the maximum purchase is on the MSP. However, in UP it has been a largely different story.
  • As a political battle rages over the opening up of the farming and agricultural produce procurement sector to big private players, farmers in one of the biggest food grain and vegetable producing states, Uttar Pradesh, are in a fix.
  • Unlike the farmers in Haryana and Punjab, in UP the community, though a bit suspicious of the farm bills cleared by Parliament, is still in a mood to wait and watch. This is because dealing with private players, exploitation by both the government-controlled mandis and middlemen or agents of the open market is an existing bitter reality for them.
  • The ground situation in UP shows how both the government and the open markets can be exploitative for the farmers, especially where the bulk of the tillers constitute the poor and marginalised. With the average landholding being even less than the national average of 1.15 hectare, more than 80 per cent of farmers in UP fall below the mark.
Image for representation (PTI file photo)

WHY GOVERNMENT MANDIS ARE INEFFICIENT

  • The first obvious question is why unlike Haryana, Punjab and even states like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the government mandi and procurement system is so inefficient in Uttar Pradesh. It should not come as a surprise that this year, wheat procurement by the state government was just at 36 lakh metric ton, which was far below the target of 55 lakh metric ton. Such low purchase happened despite the fact that the state has produced a record 385 metric tons of wheat.
  • This is also the reality when it comes to rice purchase, even though the BJP government in the state led by Yogi Adityananth had been making big claims about improved mechanisms for government procurement.

DEPENDENCE ON OPEN MARKETS AND THE REALITY

  • With government procurement being less than 15 per cent of the total harvest, the open markets in their present structure are the only remaining option for the farmers. But experience shows that this open market has its own share of exploitation. Rarely big firms or companies do direct business with farmers, the bulk of whom have small landholdings.
  • The farmer has no other option but to deal with the middlemen, or Adhatiyas as they are known in local language. The Adhatiyas generally pay less than the MSP. The only solace for the poor farmer is that he gets just enough cash in hand to meet his investment requirements for sowing the next crop.

ROAD AHEAD AND POSSIBLE DANGERS

  • At the moment, as the government and the opposition lock horns over the merits and demerits of the new bills, serious doubts remain over the road ahead. On the opposition’s charges of betraying the farmers’ interests, Prime Minister Narenra Modi has assured the nation that neither will the MSP mechanism be diluted nor will the government procurement and mandis stop doing business.

CONCLUSION

  • “Farmers are therefore justified in their demand that the government should give a written assurance that it will continue with the MSP mechanism and that private players will not be able to decide their own rates,” Professor Trivedi maintains.
  • As political parties continue to battle over what is being termed as long-awaited structural reforms in the agriculture sector, there is a long road ahead to determine the actual impact of the potential new laws. The impact in turn will redefine the mood and politics on the ground. For the moment it is more of a wait-and-watch scenario for the “Annadata”.

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