Economic Highlights
New Delhi, 13 December
2021
Farm Travails & WTO
RIGHT PRICES CRITICAL
By Shivaji Sarkar
The long night is over.
The farmers call off their over year-long stir and return home as the Centre
sends formal letter accepting their major demands. The farmers proved many
people wrong but also gave the lesson that mere majority cannot impose even the
best pro-people decisions. Farmers need the right price.
In West Bengal not long
ago Marxist Left Front government had a huge majority. Yet it had to eat a
humble pie when farmers in Nandigram and Singur put paid to its
industrialization plans. Maybe the State government’s plans were good, but it
became immaterial in the face of farmers protesting acquisition. It is nearly
similar now. The Government said the three farm laws were for the benefit of
farmers. A section of them, however, remained unconvinced. Despite several
rounds of talks, some violence, various cases slapped including of sedition,
combined media onslaught, farmers remained firm. Finally, almost one year after
their sit-in, they got what they wanted.
Where does the real
power lie? Not in government with its elaborate security setup. Not in Parliament
where laws are made. Not in the Supreme Court which can unmake laws. Real power
lies only in the people. Only people are sovereign. That is what the year-long
farmer’s agitation suggests. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, group of 40 protesting
farm unions, announces as the Centre agreed to several demands, including MSP,
they are going home.
This should make popular
governments change their tack. The NDA government took the correct decision on
junking Land Acquisition Act and now on the farm bills. Those in power anywhere
have to accept that howsoever they may be, taking decisions for the welfare of
the people, if the beneficiaries are not satisfied, such decisions cannot be
implemented.
Now former Deputy Chairman
of NITI Aayog, Arvind Panagarhia, says an important aspect that crops up is the
World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules on subsidies. India so far escaped with a
peace clause for violating its subsidy rules. He indicates that the demand for
MSP, which WTO does not accept, may lead to a difficult global situation apart
arguing that MSP would entail extra payment of Rs 1.5 trillion. He also
stresses that the proposed massive transfers under MSP would bypass not only
the urban poor but also the rural poor among the 46 per cent non-agricultural
households.
Any solution? Yes,
either reform WTO or rethink on MSP. Or may be listen to another former NITI
Aayog Deputy Chairman Raghuram Rajan on a TV discussion on December 8. He
emphasised that despite some good points in farm bills, agriculture needing
reforms, India is so vast that decentralisation is essential. There could not
be one solution for the entire country. India cannot be like China. He says, “India’s
strengths were democracy and debate. China became a manufacturing superpower
following its system of authoritarian rule. “It would be difficult to emulate
the Chinese path”.
Rajan gives the easy
prescription. Governance should not resort to adamancy and electoral numbers
are never enough to roughshod the sentiments that may not look palatable to the
ruling parties. The governments in the past also had to eat a humble pie. The
most glaring example was the rise of NT Rama Rao in 1980s against a despotic
Indira Gandhi.
At the same time, it
should not be forgotten that even rich nations give farm subsidy and WTO
ignores it. In the present context, the cases went for judicial review but the
court did not resolve the issue. Rightfully, the popular government has taken
the required decision. The government need not be apprehensive of the WTO or
international bodies. If it could keep the environmental COP26 at bay for
several decades, it can do so for farm issues too.
The country should
rather begin a new discussion on agriculture, crops, creating diverse food
grain habits and sustaining ecology. Today’s MSP issue is complex as farmer
needs higher income. All the same the companies could not be allowed to have
ways that bolster their profit at the cost the people’s interests.
India has to ponder
whether it can put income inequality as high as it was under British colonial
away from public discussion. The top 10 per cent accounts for 57.1 per cent of
the income now. The top 10 per cent earns 20 times – Rs 11,66,220 more than the
bottom 50 per cent – Rs 53,630, according to the World Inequality report 2022
released on December 7, 2021. The women have a much lower share in labour
income compared to their global peers. Again these are issues that have deep
connection with agriculture.
Despite a pan-India
sentiment, it should not be forgotten that Nandigram or Singur or various long
farmers’ marches in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and other places, did not
become national economic issues and need to observe whether the present MSP
issue would rule the roost post-UP elections. In fact, this calls for
diversification of farm products and less dependence on mono or select cropping
that may have led to this difficult situation post-Green revolution.
So the debate now
centres on multi-billion dollar question of how to reintroduce the diversity in
food habits. In 1881, it was a nation of 220 million people eating millet and
other food grains. It has changed to eating a 1.3 billion rice-and-wheat eating
behemoth riding on the Green Revolution. India has not planned its strength of
varied food and agriculture depended on local ecology-led consumption.
It is not easy to restore
that back. But the agriculture universities can be told to start the discussion
process obviating needs for creating large dams and concomitant problems as the
nation faces in the post Narmada and Tehri-dam phase, including a severe water
crisis. It has caused severe ecological problems. The farmers’ issues are
diverse and different in each region. There cannot be one-India solution be it
MSP or crop pattern.
Of late, there is too
much of centralisation. It is not required. This nation has to accept that it
has yet to come out of the high poverty level. The Kisan Morchas should not see
it beyond the corporate. Both will survive if the economics and finances are
strong.
The farmers stir now
should stress on having multi-pronged approach for ushering in a new diverse
and strong farm environment. The government should help create that new
farmer-dominated agriculture where no outsider needs to fix the MSP. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
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