Background
I am still not clear about the issues involved in the farmers' agitation. So, I asked a friend of mine, who besides being an engineer, professionally, is a farmer from Abohar-Fazilka region of Punjab. Now, after retirement, he is a full time farmer.
This is what he told me. "I have been actively farming for almost two decades now and I have witnessed many things happen at the APMCs.
I have seen classifications of C grade grain miraculously change to B grade grain.
Similarly, I have also witnessed the weighbridge weigh in an empty truck at 39 tons and the full truck at 55 tons and later found that the unloaded truck weighed 43 tons at another weighbridge.
Yes I know, you know what I know. Yet let me tell you more about what you may already know.
There are 30,000 registered 'adtiyas' in Punjab.
These 30,000 employ another 30,000 sub agents or sidekicks or people who wouldn't have made it into doing anything any place were it not for the patronage network of these 30,000.
There are only 1,500 farming villages in Punjab.
3,30,000/1,500 is about 220 people on an average per village doing the work of middlemen.
Why is this case?
The Actual Drama
It's a long story but someone needs to begin talking about this at some time.And so, here we go..
We had a food shortage and a ship to mouth existence till the 1970s. Norman Borlaugh pioneered a variety of wheat which gave 10 times the yield but needed 3 times the fertiliser. The Punjab was chosen as the battleground against hunger. Enterprising Sikh farmers worked hard to create what we know as the green revolution.
Since there were huge shortages, laws were made which didn't allow for stockholding or selling at farm gates. Essential Commodities Act, APMC Act (farmers were compelled to sell only at APMCs to licensed traders - remember licence permit quota raj?) As an assurance to the farmer for his hard work, minimum support prices were guaranteed.
No matter what the quantum, 'sarkar' would pick it up and provide the farmers with a minimum amount as compensation per quintal or ton as the case maybe. Getting money out of the sarkari treasury is a muck filled process. Thus was born the breed of middle men who walked the corridors of bureaucracy, government and worked up corrupt sarkari babus.
Political patronage networks flourished.
220 : 1 is the ration of middlemen to a single village in Punjab today.
This business got integrated backwards. Corruption was professionalised. For instance, I have in my circle of influence or immediate family, folks who own very large tracts of land (100 acre plus holding).
The thekedar comes and takes the theka of growing on the land. For those unfamiliar with the woed, theka is also referred to as contract. i know there are grumblings about corporates contracting with farmers directly now. I also know why. You should too.
Anyways, to cut a long story short, plenty of farmers do not expect to receive much as their rightful dues at the end of each crop season.
* What is grown? * What grade or quality? * For how much is it sold? * Would it have fetched a similar price in open market? * Where is it sold? * How is it sold? * Who's the end beneficiary? * Does anybody consume it or does it go waste? * Was there a better way to do what's being done?
As long as you receive your cheque, why do you care?
The Jamkhedkar Committee, meanwhile reports that over 40% of the grain acquired under MSP by the FCI is either unfit for consumption or is simply wasted.
All told, one out of every two kilos acquired is wasted.
Years of perfidy have, today, given birth to this situation. MSP has ensured that there is no necessity to seek profitable enterprise. It has also given birth to the patronage networks which survive off the sarkari teat and refuse to break away.
It has given rise to a political class which thrives and survives on being Specialist Corrupt Thugs.
There was no sunset clause on this. Nobody foresaw a time of surplus production of foodgrains.
Result : all other states such as Haryana, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and MP all produce surfeits of grain. They also have their own MSP mechanisms which have proliferated and created similar political patronage networks.
More is acquired at Mandis in Punjab. Remember the central government's promise. Grain from UP and Bihar also finds its way into the mandi system of Punjab!
The trucks being underweight and overpaid for and grades changing are common practices, you can go for a few days to the mandi and figure out how to make a killing by doing this. I don't advise it, this is what the system is in the current day. I advise, try doing truthful clean work. It's more fulfilling.
Soon enough, you will also be one of those 'know alls' in the mandi who doesn't talk to others. After all information is power.
All this is paid for by you, dear tax payer.
The annual bill for this is approximately Rs. 8 lakh crores.
Why doesn't the farmer grow something else? Something more profitable?
If I'm being paid for doing precisely nothing, why bother with competing? Where's the incentive to compete?
I would rather go and picket the roads leading into Delhi to ensure that the existing system isn't threatened.
Epilogue
These, then in a nutshell, are the hard facts of the farmers' agitation. What a shame? And the entire lot of opposition is trying to board the bandwagon with their one point-agenda of showing Modi in bad light! The paradox is that all of them - without exception - have batted for this bill earlier but couldn't/wouldn't bring it up for legislation!!
And to recapitulate, let's run through the farm bills yet again....
* Bill on Agri market ( Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce - promotion and facilitation Bill)
- To create an ecosystem where farmers and traders enjoy the freedom to sell and purchase farm produce outside registered 'mandis' under states' APMCs - To promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade of farmers' produce - to reduce marketing/transportation costs and help farmers in getting better prices - To provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading.
* Bill on Contract Farming ( Farmers' Empowerment and Protection - agreement of price assurance and farm services Bill)
- Farmers can enter into a contract with agri-business firms - processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price - Marginal and small farmers, with land less than five hectares to gain via aggregation and contract (these, incidentally, account for 86% of the total farmers in India) - To transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors - To enable farmers to access modern technology and get better inputs - To reduce cost of marketing and boost farmers' income - Farmers can engage in direct marketing by eliminating intermediaries for full price realisation - Effective dispute resolution mechanism with redressal timelines
* Bill Relating to Commodities (The Essential Commodities - amendment Bill)
- To remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oil seeds, onions and potatoes from the list of essential commodities. It will do away with the imposition of stock holding limits on such items except under "extraordinary circumstances" of private investors of excessive regulatory interference in business operations - To bring investment for farm infrastructure like cold storages, and modernising food supply chain - To help both farmers and consumers while bringing in latest technology.
My take.
A comprehensive and exhaustive set of laws that defang the middlemen completely. And note that it's the farmers of Punjab who've raked up the defiance against the laws as the corrupt system loses out entirely.
And under the pretext of carrying out a peaceful agitation, they seem to desperately want anarchy, otherwise, why should they choke the ingress/egress in and out of Delhi?
Tailpiece.
Got up at a half past 6, being a Sunday, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Today's Rangoli had good songs!
Videocalled my sisters and had our weekly chat.
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