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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Farmer unions demand an income commission -Sayantan Bera

Farmer unions demand an income commission -Sayantan Bera

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published Published on Dec 4, 2015   modified Modified on Dec 4, 2015
-Livemint.com

With rural distress taking a turn for the worse due to weather woes and lower crop prices, farmer unions write to PM demanding constitution of commission

New Delhi:
With rural distress taking a turn for the worse due to weather woes and lower crop prices, leading farmer unions from across the country have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding constitution of an income commission that could suggest ways to ensure a minimum living income for farmers.

Citing data from the Situation Assessment Survey of farm households published by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in December 2014, the farmer unions wrote that an agricultural household earns just Rs.6,426 per month—of that just Rs.3,078 is from cultivation—which is four times less than the lowest paid government employee.

Moreover, the data shows that for nearly 70% of farm households—estimated at 6.26 crore households—incomes are short of expenditure by Rs.856 per month, meaning they are surviving on debt.

“The purpose of our communication to the Prime Minister is to remind the government that while every decade government employees see a salary revision, farmer families do not even earn the basic minimum wages,” Yogendra Yadav of the Jai Kisan Andolan, among the 11 signatories to the letter dated 30 November and released on Wednesday, said.

The commission could find ways to ensure minimum living incomes, Yadav said, adding, the government should also look into institutional measures like insurance and marketing, that will enable farmers to cope with the multitude of risks—weather- and price-related shocks.

While governments are sensitive to price rise, no one is monitoring the dip in farm incomes, Yudhvir Singh, spokesperson of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, another signatory to the letter, said.

In 1966, when the government started procuring foodgrain at support prices, a farmer could earn as much as the lowest level government employee by selling four bags of wheat, Singh said, adding, the widening gap in incomes is also fuelling distress migration from the farm sector.

Data from Census 2011 shows that many farm households gave up farming in the 2001-11 decade. For instance, in the decade, the number of cultivators declined from 127.3 million to 118.8 million, a drop of 8.5 million.

“Massive displacement from agriculture without equal opportunities in other sectors, and farmers’ suicides continue unabated in spite of the loan waivers and a few other measures, since the problem of securing dignified incomes is not being addressed,” the letter to the Prime Minister said.

The disparity in incomes would also affect rural demand and growth plans of the government, the letter warned.

Over the past few years, farm income has been badly hit due to repeated weather woes. While the monsoon last year recorded a deficit of 12%, this year the deficit stands at 14%, impacting rain-fed kharif crops for the second year. In between the two drought years, farmers also lost out due to unseasonal rains in March and April, affecting the winter harvest.

Additionally, while the hike in support prices of crops like rice and wheat—which the government procures—were low, the dip in prices of commercial crops like cotton and potatoes also affected farm incomes.

Livemint.com, 3 December, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Y4yQtefdUT8ylPmPAfpMgK/Farmer-unions-demand-an-income-commission.html


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