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Farmer's protest: Fault lines in the fields -Mahesh Langa & Jayant Sriram
-The Hindu

From a persisting cash crunch due to demonetisation to a price free fall because of a bumper produce, it’s a big bag of woes for farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Mahesh Langa and Jayant Sriram report on the gathering storm as their protests for a fairer deal threaten to escalate

Abhishek Patidar, 19, had just passed his Class 11 exam this year with dreams of becoming a doctor. His family owns a piece of land — about 27 bighas — in Barkheda Path, a village 22 km north of Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh where they grow soybean, methi (fenugreek) and chana (gram). On June 6, Abhishek went to Mandsaur along with hundreds of others from his village to protest against the falling crop prices that were pushing his family to the brink of desperation. Tragically, he became one of the victims of police firing, taking three bullets on a day when farmer protests across the western belt stretching from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra reached a frenzied pitch. “He was too young but was keen to join the protest. We grow everything in our 27-bigha land but in the last three years, prices have plunged and ruined us,” says Abhishek’s father, Dinesh Patidar, 55, tears rolling down his eyes.
 
Price pinch in Malwa

Barkheda Path is typical of the villages in this region. With an approximate population of 3,500, 95% of the population is engaged in farming in landholdings that are less than a hectare per family. Abhishek’s family members narrate their tale of loss. “The last three years have crushed our backbone because prices have plunged, forcing us to sell our produce at rates where we don’t even recover our investment,” says Dinesh, adding, “today’s market price for soybean is Rs. 2,500-2,700 per quintal while our cost to produce one quintal is above Rs. 3,000.” Not only soybean, prices of onion, gram, methi, vegetables, milk have bottomed while input costs have soared for seeds, fertilizers, labour and transport, he says.

Madhya Pradesh consistently boasts of double-digit growth in agriculture — averaging 13.9% during 2010-15 — and like many other States, had a bumper harvest following a good monsoon in 2016. Yet as per the National Crime Records Bureau statistics, as many as 1,982 farmers committed suicide in the State in 2016-17. A combination of factors — falling procurement prices because of a glut of produce in the market, a cash crunch due to last year’s demonetisation policy and the predominance of smaller landholdings which are expensive to maintain — have led to a simmering anger. Like their counterparts in many parts of Maharashtra, farmers in Mandsaur launched an agitation demanding remunerative prices for their onion, soybean and pulses. As thousands of farmers poured onto the streets, stopping traffic, attacking trucks and confronting police, things turned violent and five farmers were killed as a result of police firing and a curfew was imposed across five districts.

Farmers from the Mandsaur-Neemuch stretch in the Malwa region, aside from growing soybean and chana, also grow a range of spices and medicinal plants like methi, dhaniya (coriander), jeera (cumin) and ajwain (carom seeds). Yet, farmers in the region claim that prices for these cash crops have been falling for the past few years. “We never sold methi below Rs. 4,000 per quintal during the Manmohan Singh’s government. But ever since Modi became PM, methi prices have collapsed,” says Dinesh, showing methi gunny bags stored in his house.

In addition to low prices, what has aggravated the situation is the Central government’s demonetisation move late last year that has adversely hit the rural and agrarian economy. “Notebandi has almost finished us in the rural areas. Even after selling our produce, we don’t get money in our hands before at least two-three weeks and sometimes even a month,” says Lalchand Mali, a farmer from Barkheda Panth.

Interestingly, not many farmers in the region are seeking loan waiver as is being claimed in the media. Most of them want better and remunerative prices that cover their costs and provide them income for survival. “Believe me, no true farmer would want loan waiver. If the government provides better prices, we will repay our debt. The problem is the government never provides better prices,” adds Lalchand, who owns a two-hectare plot in the village.

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