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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | The difficult economics of the Indian farmer

The difficult economics of the Indian farmer

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published Published on Aug 3, 2017   modified Modified on Aug 3, 2017
-Livemint.com

Policy should focus not just on higher production but also on helping farmers manage risks

Anybody who is dismissive of the wave of farmer protests across the country should first understand the difficult everyday economics of the Indian agriculturalist. Most farmers swim in a turbulent sea of risks against which they have almost no protection.

The risks begin with sowing. The production in the months ahead is deeply dependent on weather conditions. It is not just about the extremes of drought or flooding. Even a round of unseasonal rain can destroy standing crop. Irrigation can offer some respite—but not to the extent of completely removing production risks.

Then comes the price risk. A bumper crop can pull down prices in wholesale markets. Price spikes after a poor crop are inevitably dealt with through cheap imports in a bid to protect consumers. The opposite is done less frequently. The bountiful rains of 2016 resulted in record farm output. Prices crashed. Farmers are reported to have not been able to even recover the cost for some crops. The prospects of a good monsoon pushed up rural wages. The reality of rock bottom prices then destroyed profit margins. Also, economists at HSBC showed in a recent report that the fall in inflation has increased the real debt burden of farmers, which has risen faster than real income in recent years.

The opportunities for risk mitigation are minimal. Successive governments have taken steps to reduce the risk faced by farmers. The entire paraphernalia of minimum support prices (MSPs) was originally conceived as a way to mitigate risk through guaranteed prices. It later degenerated into a tool to buy the political support of large farmers. The Narendra Modi government in 2016 launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, a potential game changer. However, as reported by this newspaper, farmers who suffered losses in the last financial year have not yet received compensation for 55% of the estimated claims under the scheme. Crop insurance will not benefit farmers as desired if the compensation is not paid in time, as they will need the money for sowing in the next season. The government would do well to remove inefficiencies in the system.

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Livemint.com, 2 August, 2017, http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/MBIA6MDAxLeF0sEmJTWpeJ/The-difficult-economics-of-the-Indian-farmer.html


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