It is being said by economists that unlike the issue of low food production that gripped Indian agriculture for long in the past, the present problem is about farmers not getting remunerative prices against the crops that they are growing. According to farmer leaders, the policymakers are too late to realise that bitter truth. As a result, there is a growing disenchantment in the rural hinterland against the ruling government...
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In election year, farmer on centrestage -Harish Damodaran and Parthasarathi Biswas
-The Indian Express The new year could witness the first national elections being fought on farmers’ issues. And it could test both the ruling BJP pushed to the defensive, particularly in the larger sugar-producing states, and the Congress under pressure to deliver loan waivers If 2017 saw the beginnings of agrarian unrest in large swathes of the country, 2018 brought it centrestage as the numero uno political issue. And almost everyone’s...
More »Statement of intentions
-The Hindu Business Line NITI Aayog’s document sets out economic goals, but there’s no roadmap The NITI Aayog’s Strategy for New India @75 lays out a checklist of priorities for economic policy-makers over the next three years. It sets out as an immediate priority, the ramping up of the investment rate to 36 per cent of the GDP by 2022, from 29 per cent at present in order to hit a growth...
More »Farm suicide as an indicator of agrarian crisis should be used with caution
Passionate about the deepening of agrarian crisis, quite often journalists and media persons cite figures related to farm suicide (as provided by the National Crime Records Bureau) in order to draw the attention of the readers. They do so in the following ways: * Compare the absolute number of farm suicides (viz. suicide by cultivators + suicide by agricultural labourers) across regions/ states for a particular time point or time period...
More »The demand for a special Parliament session on the agrarian crisis makes sense
-Hindustan Times Political parties should come clear on what they think is the best way to address the farm crisis Delhi will witness yet another farmers’ protest on November 29 and 30. However, this protest is very different from the others in terms of the nature of demands. Farmers’ groups are demanding a special session of parliament to discuss two private member bills, namely The Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill, 2018,...
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