Category: Agriculture

Loan write-offs don’t solve all problems, says MS Swaminathan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The farmers in Maharashtra called off their protest after the state government agreed to look into their demands. One of the key demands of the farmer community has been the implementation of the Swaminathan Panel report which asks that the minimum support price (MSP) should be 1.5 times to their cost of production.

“Farmers march was a real signal of the frustration of farmers. Farming is becoming more and more economically unviable; the economic health of farming is getting poor. Like a good doctor, the government has taken one decision of writing off the loan but that doesn’t solve the problem”, said the renowned Agricultural Scientist and Author MS Swaminathan.

He also stated that there were fundamental problems in terms of pricing, in procurement, public distribution. “This is why in the farmers’ commission, we recommended a pricing pattern which is somewhat remunerative to the farmer” he said.

Swaminathan also stressed on the distress of farmers saying that agriculture had suffered from lack of policy attention and said that the younger generation did not want to take up agriculture. “It is left to the older people. How much can they do and so I am glad that the government of Maharashtra has agreed to solve the problem in a very small temporary way. Now they should start looking at longer term”, he added.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Come up with a better model to buy farm produce, Govt tells Niti Aayog

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The message from Centre is loud and clear: No private sector firms will be hired to procure produce from farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP).

MSP is the base price that the government fixes for various crops that farmers in India produce. If prices of these crop drop below these prices, then the farmer has an option to sell it to the government instead of an open market.

In its last meeting with Niti Aayog, the government rejected the proposal of hiring private sector firms for the procurement of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers for their produce. “The idea of getting private players would invite middlemen rather than improving the income of farmers,” said a member of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC).

It is not that at the model is new. The government has tested it before and it came out a cropper.

The monetary factor also comes in play as the government has to either spend more money or cut benefits to farmer for the hiring of private players.

Moreover, getting private companies on-board to buy crops at MSPs can only work for paddy and wheat.

In Union Budget of 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that Minimum Support Prices (MSP) will be at 50 per cent over the cost of production of crops incurred by the farmers.

Niti Aayog has been assigned with figuring out a procurement system which would further implement the government’s plan.

Niti Aayog has to now brainstorm again and come up with a new procurement model which can be practically implemented.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

With a range of demands, over 35,000 farmers from Nashik gather in Mumbai to protest

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The agitating farmers who began the 180 KM march from Nashik have reached Azad Maidan in Mumbai with plans to surround the state assembly which is in session today. CNBC-TV18’s @uttkarsh311090 brings you this update pic.twitter.com/7CmcgN8hdn

— CNBC-TV18 News (@CNBCTV18News) March 12, 2018


Over 35,000 farmers from Maharashtra’s Nashik district on Sunday reached Mumbai after walking for the last six days.

The farmers will protest outside Mantralaya or the Mahrashtra state assembly on March 12, 2018 for their demands, among other things, a complete loan waiver and fair pay.

They are also demanding compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre for destruction of crops due to hailstorm and allocation of forest land under cultivation to farmers.

Maharashtra is currently governed by Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government and the opposition, including Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena as well as Shiv Sena have extended their support to the peacefully protesting farmers.

After a similar protest last year, the state government had announced a farm loan waiver dubbing it as the “biggest loan waiver in Maharashtra’s history”.

However, the promises made by the state government have not been fulfilled yet.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow