I jotted down notes as I listened to this interview.
I have read Sainath’s book, “Everyone likes a Drought”. Sainath is a jhole walla, he is a good man, his intentions are good and is very good at identifying problems but offers few viable solutions.
In his book he alluded to the unviability of marginal farming, saying people who don’t have farm land have other options like migrating for work. I have written about this years ago. Marginal farming is dead! A link is provided at the end.
The need for Fertilizers, pesticides, buying seed has hastened marginal farming’s demise, but we keep throwing good money after a bad practice. Growing value crops is more lucrative but some require years to start yielding.
In my write up I mention cooperative farming. Now there has been success in Zero budget farming as a possible solution for a collective marginal farmers. Something on the lines of Amul. Querying Google Guru with Zero Budget farming will provide explanation.
Currently only tea and coffee can be under large corporates. Putting these items under essential commodities was a way to keep corporates out of “farming” these commodities.
From an overall perspective the country has been run in some sectors like farming and rural economy on a jhole walla ideology steeped in socialism. These sectors are riddled with problems that Sainath describes very eloquently. No mention of corruption!
On the other hand the suit/boot sector has been doing relatively well. The pandemic hit everyone.
What we are seeing is a transition from Nehruvian policies that constrained the suit/boot sector till liberalisation, ignoring Rural Bharat and sprinkling some money in Rural endeavours as advocated by Jhole Wallas. Some of their recommendations involve large amounts of money to be spent regularly. Where is that going to come from? Regarding many subsidies even Man Mohan Singh once mentioned money does not grow on trees. Side note: Many trees yield money. So these Jhole Wallas provide good information on problems being faced and tilt at windmills in proposing some solutions.
Modian policies include retaining NREGA which he criticised but realised it as a necessity, along with a mixture of programs intended to incentivise people to pursue opportunities even if it means opening a pakoda stand. Modinomics also includes allowing suit/boots to venture into agriculture, from which they were barred.
Corporations cannot be allowed to run unbridled. They have to be constrained by guidelines. The farming sector is controlled extensively by unscrupulous middle men. This is an attempt to break these shackles. In Sainath’s mind it might lead to additional shackles. The operative word is “might”, without giving it a chance.
P.S. Sainath refers to them as Armani clad people which is an exaggeration steeped in sarcasm.
The first bogey is the allowing entry of big companies into buying. There will be competition and that will regulate prices. Right now we have middle men dictating the prices and they show no mercy.
Faye asks what about the small farmer with two sacks of onions? What a ridiculous question. A big company is going to deal with big farmers and consolidators.
This whole argument is just speculating problems steeped in mistrust of big business.
The lack of contractual follow through is an issue. That can be addressed through futures trading (like shares) and/or a third party escrow agent who is given the clout to ensure both parties deliver to their commitments.
Sainath talks about farm family income. That is the current reality. It has nothing to do with the farm bill.
The fragmenting of farms through successive generations is real. The fights that erupt are happening and has nothing to do with the Farm Bill.
Faye mentions farmers growing cash crops and ignoring everyday items, pointing out sugarcane growing in water scarce area. This has been happening for years. Again speculating more of this will happen. What nonsense.
Sainath talks about contract farming of tomatoes. He throws out a statement that no self respecting Punjabi will eat those Tomatoes. Another speculation. And again mentions the issue of reneging the agreed upon prices. Yes, it can be a problem and needs to be fixed.
There is always an issue of supply and demand economics. It is prevalent today. Onion prices shot up, due to heavy rains. And then has come down. As long as supply stays slightly short of demand we won’t see this problem.
He mentions the problem of vanilla growing that resulted in farmer suicides in Kerala, in 2001. Nineteen years ago? There was frost in Brazil and Mexico resulting in extreme shortage. Buyers approached farmers the world over. Prices held up for a while and crashed. He claims he warned the farmers who were consumed by greed. Who is to blame? He goes into great detail to claim “I told you so!” Bravo! This is an issue to criticise this Act! What nonsense!
He is living and dwelling in the past! Providing info to farmers is key. We have better communications today that can be researched and disseminated.
BTW there were health issues regarding the spraying of endosulfan over cashew crops. The govt did not ban it because of corporate pressure. Ultimately farmers stopped using it. People have choices.
He mentions the PepsiCo controversy over potatoes. It was settled due to public pressure. So why is this a problem. These issues can be fixed. Saying this is going to be institutionalised is throwing another problem that can be fixed by institutionalisation. This is an excellent example how farmers can take on a corporate. Try taking on a Zamindar!
For instance Monsanto wanted to sue farmers whose crops supposedly benefited from pollination from a neighbour’s farm! Here too farmers agitation overcame the clutches of a corporation. Does Sainath get this?
Regarding APMC’s, claiming that they are going to be disbanded is not true. There will be competing mandis and farmers will have a choice to take their produce to the mandi of their preference. Provided their local goon allows them to.
Sainath goes to great lengths to explain a solution which proposes a Bill be passed in Parliament that Guarantees MSP. Really? There has been a method of establishing MSP which involves a lot of back and forth and that will continue. The issue is adoption of Swaminathan method. Why does this need a Bill to be passed. Next there will be demands to establish prices for other items. There will always be an MSP. That is assured. What is not assured is whether it is adequate or not. That has been the case all these years. The Swaminathan method is a reference point. It is not the gold standard. Yes, it was apparently a campaign promise by the BJP that was not kept. This happens all the time regarding many unkept promises.
Regarding guaranteed procurement, he has hit the nail on the head. Punjab and Haryana farmers have been enjoying guaranteed procurement at a preferential price, which has been retracted. Hence the protest. Instead the govt should forecast demand and indicate what should be produced. Managing supply and demand across multiple parties, and produce is complicated and needs to be addressed. Sainath should stay away from economics. Doesn’t look like his forte.
Doubling farmer’s income by 2022 is a wish and a vision. Expecting the farmer to continue what they are doing and expecting a doubling is a pipe dream. If Sainath wants to call it a lie, he can. Call it a jumla. There are so many rights in the Constitution that have been ignored. This is not a constitutional issue.
The worst possibility is inflation goes out of control. The farmer’s income is doubled but real income stays the same. If this is the measure, real income for labourers have gone up over a period of years, and farmer’s income has not, then the solution is to provide farmer’s with other opportunities. Like Sainath mentions, brothers migrate to urban areas and help the farming father with remittances.
Stick to exposing problems, which he is very good at and demand govt address the problem. In some cases like the Vanilla episode, govt should provide advice if they have relevant info and let people decide.
Why ban procurement by large parties. Let the farmer decide. Right now many farmers are beholden to middle men who exhort the farmers to sell at a lower price. How come Sainath fails to mention this? P.S. He does later on.
He talks about debt relief. How many times should this be done. How do you provide debt relief to a farmer who has borrowed money from a money lender at exorbitant rates. Indentured debt is a social problem. What has that got to do with this Bill. He wants all the problems identified by him to be resolved by this bill! Keep tilting at Wind Mills. There is a case for giving farmer’s cash subsidies. But this carrot should be accompanied by a stick. If the farmer does not perform, unless due to uncontrollable circumstances, he should be made aware that he might lose his farm.
While describing the role of APMCs he finally mentions the grip of private traders on farmers to whom they have loaned money. This bondage has been unbroken since the British established the Zamindari system. The farm bill is the governments attempt to break this bondage. One possibility is to increase the number of govt mandis. The issue then is should the govt invest more in procurement or invite privatisation. Sainath and his fellow Jhole Wallas are dead set against private industry participation. They will complain about the status quo and criticise any attempt that does not align itself with their ideology. The farm act has been likened to liberalisation. Rather than giving the process a chance, they are acting like those who cried wolf when liberalisation occurred.
Farming is the largest private industry in Bharat that according to him is stifled by the govt controlled APMC, not to mention the grip of the middle men as mentioned earlier. On the one hand, it seems he is warning about the closure of APMCs, which is not true, and at the same time warning about a new grip that will be imposed by corporatisation.
What he doesn’t acknowledge is that the organised sector despite its periodic problems with labour has been productive. Maybe astute farmers might partner with corporates and settle for a steady stream of income from their partner who takes up most of the risk. The worst that would happen is that the farmer sells out and squanders what they were paid. That too has frequently happened in cases where eminent domain was imposed for public projects and the criticism has been that the farmers were not paid a fair price. The Land Acquisition Bill passed by the UPA has provisions to overcome that. But here too the people have to share the blame, since sales price recorded is far less then what was paid in order to save on stamp duty. You reap what you sow.
It is true, the pandemic and shut down disrupted the distribution chain. And unscrupulous traders took advantage wherever they could. He attributes some of the problems due to in unavailability of labour provided by migrants. What! There was mass migration of migrants from urban centers to their villages and we were made aware of the problems they faced. This allegation of Sainath doesn’t make sense. Where does he pull this from?
Then he talks of mandating that farmers should be forced to grow crops that will feed the people. Essentially bring government control over Bharat’s largest private sector!
He finally mentions the suit boot transition from the hitherto Jhole Walla dominated situation.
The cotton surplus is another instance of tragic circumstances. Farming is risky business. Are all farmers equipped to undertake this risk?
He then embarks on the problems in health and education. The lack of laptops and no smart phones. The pandemic has effected everyone. Hopefully it is a short term phenomena. Both he (and I and our generation) grew up without computers and smart phones and we have done very well for ourselves. Yes, the digital divide is an issue, poverty is an issue. BTW, govt can and will provide WIFI hotspots where people can download for free. Yes it is becoming more and more a necessity. Focus on farming yaar. Refrain from boiling the ocean. Incidentally, many parents in small towns send their children to private schools. This does not mean we should privatise government schools. How about giving the amount spent on a child to the parent by way of a voucher. Allow them to enrol their child in a private school if they choose. I’m just saying.
Faye makes another attempt to bring focus to farming from Sainath’s ramblings.
Again he launches off on a tangent about GST after stating Agriculture is a State responsibility. If so relieve the Center from that responsibility. Stop complaining about the Bill. Don’t expect the Center to assist in fixing State issues. All the problems the country faced prior to GST, Farming, Education, Health, Poverty, Law & Order are State issues. The State can establish their own MSP. Why appeal to the Centre?
He talks of the Vashi APMC, bemoaning lack of corporate participation around it. For what? Corporates have set up outlets all over the place. They can obtain supplies from wherever they want.
He slips in the fact that APMC’s are a source of revenue for the States. Fine, but why should it be a monopoly?
Then he takes a pot shot at NABARD. A valid one. Good point raised. But what has it got to do with the Farm Bills? Yes it should be addressed. Maybe they are getting better rate of returns from Urban Borrowers rather than face delinquencies from rural borrowers. Whatever it is, the objective has to be changed or it should be eliminated. Good luck with doing the latter.
Again Faye brings him back from his rambling tirade against NABRD. He responds to the question about forming cooperatives. Much as I pointed out way in the beginning before listening to this part.
Direct farm to home is a good idea, but it is not a panacea for the entire farming sector.
Farmers market is another good idea and does happen in Karnataka on a weekly basis. They were shut down during Covid lockdown and opened in Nov 2020. Nothing new here.
There was no mention of Zero Budget Farming which is an essential component of cooperative farming.
To solve the overall problem there are many issues to be addressed. There has to be a shift from farm labour to other jobs, mitigation from climate issues, improve productivity, land consolidation from fragmentation due to successive inheritance, crop insurance, subsidies where appropriate and a whole lot more.
Here is a link to my article:
April 2093 Farmers protested UPAs ban on corporates from procuring wheat. Farmers were forced to sell at MSP, whereas the would have got a better price from corporates.
Here are more details on why farmers were upset:
August 2010 Sharad Powar wrote to Sheila Dixit citing the need to amend the State APMC Act to promote private investment:
The report goes into great lengths about differences in what Pawar is advocating. These differences can be ironed out it relevant. The overall recommendation is for private investment and participation.
Here is another article on why Punjab, Haryana and Western UP farmers are agitating. They are upset on being weaned off of FCI gravy. Sainath provides a rear view mirror description of the past which is well known with some anecdotes like the Vanilla and Cotton crisis. It is clear his view regarding “liberalising” the farm sector is jaded with his bias of anti-corporate ideology.
https://swarajyamag.com/politics/punjab-farmers-are-fighting-to-protect-their-privileges-they-should-stop-pretending-to-be-representatives-of-all-farmers
Finally here is an interesting opinion on resistance to change.
As received in WhatsApp. Point of view.
Modi Government passes Farmers Bills!*
*The Real Story: When I was in school, one rainy day I found a small bird 🐦 which was just hatched from an egg 🥚 & had fallen down from a tree; it’s Mother was no where in sight!*
*I brought it home and fed it small worms 🐛 and brought it up! After it grew up, my Dad wanted me to let it off to the wild, but the bird didn’t want to go!*
*Whenever I set it free, it came back to our home! My Dad used to say that manyatimes we are so adapted to our mental prisons, that we feel pained, even when someone liberates us!*
*I was in school when Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao opened up India to foreign companies and industries!*
*Then there was a huge furore, that we will be enslaved by foreign companies, like that of the East India Company once again, and we will become Ghulams of foreigners!*
*Leading the pack who protested, were Indian Companies like Bajaj, who virtually had a monopoly in two-wheelers, and Ambassador Cars by Birla's Hindusthan Motors, which was the only car available, and then the usual suspects like C@mmunists (they were still powerful in those days!), workers Union leaders and media!*
*I never understood why we should protest, when we are getting the Fords and the Hondas to Indian markets, as it will create more jobs, and give us better cars, than those horrible Ambassador cars!*
*I was like we should also start growing up like China and Korea!*
*But Dad said we are protesting as we are afraid of the unknown, just like that little bird I had!*
*We are content with staying poor and malnourished, with the so called Hindu Rate of Growth!*
*These protests went on all 5 years during PVNR rule, and he eventually lost the national general elections after 5 years!*
*Today, everyone says he is the man who truly liberated India! And today, if we are among the 5 biggest Economies of the world, it is due to his policies!*
*The same thing happened when computers came to India! They said it will take away jobs, and everything will be controlled by software companies!*
*But, today, India is a software powerhouse and it has created millions of jobs!*
*Now, Agriculture Reforms are happening after 74 years of Independence! For the first time, farmers will be free of clutches of middlemen and Dalals!*
*It is the middlemen who became millionaires in India, while the Farmers are always in debts!*
*And the consumers end up paying more and more for food and commercial crops every year!*
*These middlemen are so powerful people, that they form the backbone of many parties like NCP, the Akalis, the Punjab Congress and many other regional parties!*
*Hence, no one tried to tamper with Agriculture Market Reforms!*
*Once, when Indira Gandhi was told to control these middlemen, she asked: "Should we stop contesting elections ?"*
*Many of my Family members and relatives are in controlling positions in APMCs, and they are all crorepatis!*
*Many of my Family members and relatives are Farmers, and I have often seen them only struggle in their lives!*
*Once I met a famous Professor in MIT, who was working on the Concept of a unified National Agriculture Market (NAM) in India, where the Indian Govt had asked him to design an AI model to connect all the markets of India!*
*His team worked on it for 2 years, and told the Govt that we can’t create a NAM until we allow Farmers to sell in an open market!*
*He told me the same, and said in 2018, that if the Modi Govt. wins in 2019, they would bring in huge Agricultural Reforms in their second term, which will double or treble the Farmer incomes, and since they make up for 60% of the Indian population, it will truly transform India!*
*Hence, I was rooting for Modi to come back and bring in these Reforms!*
*These Agriculture Reform are bigger than what PVNR did in 1991!*
*India will truly become a middle income country, as more and more people will get fruits for their labour!*
*Yes! There are many Farmers who are apprehensive!*
*They say MSP will go, and hence it is a loss!
But the fact is, that the Govt will continue with the MSP!*
*And mark my words, after a few years, no one will need any MSP, as Farmers will be selling to the best market and making more money than MSP!*
*They said big corporations will monopolise, and control farming! It was told the same when GM, Ford, Toyota, and Honda came; or when McDonalds or KFC came!*
*But fact is, GM ran away from India and Maruti controls 51% market share, and Honda has 3%!*
*It is Cafe Coffee Day which is India’s biggest brand, than McDonlads or KFC!*
*And a Wagh-Bakri Chai Point is bigger than Starbucks!*
*In the same way, market forces and proper regulations will never let some one control the whole of farming in India!*
*India is too big, too diversified, for any one company to monopolise it!*
*And most importantly, Digital Tech and AI will transform market intelligence, and make every farmer access any good market, without selling it to a Dalal or a big company!*
*Now Democracy has truly reached Agriculture, and Farmers have got their
