Amid farm woes, tractors may shortly leave the fields for protest sites

The tractor has emerged as an icon of farmers’ protests. It became an emblem during the year-long farmers’ demonstration, when they laid a siege around the national capital. Now, a call from a farmer leader to keep “tractors ready” has given rise to renewed speculation.

“Yes, I did ask (peasants) to keep their tractors ready since one doesn’t know where one needs to go now. However, a tractor is needed on the fields…or any other place…,” said Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait in his characteristic style.

Also read: Seven months after kisan protest ended, farmers are far from happy

He also called out the Centre for not meeting their demands. He was on the way to Hisar in Haryana where, according to reports, a farmer died and three policemen were injured in a clash on Friday. The farmers have been protesting near the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Project, Khedar, for the past several weeks. They are demanding that fly ash from the plant be given to them as earlier and not through auction.

Farmers blame govt

“The movement will go on. Farmers’ expenses are going up. Unemployment is getting worse. The government doesn’t want to address these issues. They refuse to sit down for a discussion,” Tikait complained.

Among their demands is legalisation of minimum support price (MSP) through legislation. This, they say, was sought to ensure that farmers got paid as announced by the government at the beginning of every sowing season. “The MSP issue is not being addressed. We are not getting the right price (in the market). Electricity is becoming expensive,” he added.

“The government has reneged on its promises,” reiterated Hannan Mollah, general secretary of All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). “They (the Centre) had committed in writing that a committee will be set up on MSP, still there is no sign of it.”

Govt puts the ball in farmers’ court

The government had also announced it is ready to form an MSP panel and asked farm leaders to name their members. But the latter refused, saying the government’s “intent was not clear”.

In this context, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had announced in Parliament that the government would form a committee as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2021 as soon as they received names of representatives from SKM.

When this was mentioned, Hannan Mollah claimed that they will soon issue a letter urging the government “not to mislead people”. “Such a committee cannot be constituted over a telephone call. We have written to the Centre – once in March, again in April – asking for the terms of reference of the committee, requesting to make it time bound and seeking other details. There has been no response…,” alleged the septuagenarian Marxist leader.

In June, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved an increase in MSP for all mandated kharif crops for marketing season 2022-23. However, protestors claim that even with MSP of common grade paddy at Rs 2,040 per quintal, it barely meets input cost. Hannan Mollah claimed that it is about Rs 250 less than what a grower spends per quintal.

When pointed out that there were reports of wheat being procured by private players above MSP, both farm leaders claimed ignorance.

Less govt procurement

According to official figures, till July 3 this year, 187.89 LMT (lakh metric tonnes) of wheat has been procured. This benefited about 17.85 lakh farmers with an MSP value of Rs 37,859.34 crore, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement.

Whereas, according to the ministry, last year even till June 6, over 416.44 LMT of wheat was procured. This, the statement added, was an all-time high, “as it has exceeded previous high 389.92 LMT (of RMS 2020-21) against the last year corresponding purchase of 371.33 LMT. About 45.56 lakh farmers have already been benefitted from the ongoing RMS procurement operations with MSP value of Rs 82,247.51 crore”.

Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), said that due to higher market prices this year, large quantities of wheat were being bought by traders outside mandis at a higher rate than MSP.

“This year, due to an increase in market prices and higher demand by the private players, both for the domestic as well as export purposes, the purchase by the government agency is less. But that goes in favour of the farmers. Farmers are getting a good price for the wheat,” he explained when asked on lower procurement of wheat.

This is not a regular phenomenon, as some experts pointed out. The reason comes from Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, where many countries were looking at India for importing wheat. Private procurement at higher prices may be due to the export market.

On their demands, farmer unions claim that the agriculture secretary had earlier written to them with an assurance that the government would comply with these.

Planned protests

A calendar of protests and demonstrations was recently made public.

A ‘Protest Against Betrayal’ is now being organised in 500 districts for legal guarantee of MSP through legislation and on other pending demands and, on July 31, a ‘chakka jam’ will be held across the country. Between August 7 and 14 ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ conventions will be held across the country against the government’s newly introduced Agnipath scheme. Under this scheme, soldiers will be recruited in short service without post-retirement benefits except a corpus fund of Rs. 11.71 lakh.

Beginning August 18, a 75-hour mass dharna will be held at Lakhimpur Kheri demanding the sacking of Ajay Mishra Teni, the SKM added. Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri in October last year. A car mowed down farmers protesting Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the area. There were reports of gunfire as well. The car allegedly belonged to Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish, who is an accused in the case.

Also read: Increase in MSP of kharif crops will empower farmers: PM Modi

However, the leaders are wary of an aggressive campaign fearing law-and-order problems. Violence may cost them the sympathy they now enjoy. The fracas on the streets of the national capital on January 26, 2021, during a tractor march did not pan out well.

But, as pointed out by Tikait, the tractors are ready to roll out for any place where needed.