The Committee has not produced any interim report yet; critical that government focuses on farmers’ well-being
In September 2020, three controversial farm laws were introduced, leading to year-long protests by farmers demanding their withdrawal. While the laws were repealed in November 2021 and a Committee on minimum support price (MSP) was formed, there is still no interim report from it two years on.
On November 19, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a historic announcement repealing all three contentious farming laws. In the same address, he declared the establishment of a new committee, widely recognised as the Committee on MSP, tasked with deliberating on matters related to MSP, promoting zero-budget natural farming (ZBNF) practices and determining crop patterns.
The Centre established the committee on July 12, 2022, almost eight months after the PM’s announcement. The government and the agriculture minister cited two primary reasons for the delay: Awaiting permission from the Election Commission due to ongoing state assembly elections and seeking a response from farmers’ union coalition Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) regarding their representation on the committee.
Read more: Delhi protests on for 9 months: What do farmers across India think about the new laws
However, on requesting details through the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI), the government had no available information on either matter.
Let us look at the first reason for the delay, the concurrence of the Election Commission. Former Member of Parliament (MP) in Rajya Sabha Sukhram Yadav raised a question about the status of the panel.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Kailash Choudhary responded on February 4, 2022, saying, “We have written to the Election Commission regarding the committee. Whatever proposal we receive (from EC), we will take further action. Since elections are going on in several states, the committee will be formed after we get permission from the EC.”
However, in response to my RTI, the Union ministry of agriculture stated they have no record of communication available between the ministry and the Election Commission.
I filed an RTI to seek more information, “Provide the copy of all communications between the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Election Commission of India regarding the formation of this committee concerned.” The ministry replied, “Not available.”
Two months later, in April 2022, Cabinet Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Rajya Sabha that the government would form a committee on MSP as promised by the PM in November 2021 as soon as it received names of representatives from the SKM.
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However, in response to an RTI query, the ministry mentioned there was no record available regarding the communication between the ministry and the farmers’ coalition.
The RTI application said, “Provide the copy of all correspondence exchanged between the government and various farmers’ organisations pertaining to the establishment and membership of this committee.” In a reply dated December 4, 2023, the ministry stated the requested information is not available.
Profile of committee members
The government finally formed the committee in July 2022, announced a gazetted notification. The committee comprised 29 members, including the chairman. Among these 29 members, 18 were government officials or experts associated with government agencies and colleges. It is reasonable to assume the views of these official members.
For the purpose of this discussion, I will focus exclusively on the non-official members. Out of the 11 non-official members, the government proposed to nominate three members from SKM. However, SKM decided not to send any members to participate in this committee.
Therefore, I will now delve into the background and roles of the chairman and the remaining eight non-official members.
The committee is chaired by Sanjay Agarwal, who was secretary of the Union ministry of agriculture during the introduction of the three farm laws. He subsequently represented the Indian government’s perspective in discussions with the SKM and articulated the benefits of the agricultural market reform ordinances in an interview with news channel CNBC.
Second is Dilip Sanghani, chairman of multi-state cooperative society Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative. Sanghani was appointed as the representative of farmers’ cooperative. He is a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Gujarat.
Pramod Chaudhary, appointed as the representative of farmers, serves as a national executive member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh held specific views on the now-repealed three farm laws.
Another committee member, Sayyed Pasha Patel, appointed as a representative of farmers, is a former BJP Maharashtra Legislative Council member. Several other committee members are also associated with BJP-affiliated organisations or have expressed support for the repealed farm laws.
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Workings of the Committee
It has been 18 months since the establishment of this committee, and it has convened on 35 occasions in this period as per a government reply to the Parliament. Unfortunately, the government has not provided any information regarding the anticipated submission date for the committee’s report.
MP Deepender Hooda raised this question in the Rajya Sabha, but the government did not reply to the question. My attempt to acquire details through the RTI resulted in a response stating that the information is not available.
Furthermore, despite the committee and various subcommittees holding meetings, my request for the minutes of these committee meetings was met with a response from the Ministry indicating that the information is unavailable.
Additionally, when I sought information about the communication of this committee with farmers’ organisations, the government replied with a simple, “Not available.” As per the RTI reply, the government has allocated Rs 35 lakh for the functioning of this committee.
Commitment vs Committee
The fundamental question I aimed to address is whether the government was genuinely committed to resolving agricultural issues or not. Farmers are seeking a clear commitment from the government, particularly regarding MSP. However, it appears that the government’s strategy involves keeping farmers engaged in committees.
The Swaminathan Commission in 2004-2006 and the 2016 committee on doubling farmer income discussed important farming issues. The Swaminathan committee suggested that the MSP for crops should be at least 50 per cent more than the cost of production. They also recommended adding nutritious cereals like millets to the Public Distribution System.
The Modi government has tried various approaches to MSP and procurement. They introduced the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme, which aims to cover all oilseeds with MSP. Additionally, the government launched the Private Procurement Stockist Scheme on a trial basis in specific districts or Agricultural Produce Market Committees.
Likewise, ZBNF is not unknown to the government. In 2016, the government awarded agriculturist Subhash Palekar the Padma Shri award for farming practices.
Read more: Indian farmers protests: The higher the yield, the greater the discontent
In 2019 July Budget Speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “We shall go back to basics on one count: Zero budget farming. We need to replicate this innovative model, through which, in a few states, farmers are already being trained in this practice.”
Indeed, the concept of natural farming was discussed in three consecutive budget speeches by Sitharaman in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The committee on doubling farmer income has generated two comprehensive reports on sustainable agriculture.
Report V addresses sustainability concerns in agriculture, while Report VI outlines specific strategies for sustainability, and it was presented in 2017. However, despite these efforts, the implementation has remained weak.
The Prime Minister’s speech in 2021 brought fresh hope to farmers. However, two years have passed and the committee has yet to submit an interim report, and we have no idea when they will. More than 200 farmers’ unions in India plan to march towards Delhi in February 2024. It’s crucial for the government to shift its mindset towards keeping farmers engaged in committees. The focus should be on ensuring the well-being of farmers.
Suchak Patel is an independent journalist
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
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