In an interview where he argues very strongly in favour of a legally binding minimum support price for 23 crops, agriculture policy expert Devinder Sharma has said there is “no other way”.Sharma said, “We have tried all other permutations and combinations” and they have not really helped the farmer. Making the minimum support price legally binding is, he says, not just the only way but the best way of helping farmers.Sharma pointed out that the average income of agricultural households is just Rs 10,218 per month. He said if you only look at the income farmers derive from farming i.e. not from other non-agricultural activities, it comes to only Rs 27 per day. Clearly farmers need a very large measure of support.Sharma argued against relying upon the market. He said, “markets have failed farmers everywhere in the world”. He cited detailed examples of how in the European Union and US, governments intervene strenuously and substantially to help farmers.Sharma agreed that one of the problems that have beset farmers is that governments – not just the BJP but historically – have had a pro-consumer bias. They care more about controlling inflation for the urban population than raising the real income of farmers.
