While the farmers’ movement began initially as a protest against the three Central farm laws, one of the demands that emerged quickly was to make minimum support price (MSP) a legal right. Why is MSP so important for the farmers? At the Kisan Sansad on Wednesday, the farmers answered this question.When I walked in, tea was being served and the first session had just began. MSP and the Swaminathan report were being discussed.Each season, the MSP for crops is decided by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Produce (CACP). As per its website, the CACP analyses “demand and supply”, “cost of production”, and other things to provide “a minimum of 50% as the margin over the cost of production” for farmers. Superficially, this appears to be in line with the Swaminathan Committee report, which advocates for higher margins for farmers and other supporting measures. Things seem to be in order on paper. But are they really?Also Read: Kisan Sansad Sheds Light on What’s Wrong With New Electricity BillSatyaveer Tyagi, a farmer from Uttar Pradesh, disputed this claim. “CACP recommendations are far lower than Swaminathan’s MSP formula. CACP leaves many costs out, like actual input costs and the value of our labour. They treat us as unskilled labour and then only count 156 working days, instead of 365. Our whole family works on the farm, but somehow our labour has no value,” he said.“The CACP vision is lopsided as they don’t factor in soil fertility losses, cost of hiring a tractor and other debt and interest costs. CACP calls upon corporations like Patanjali to their meetings and not farmers. If the minutes of the CACP’s meetings and their list of attendees is released, it will become clear why farmers are not happy with the current MSP formula,” said Ishwar Singh, from Haryana.It was about then that an announcement was made: “The Indian parliament will discuss the farm laws at 2 pm.” The Kisan Sansad cheered on and we heard a crackling sound from behind the stage, a short circuit. Electricity-less, the farmers’ representatives continued to speak.A scene from the Kisan Sansad. Photo: Indra Shekhar SinghVikram Kamre from Madhya Pradesh was next. “We ask for MSP, not MRP like the corporations, yet we don’t get it. In MP, wheat is sold at Rs 1,600-1,800. [The MSP is Rs 1.975.] Wherever you look, only farmers are cheated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says there is no money to buy the farmers’ produce, yet there is Rs 20,000 crore available for the Central Vista project,” he said.Concern was expressed at the rising costs of labour, fuel and electricity and also at the high levels of inflation. Dr Shailja dedicated her four minutes to draw out comparisons between salaries of government group C employees and farmers’ incomes. “Over the past 40 years, the rise in farmers incomes is not at par with even the increments of lower-level government employees. While the price of a bottle has increased 150-200%, the price of wheat and paddy is stagnant,” she said.Also Read: ‘If Food Isn’t Essential, What Is?’: Women Farmers Have Questions – and Answers – for Modi Govt“Farmers’ suicides are directly linked with poor MSP realisation and the rural economic distress. We can’t even pay our childrens’ school fees, how can we have a better future?” asked Ramesh Sherawat, from Haryana.Championing the cause of the farmers from Andhra Pradesh, P.V. Narsihma Rao, a turmeric and chilly farmer asked, “Why is there no MSP for us? In the south there is a major problem. First, even people who grow corn, paddy and sugarcane don’t get MSP. The rest of us are at the mercy of the market.”Rajnesh Mann, a farmer from Haryana, tried to expose the “shadow government” which he said is responsible for the three farm laws. “Lobby groups for Big Agriculture is killing MSP and not allowing the implementation of the Swaminathan report. The government is under pressure from corporations like Cargill and Walmart, because if farmers get a fair price, the corporations’ profits will go down,” he said.About then, a white tempo arrived with steaming hot chole-chawal (chick-pea and rice) from Bangla Saheb Gurudwara. As our attention turned towards the food, Aftab Anjum, a Bihari farmer, explained, “Although the farmer grows food, his family is starving. Today the basmati rice that we are eating nourishes only the traders and consumers.”He said the “Bihar model” has for a long time exploited the farmers and enriched the corporate companies. “Without MSP, Indian farmers are doomed,” he said.The Wire then spoke to V.S. Rao, a veteran politician from Andhra Pradesh. He was also one of the speakers at the Kisan Sansad. “At this point, it’s a matter of life and death. If the Swaminathan report is not implemented, the rural economy can never recover. The collateral will be millions of families that are linked to the farming economy. We need to give the cost of production, plus a 50% margin with statuary backing. Over the decades, only 6% of farmers have benefited from the MSP. It is time to do the right thing and free our farmers from the cycle of debt by giving them a fair price.”Indra Shekhar Singh is an independent policy analyst and writer and also the former director of the National Seed Association of India.
