Lucknow: Six years after the farmers’ agitation against the three controversial farm laws began, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for demonstrations across the country on November 26, seeking to revive the farmers’ movement around issues ranging from minimum support price (MSP) and fertiliser shortages to rural employment and mounting agricultural debt.At a meeting of its Uttar Pradesh state council in Lucknow on Wednesday, SKM leaders announced that farmers would stage protests at the headquarters of all 75 districts in the state. Farmers from districts in the National Capital Region (NCR) would demonstrate in New Delhi.The meeting, held at Laxmi Sehgal Bhawan, was addressed by SKM national leaders P. Krishna Prasad and Ashish Mittal. The November 26 mobilisation will mark six years since farmers began their protest against the three farm laws enacted by the Narendra Modi government in 2020.The laws – the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act – were repealed by parliament in November 2021 after a year-long farmers’ agitation. The movement, which saw thousands of farmers camping at Delhi’s borders, emerged as one of the biggest political challenges for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government.‘Issues remain unresolved’SKM leaders said the concerns that brought farmers to the streets in 2020 remained unresolved, while rising cultivation costs, inadequate procurement and indebtedness had further deepened agrarian distress.“The conditions of farmers are very pathetic in India’s most politically significant state. Farmers are living in agrarian distress and facing a financial crisis,” Krishna Prasad, finance secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, said.A major demand raised at the meeting was a legal guarantee of MSP for all crops and effective procurement at the declared rates. Prasad said direct cash assistance to farmers could not substitute for a remunerative price for their produce.“If the government wants, it can withdraw the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi but should ensure MSP for every farmer,” he said.Prasad said the issue was particularly significant in Uttar Pradesh, where concerns over inadequate paddy procurement continue to affect farmers. The state produces around 20–21 million metric tonnes of rice annually, while the government’s paddy procurement target for the 2026–27 Kharif Marketing Season stands at 6.5 million metric tonnes (65 lakh tonnes). The MSP for common-grade paddy has been fixed at Rs 2,441 per quintal for the season.MSP, black marketing and fertiliser shortagesSKM leaders alleged that a substantial number of farmers were unable to sell their produce at the official rate and were being forced to depend on private traders. Mittal, vice-president of the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha, said small farmers were particularly vulnerable to distress sales.“Small farmers have to sell at much lower rates, almost Rs 1,500 per quintal, than the declared MSP of Rs 2,441. The loss per acre due to this is almost Rs 30,000,” Mittal said.Fertiliser shortages and alleged black marketing, particularly during the crucial sowing season, also figured prominently at the meeting.Krishna Prasad alleged that restrictions on fertiliser distribution, including demands for land ownership documents, were creating difficulties for sharecroppers and tenant farmers who cultivate land without formal ownership records.According to Prasad, a 45-kg bag of urea, officially priced at Rs 242, was allegedly being sold for around Rs 400 in the black market. Similarly, a 50-kg bag of diammonium phosphate (DAP), whose official price was Rs 1,350 during the Kharif 2026 season, was reportedly being sold for as much as Rs 1,800.He said the shortage of DAP during the sowing period had increased the financial burden on wheat and potato growers, who were already struggling with rising cultivation costs.The farmer leaders also raised concerns over mounting indebtedness among small and marginal farmers, agricultural workers and landless households. Mittal alleged that aggressive loan recovery practices by microfinance institutions (MFIs) were putting severe pressure on poor rural households.“Massive recovery of Microfinance Institution (MFI) loans is forcing landless peasants and agricultural workers to flee their homes and sell their meagre assets,” he said.Trade and weather conditionsSpeaking to The Wire, Mittal said the proposed India-US Free Trade Agreement had also come under criticism at the meeting. He expressed concern that allowing large-scale imports of American agricultural products could expose Indian farmers to unfair competition.The SKM warned that imports of wheat, maize, pulses, edible oils, poultry and dairy products could adversely affect domestic producers, particularly small and marginal farmers who lack the financial capacity to compete with large international agricultural producers.Sugarcane pricing and crop losses caused by adverse weather conditions also figured in the meeting. All India Kisan Sabha leader Mukut Singh demanded that the sugarcane price in Uttar Pradesh be raised to Rs 600 per quintal. He also sought compensation of Rs 60,000 per acre for farmers whose crops were damaged by unseasonal rain and strong winds in September 2026.Employment guarantee, schooling and SIRThe proposed replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, also drew criticism from SKM leaders. The new law provides for a 125-day employment guarantee for eligible rural households. SKM leaders demanded that the guarantee be raised to 200 days and that the daily wage be fixed at Rs 700.The leaders also raised concerns over the alleged closure and merger of 25,000 government schools in Uttar Pradesh, saying the move could affect children from poor and farming families. They called for a review of the exercise and stronger public investment in education.The state government has previously maintained that schools with very low enrolment were being merged with nearby institutions rather than closed indiscriminately.The revision of electoral rolls through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was also discussed. SKM leaders demanded a review of deleted voter names and the restoration of eligible voters who may have been left out of the final rolls.UP assembly elections around the cornerThe concerns raised at the meeting reflect the wider economic and political significance of agriculture in Uttar Pradesh. According to government data for 2020-21, 55.09% of the state’s usually working population was engaged in the agriculture sector.SKM leaders said the November 26 demonstrations would seek to bring these issues back into public debate and build pressure on the Centre and the state government to address farmers’ demands. They called upon farmers, agricultural workers and other sections affected by the agrarian crisis to participate in the district-level protests.The mobilisation is being planned at a time when political attention is beginning to turn towards the Assembly elections scheduled in several states in 2027, including Uttar Pradesh. The SKM’s attempt to revive the farmers’ movement could therefore bring agrarian issues back into the political discourse, particularly in a poll-bound state like UP where agriculture remains a major source of livelihood.