The great discontent

Farmers delivered the country’s historic harvest bucking the pandemic in 2020. But the year also broke all records of their protests as they demand fair price and access to markets

- SHAGUN KAPIL AND RAJIT SENGUPTA SINGHU BORDER, DELHI

IT IS not a coincidence that agr-iculture—the only sector that is in the green today—is at the helm of one of the most fierce protests in the country. As farmers harvest more, their demand for a fair price and assured markets is growing stronger. And the three “unpopular” farm laws have only added fuel to the growing dissent.

On November 27, the Union government stopped thousands of angry farmers from entering Delhi. Many hours later, the government relented. Close on the heels, the National Statistical Office released its report on the pandemic-contracted economy for the second quarter. Of the eight major sectors used to calculate the gross domestic product, agriculture alone reported growth. Some of the sectors had shrunk by almost 30 per cent. Agriculture’s contribution to the economy in the first half of the current fiscal year—a gross value added worth ₹834,897 crore— remains the sector’s highest contribution in the past three years. It means farmers managed to deliver a record-breaking production in the Kharif (monsoon) season despite the pandemic. The good spell is likely continue as the area sown under the rabi (winter) crop has increased by 4 per cent, compared to last year.