FARMERS' BATTLE FOR MSP LAW. IS IT A FAIR ASK?

Farmers are back on the streets. Their demand has sharply divided both public and expert opinion

- Sayantan Bera

In the afternoon of 13 February, a highway pit stop dividing the states of Haryana and Punjab in northwestern India, known to many now as the Shambhu border crossing, resembled a conflict zone. Thousands of farmers from Punjab tried to push their way into Haryana to reach the national capital, Delhi. The plan was to cover the 200km journey in a convoy of tractor trolleys and cars.

Braving a steady stream of tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and pellet guns fired by the state police, the protesting farmers managed to break down a few layers of concrete barriers. The angry farmers also uprooted steel spikes which were cemented on the highway to prevent the convoy from entering Haryana.

Eventually, they retired for the night following 'ceasefire' instructions from union leaders. Hopes were pinned on negotiations with the government, which began a day earlier.

On 18 February, the fourth round of talks took place in Chandigarh, where farm union leaders met three union government representatives-food minister Piyush Goyal, agriculture minister Arjun Munda and junior home minister Nityanand Rai. The government offered what Goyal termed an 'out of the box' solution.

State agencies will purchase oilseeds, pulses and cotton grown by Punjab farmers at minimum support prices (MSP) for the next five years. The contract farming arrangement will aid growers move away from the wheat-rice cycle which has depleted soils and exhausted groundwater supplies, putting the once prosperous cradle of green revolution at grave risk.

MSP is the price at which the government buys non-perishable produce directly from farmers. So far, it has largely been limited to rice and wheatbecause the government needs those grain supplies to run its massive food security scheme. Every year, the government announces support prices for 23 crops, providing a price signal to farmers before they plant.