Historian W. H. Moreland wrote on the agrarian system of Mughal India: “The peasant is the last person to benefit from price rise while he is the first to suffer from a fall.”
“It holds true even today. In spite of government initiatives, the prices for the consumers continue to rise and the farmers' share in the consumer price keeps falling. Sometime back in April last year when the price of onion cost Rs.4 a kg, no political party raised concern for the farmers.
“When the price suddently shot up to Rs.70 a kg, the media and political parties went berserk cancelling exports and import duty, conveniently forgetting the farmers,” says Mr. Ajay Vir Jakhar, Chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj, New Delhi.
Members
Nearly one lakh famers are members of the Samaj spread across the country and maintain regular contact through meetings, conventions, seminars, training camps, fairs, farmers exchange programmes, and exhibitions.
A monthly journal called ‘Krishak samachar' in English and Hindi and a monthly magazine called “Farmers forum” on subscription, are also published for the benefit of farmers.
“Government should not import onions,” stresses Mr. Ajay. “Abolition of duty and symbolic gestures of imports may suffice for now as the new crop, delayed by the unseasonal rains, is starting to arrive,” he adds.
“Historically, governments always overreact to crises. An abrupt rise in commodity prices leads to banning of exports. This happens for rice, wheat, sugarcane and now onions in a bid to reduce food prices. But it does not help in reducing the rate of inflation.
“The farmer is always subsidizing the urban consumer. Nobody seems to consider that being the largest section of the country, farmers are naturally also the largest consumers themselves.”
Decreasing yields
Decreasing yields increases the production cost of any crop. The price of the commodity is bound to rise, but beyond reasonable limits, it is unacceptable to society.
It is possible through correct interventions that both consumer and farmer benefits. Various changes in policy can reduce the volatility to acceptable limits.
Why is the volatility in food prices so high?
It is a fact that volatility of price is inversely proportional to the market size. At the world market, the volatility is minimum and maximum at smaller markets.
One market
“Allow one country to maintain one market; remove artificial boundaries restricting movement of food across states boundaries; stop taxing fruits and vegetables at the Mandi and elsewhere; compensate the States for loss of revenue - the meagre share of revenue to the States from the mandi tax is approximately six per cent of total produce,” he explains.
“The difference in selling price on the farm and the purchase price of the same by a consumer in the city in India, is the highest in the world. It is difficult to judge as to who is the greater beneficiary - the wholesale trader or the street vendor?
In my opinion both work in tandem to deny the farmer his fair share and the consumer his or her savings.” “Why should traders in sabzimandis be allowed to control the destiny of farmers, consumers, and even governments?” he asks.
“Their power stems from the fact that access to new players is controlled by obsolete regulations.”
There is opposition to futures market, but we need to understand that even though beliefs are important, so is science. Standing up for scientific evidence is crucial.
Redressal system
“The Government must set up a redressal system, sort of a single window registration and compulsorily use information technology for transparency and efficiency to benefit both the farmers and consumers.”
For more details contact Mr. Ajay Vir Jakhar, Chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj, A-1 Nizamuddin West, New Delhi-110013, email:aj@bks.org.in, phones: 0 11 – 46121708 and 65650384.
