They pay the price

Whether they grow paddy and cotton or wheat and sugarcane, the farmers' plight is lack of remunerative returns, says GARGI PARSAI.

DECLINING PRICES of agriculture commodities in the domestic and international markets, decelerating growth in the sector, concerns about the World Trade Organisation and now decentralised procurement of cereals for the Public Distribution System are the pressing problems the farmers are facing. Whether it is the paddy and cotton growers in Andhra Pradesh or the wheat cultivators in Punjab and Haryana or the sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, their plight is more or less similar.

There is a surplus of grain and a glut in output of potatoes and tomatoes; the farmers, however, are not getting commensurate remuneration. The imbalance that has crept in points to poor management and lack of foresight. Frequent market interventions, for instance, to ensure a minimum support price has resulted in the subsidy to the National Agriculture Marketing Federation (NAFED) shooting up from Rs. 2 crores last year to Rs. 25 crores this year.

Expectations that these issues would be addressed fully in the budget proposals for 2001-02 have not really been fulfilled, leaving the farm sector as insecure as before, if not more. True, the Agriculture Ministry under Mr. Nitish Kumar presented a considered case for the farm sector in the Mandatory Review of the WTO at Geneva in January this year, but the Union Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha did not go much beyond immediate concerns with regard to lifting of QRs from April 1.

In the immediate scenario, he did raise customs duty on copra, refined edible oils and crude edible oil to check imports, but the action has come too late, just as last year the import duties on wheat, rice and sugar had come after stocks began mounting and prices began falling. Lack of coordination among the various arms of the Government has resulted in situations when the EXIM policy has been far removed from the immediate concerns of the agriculture and food sector.

It must be pointed out that it is not as though the 42 lakh tonnes of edible oil imported in 1999-2000 have helped consumers much. Although the prices in the open market were somewhat stable, the excessive imports helped most the manufacturers of edible oil-based goodies.

Says the new Agriculture Secretary, Mr. J.N.L. Srivastava, ``The Government has already said that the tariff would be regulated if the internal situation so demands but at the end of the day, the per unit cost of cultivation should come down for farmers to become competitive in the international market.''

As it is, the budget talks little of measures to enhance growth to 4 per cent. The incentives that are there are mostly for the post-harvest facilities such as cold storages and godowns for small farmers who rarely have holding capacity. Dr. Krishnavir Choudhary of the Bharat Krishak Samaj feels incentives for research in technology, reduction in input costs, quality seeds, farm implements including tractors, power tillers and diesel pumpsets and integrated pest management would have gone a long way in helping out farmers at this stage.

Poor quality seeds and adulterated pesticides have been at the centre of the problems faced by cotton growers in Andhra Pradesh. Lack of proper extension services, training and education has again led to suicides by some farmers.

However, Prof. Uma Reddy Venkateshwarlu, Chairman of the Estimates Committee, does not put down all cases of suicides in Warangal district to farming distress. Some could have been personal, he says although he does point out that an overall glut in commercial crops in the State has not brought farmers remunerative prices leading to a situation of distress. A crop holiday to tobacco last year had enhanced the area under cotton which added to the problem of plenty.

On its part, by decentralising procurement of grain, the Centre has given a message to the States that they are on their own.

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