I am sure if Arun Jaitley had carefully gone through the Economic Survey that was presented two days before the Budget, he would have known how severe the economic crisis in agriculture was. Agriculture alone has the potential to reboot the Indian economy. In reality, the Budget provisions for the year that just passed by were even less than the Rs 18,000 crore that the country spent on importing pulses. can be given Rs 3-lakh crore economic packages when faced with an economic meltdown in 2008-09, agriculture too needs a similar bailout package after two consecutive back to back droughts. They can’t wait for five years. CAG had pointed China Airless Jars Suppliers to a Rs 1.5-lakh crores. Doubling incomes is certainly possible, and the farmers do not have to necessarily wait for five years, provided there is an economic rethinking. If the farmers’ income (measured through MSP he gets) was also raised in the same proportion in the past 45 years, rural India would been a vibrant and progressive economy. Farmers produce 4,500 kg/hectare of wheat and 6,000 kg/hectare of paddy in a region which has 99 per cent assured irrigation.
Since only 6 per cent farmers get the benefit of MSP and 94 per cent are dependent on markets, which are largely exploitative, it is time to move from “price support” to “income support” for farmers. Even the investment for irrigation under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna has in reality come down. But when he announced his intention of doubling farmers’ income in the next five years, I was greatly disappointed. The total Budget provision of Rs 35,983 crore looks a quantum jump but when you look carefully you realise that it’s all a game of statistical jugglery. With 124 suicides already recorded between January and February 15 this year, there appears to be no respite from the continuing tragedy on the farm. The moment I read this news report the very first thought that came to my mind was: “Oh God! Couldn’t they have waited for another five years ” For several decades now, Indian agriculture has been in the throes of a terrible crisis. And yet, five farmers are committing suicide every two days.
An amount of Rs 15,000 crore of interest subvention on the farm credit, which is part of the financial ministry allocations, has been shifted to agriculture thereby giving the impression as if a lot of public sector investment is being made in farming. But more needs to be done. In other words, with a paltry Rs 1,666 as monthly income in these 17 states, what should the farmers be doing Wait for another five years Perhaps going by the Economic Survey recommendations, which makes a very good diagnosis of the existing farm crisis, but comes out with a faulty prognosis terming the central challenge of Indian agriculture as low productivity, Arun Jaitley too emphasised on raising farm productivity to enhance incomes. In Punjab, as per official estimates, 449 farmers had taken their own lives in 2015. Nevertheless, a careful perusal of the Budget proposals for agriculture shows that there is nominal increase in the allocations.
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