Farmers' protest receives support from across the nation

Farmers organisations from Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh have come out in support of their comrades from Punjab and Haryana

The unhappiness of farmers from Punjab and Haryana over farm sector reforms is now finding resonance across several states, a week after protestors knocked at the gates of the national capital.

Farmers organisations from states such as Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh have come out in support of their comrades from Punjab and Haryana, where the key crops of wheat and paddy are largely purchased through markets run by Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) at minimum support price fixed by the Centre.

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"Punjab is the biggest gainer as 95 per cent of its market arrivals of wheat and paddy are procured at MSP by state agencies on behalf of the Food Corporation of India," said Ashok Gulati, former Chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices.

In neighbouring western Uttar Pradesh, sugarcane is the key cash crop and farmers there are mostly unaffected by the farm sector reforms as most of their produce is supplied to privately-run sugar mills. The wheat grown in the region also makes its way to private traders.

“The primary cash crop of the farmers in the western and many other districts in the central Uttar Pradesh is sugarcane, which is bought directly by the private mills....the cane growers do not take their produce to the markets and hence are unaffected by the laws,” said Rakesh Tikait, President of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, which has considerable influence in western Uttar Pradesh.

Tikait, however, said that hundreds of farmers from UP had joined the protests to support the farmers of Punjab and Haryana.

The farmers in Punjab and Haryana had begun their protests on Sept. 24, when Parliament passed the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

Their protests caught the national attention when the farmers’ organisations, under the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, marched to the national capital last Thursday demanding removal of the laws.

As the farmers dug in their heels at various border points in the national capital, they have started getting support from farmers’ groups from other states.

“They understood the detrimental factors in the new farm laws quickly, while our farmers are beginning to understand it now,” said Kondal Reddy, convenor, Telangana, Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an NGO operating in the farm sector.

Sporadic protests were also seen in West Bengal, where the CPI(M)-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha, led the agitation, making attempts to win back its one time support base of farmers who shifted allegiance to the Trinamool Congress in 2011.

The ruling Trinamool Congress has also decided to hit the streets with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanding a repeal of the farm laws.

In Gujarat, farmers’ organisations are silent over the agitation as they believe that the reforms initiated by the Centre would allow them to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

“At least in Gujarat, I can say that the farmers were unhappy with APMC. Whenever the farmers would directly transact with traders, the APMC inspectors would appear and would charge the traders cess,” said Sagar Rabari, President of the Khedut Ekta Manch.

In Karnataka, farmers groups in different districts have begun staging demonstrations in solidarity with the farmers in Delhi.

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar said that at least 10,000 to 15,000 farmers across the state would protest in front of the Vidhana Soudha on Dec. 7 when the winter session begins.

Bihar, which abolished APMC markets in 2006, has not witnessed any agitation by farmers against the farm sector reforms.

“First, unlike Punjab, there are a few big farmers here. Secondly, instead of commercial farming, Bihar witnesses sustenance farming. Third, there is no organised union or unity among the farmers here,” A K Singh, a Gaya-based farmer, told DH.

In Kerala, the All India Kisan Sabha cadre was busy with the local body elections and hence could not participate in the agitation in Delhi.

However, demonstrations against the new laws are being carried out even at the grassroot levels and it is one of the key issues that is being discussed during election campaigns.

In Assam, at least 10 farmer organisations staged protests in different parts of the state on Monday demanding a rollback of the new farm laws.