The Hindu Business Line : Is there hope for farmers?

The National Commission on Farmers was set up by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2004 end. The first chairman of the Commission was MrSompal, a former Agriculture Minister of State and a Member of the Planning Commission. He was replaced in 2005 by the UPA Government by the eminent farm scientist Dr M. S. Swaminathan. The Commission has brought out its report in five volumes.

Dismal scene

The Commission, whose Chairman enjoyed the rank of a Cabinet Minister, was appointed in the background of a generally dismal agricultural scene: Low rate of growth in agriculture in contrast to the impressive strides in GDP, declining public and private investments in agriculture, shortages of edible oil and pulses and the plateauing of the foodgrains production, and the spate of suicides by farmers in various States. It was not the first commission on agriculture; there have been many in the past. It was supposed to be a National Commission on Farmers that should give particular emphasis on not the farm production and productivity but on the economic and social conditions of the farming community.

The National Commission on Farmers starts by declaring that it is necessary to put faces to figures. It, however, does not live up to the expectations it creates. One notices hardly any difference between the previous reports on Indian Agriculture and the latest one on the farmers. The Committee recommends two programmes for improving the lot of the farmers: Increase productivity and provide remunerative markets. But raising productivity demands improvement in the supply and quality of inputs and also their management.

Much of the report is given to discussing the problems of agriculture and the ponderous analysis thereof that is not strictly relevant to the issue of improving the standards of the farming community. With notes on horticulture, aquaculture, poultry, dairy, small and marginal farmers, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe farmers, the landless and the women, the main issue of poverty of agriculture and the spate of farmer suicides get side-tracked.

Further, the Commission recommends the creation of a large number of bodies at the national, State, district, block and even village levels. . Some of these include:

State-level farmers Commissions for the purpose of ensuring dynamic government response to farmers' problems.

A national federation of farm technology missions to provide convergence of the existing technology missions such as those on oilseeds and cotton.

A national network of advanced soil testing laboratories.

Farms schools in the innovative farmers' fields.

A national steering committee with representatives from the Government of India, IRDA, National Commission for Women, NABARD, IBA, and others to oversee the development of rural insurance.

A National Committee for Hungry India to implement a National Food Guarantee Scheme.

All these recommendations are fine but will be time-consuming and may become fruitless. This is reminiscent of an amusing anecdote that made the rounds among economists for years about Dr V. K. R. V. Rao, who was commissioned to prepare a report on the famine conditions in the 1950s. The report got ready after 10 years and contained minute details starting from the definition of `foodgrains' and `pulses'. But by then the food situation had changed to abundance.

This is one part of the picture. Now, for the other.

Sachar Panel

In March 2005, the Prime Minister's High-Level Committee headed by Justice Sachar was appointed to gather authentic information about the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community. Lack of such data hinders planning, formulating and implementing policies and programmes to address the social and economic backwardness of this community.

The Committee submitted its report recently, and the Prime Minister's statement soon after that the Muslim community ought to have a prior claim on the resources of the nation, generated considerable controversy.

The Sachar panel concluded that the community suffers from deficits and deprivations in practically all dimensions. It recommended the creation of a National Databank so that the voluminous data that it has compiled can be updated and expanded and also a Monitoring Authority to evaluate the percolation of developmental benefits to different social and religious communities.

Juxtaposing the issues

Muslims are the largest single group amongst the minorities; the farmers are the largest single group amongst the majority community. Both the Muslims and the farmers have been in crises. The government has sought reports on both the problems. The report on the minority community has made out well-argued succinct case that is likely to produce some tangible results and improvements. The report on the condition of the farmers will most probably be consigned to the archives where lie many of its earlier versions.

Politics might ensure that the problems of the minority community that are serious but not quite as critical as of the farmers are addressed. But what of the plight of farmers — more than 1.4 lakh of whom have committed suicide in less than 10 years?

(The author, founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana, is a member of the Rajya Sabha. He can be contacted at sharad.mah@nic.in)

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