Farmers continue to spoil Modi's fag-end stint party of 10 years regime: Unions reject five-year contracts for minimum support prices (MSPs) proposed

The Central government offered guaranteed support prices for pulses, corn and cotton in a bid to break a deadlock with protesting farmers, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday after week-long clashes between police, other forces and protesters.

But on Monday, Feb 19, Indian farmers' unions rejected five-year contracts for minimum support prices (MSPs) proposed by the government.

A senior farmers' leader made an appeal to the government to either meet the demands raised by the farmers or allow them to protest peacefully in Delhi. He also urged all protesting farmers not to indulge in violence.  

The farmers' unions had said they would decide on the proposal (as mooted on Sunday) within a day or two, after reaching consensus among themselves. 

But Jagjit Singh Dallewal said in a video that the unions had rejected the proposal.

Some farm analysts said the government has completely sidestepped the demands of farmers.

"The government should have at least addressed one of the main demands of a legal guarantee for MSPs," said Devinder Sharma, an independent food and trade policy analyst.  

Commerce Minister Goyal had said that the government had proposed five-year contracts for minimum support prices (MSPs) to farmers who diversify their crops to grow cotton, pigeon peas, black matpe, red lentils and corn, paid by co-operative groups it promotes.

"These organisations will buy the produce and there will be no limit on quantity," Goyal told reporters in the northern city of Chandigarh, adding that a similar price guarantee would also be offered to farmers who diversify and produce cotton.  

The protesting farmers' groups in Noida and Greater Noida on Monday said they will march to Delhi on February 23 to press for resolution of their issues, including developed plots and increased compensation for their land acquired in the past.

Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, commerce minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for home affairs, Nityanand Rai held a meeting with farmers on Sunday. The meeting was also joined by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

During the meeting, the Centre pitched a five-year plan to buy pulses, maize, and cotton crops from them at the MSP.

“Cooperative societies like the NCCF and Nafed will contract with farmers who grow tur dal, urad dal, masoor dal or maize to buy their crop at MSP for the next five years," Union food and public distribution minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after meeting with the farmers.

“Cereals like arhar or tur, urad, if brought under MSP, would lead to a reduction in imports, recover the depleted water level of Punjab, as well as provide economic pulses for consumers," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that his government was helping farmers to take agriculture on a new path, and laid focus on natural farming and millets. He also referred to the Bharat Ratna award to former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

“Just a few days ago, our government had the privilege of awarding Bharat Ratna to the messiah of farmers, Chaudhary Charan Singh,” he said.

The award to Singh, the son of the soil of Uttar Pradesh, is an honour for crores of labourers and crores of farmers of the country as well, he added. On Uttar Pradesh’s pivotal role in driving the rural economy and agriculture-based economy of India, the prime minister called upon stakeholders to maximize the benefits of this opportunity. He expressed confidence in the capabilities of the people of Uttar Pradesh and the efforts of the “double-engine government” in laying the foundation for the state’s and the nation’s progress.

Modi launched 14,000 projects across Uttar Pradesh worth more than Rs 10 lakh crore at the fourth ground-breaking ceremony here on Monday for investment proposals received during the UP Global Investors Summit.

The projects relate to sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, food processing, housing and real estate, hospitality and entertainment, and education.

ends