(March 9): Hundreds of farmers and industrial workers gathered in India’s capital on Monday, asking the government to stop what they called concessions to the US in trade talks and to pass a law guaranteeing minimum crop prices.
The gathering comes after a nationwide agitation early last month. Farmers are pressing the issues at a time when energy prices are spiking due to the Middle East conflict, adding another hurdle for growers who largely depend on diesel to run equipment such as water pumps and threshers.
The protest site, close to the historic Jantar Mantar observatory near the parliament complex in New Delhi, was packed with demonstrators. Men shielded themselves from the sun with towels wrapped around their heads, while women wore traditional clothes. Some had begun their journey from neighbouring states early on Monday to attend the meeting.
Protesters said their frustration stemmed partly from India’s deal to allow imports of DDGS, or distillers dried grains, an ethanol byproduct used in animal feed that in the US is largely made from genetically modified corn. Any move to cut duties on soybean oil by India, the largest vegetable oil buyer, would also make US supplies more competitive and hurt local growers, they said.
“Modi has surrendered to America,” said Jaikaran Dahiya, a grain farmer from the northern state of Haryana, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “What will our farmers do if agricultural products are imported at zero duty? This trade deal should be cancelled, as it will benefit only American farmers.”
The gathering also brought back a long-pending demand for a legal guarantee of minimum support prices for crops. Farmers say it would shield them from volatile markets and rising input costs. However, economists have cautioned that making it a law could distort markets and impose a fiscal burden.
See also: Uniqlo aims to improve market by tenfold in India with warmer apparel
The government sets assured floor prices for about two dozen crops. In practice, procurement is concentrated in a few states, where the state-run Food Corporation of India and other agencies buy mainly wheat and rice for welfare programmes, including free grains for about 800 million people each month. In regions where official buying is limited or absent, market prices can plunge during harvest, a gap farmers say highlights the need for a legal provision.
Farmers ended a yearlong protest in late 2021 after Modi’s administration repealed three contentious farm laws and promised to consider a legal backing to crop prices. Little progress has been made since towards ensuring better returns for farmers’ produce.
“The government should provide a legal guarantee of minimum prices for all crops,” said Karnail Singh Ikolaha, a farmer from Khanna in Punjab. “Farmers are not mad for protesting. When their farming is being taken away, when their livelihood and the future of their children are at stake, they are compelled to take to the streets,” he said.
Uploaded by Chng Shear Lane
