With little over than a year left for the 2019 general elections, the Narendra Modi led NDA government has finally remembered the farmers of the country. Last week, finance minister Arun Jaitley said agriculture sector is the government’s top priority in this year’s budget. This has left many surprised considering BJP had promised to ensure a minimum of 50% profit over cost of production in their 2014 election manifesto. Sadly, the government has failed to deliver on most promises made to farmers.
The NDA government set up a committee on Doubling Farmers’ Incomes (DFI) only in 2016 which has managed to prepare a detailed plan now. The plan proposes big reforms but mainly to streamline the current administrative structure rather than suggest solutions for the practical problems faced by farmers on a day-to-day basis. The major reason for farmer distress across the country is poor management of price mechanism of agricultural commodities.
Before any reform, the government must announce a clear policy that provides cushion to farmers against price volatility. As per data available with Agmarknet and e-NAM portal, farmers are getting the Minimum Support Price or higher prices for only soyabean and cotton from a total of 15 major cereals, pulses and oilseeds produced in the country.
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