I think we’ve all heard the phrase, don’t bite the hand that feeds you, right? Right now, I think we can say that this is pretty applicable to what’s going on in India right now. Myriads of farmers are coming together to protest against three new laws the Indian Government has recently passed in regards to agriculture. These laws are detrimental to these farmer’s livelihood because of the impact on the security of their wages. Let’s take a look:

The purpose of these three laws is to enfranchise the agricultural sector from government interference. The first law allows farmers to sell directly to private companies rather than government-controlled markets (such as the Agricultural Produce Market Committee). This means that (based on the context of the law so far until it is guaranteed) the government is not responsible for paying minimum support prices to the farmers, and corporations can set any price to buy crops at. The problem is, crop prices are already pretty low. Due to these low prices, many farmers take their lives. Almost 16,000 farmers die each year due to strenuous factors such as debt.

The second law allows farmers to get into contracts with predetermined prices. Being that corporations have more powers than these farmers, these farmers may be obliged to get into these contracts, even if it is not in their best interest. Factors such as inflation change prices and the value of products every day, so these predetermined prices may not be able to keep up.

The last law reduces government interference in the distribution of food products.

While a free market is encouraged, it works when there is no corruption. Free market prices in this case are lower than the minimum support prices, and the cost of producing crops outweighs the price of the crops.

The agricultural sector employs half of India’s population and contributes around 15% of India’s economy. When the supply of something is higher, the demand is lower causing a drop in prices. In this case, the livelihoods of the multitudes of farmers are not able to be sustained, and these reforms might hurt them even more. Sometimes, there is a surplus of farmers but not enough crops to sell due to environmental factors, harming them even more. While there is a need for change, handing over the sustenance of the people that feed us to large corporations will only increase the wealth gap. 

Ways we can make an impact and protect our people include texting PKGYOP to 50409 or supporting the following organizations:

Haritika
Manuvikasa
Rajasthan Bal Kalyan Samiti (RBKS)
Bhagini Nivedita Gramin Vigyan Niketan (BNGVN)
Dreams Alive
AARDE Foundation
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA)
Centre For Dignity (CFD)
MUKTI
VRUTTI

Works Cited:

Biswas, S. (2020, December 03). What has brought India's farmers to the streets? Retrieved December 08, 2020, from bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55157574 

Frayer, L., & Pathak, S. (2020, December 04). Crowds Of Indian Farmers Gather For Days To Protest New Agriculture Laws. Retrieved December 08, 2020, from npr.org/2020/12/04/943082236/indias-farmers-man-barricades-in-delhi-protesting-new-agriculture-laws

Merriott, D. (2016, April 11). Factors associated with the farmer suicide crisis in India. Retrieved December 08, 2020, from sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210600615300277 

Shah, F. (2020, November 28). India's Farmers Come Out in Force Against Modi. Retrieved December 08, 2020, from foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/28/india-farmer-modi-agriculture-law-protest/

Sahelirc. (2020, December 03). India's government to meet farmers as thousands protest against farm reforms. Retrieved December 08, 2020, from cnbc.com/2020/12/03/why-india-farmers-are-protesting-three-farm-reform-bills.html