Farmers' protests are currently ongoing across country, and among their demands is one which has remained constant since 2010s- implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report.
Be it in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab or Tamil Nadu, farmers from various states over the years have sough the implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission's recommendations in toto.
The capital city, choc-a-bloc with protesting farmers demanding MSP guarantee law, Swaminathan Committee report, Electricity amendment bill and debt waiver.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government has sought to soothe nerves by saying that a law guaranteeing MSP on crops could not be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders, the Congress' Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that if the party is voted to power, it will give a legal guarantee of MSP to every farmer as per Swaminathan Commission.
The Narendra Modi government in 2019, after pulling its infamous farm laws, said it accepted 200 out of the 201 recommendations made by the commission, including the demand on MSP.
The late MS Swaminathan, a renowned agriculturist and the father, who was recently conferred the Bharat Ratna, chaired the National Commission on Farmers. The NCF had submitted a total of five reports between December 2004-2006.
Based on the draft NPF, the government had approved the National Policy for Farmers, 2007, with an aim to improve the economic viability of farming and increase the net income of farmers.
The policy included asset reforms w.r.t various natural resources, supply of good quality seeds, timely & adequate reach of institutional credit, coverage of farmers under a comprehensive national social security scheme, effective implementation of MSP, among others.
The NCF had recommended that the MSP should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production. This was also known as the C2+50 per cent formula, which includes the input cost of capital and the rent on the land, to give the farmers 50 per cent of the returns.
It may be noted that this recommendation was not included by the UPA government in the National Policy for Farmers which was finalised in 2007.
One of the key findings of the panel was that agrarian crisis arising from incomplete land reforms, quantity and quality of water, tech fatigue was leading to farmers' suicides. In addition, adverse metereological factors were a problem too. To this extent, the NCF had called for adding 'agriculture' in the Concurrent List of the country's Constitution.
The commission also dealt with the problems around farmers and land reforms. The panel suggested that diversion of 'prime' agricultural land and forest to corporate sector for non-agricultural purposes should not be allowed. It also recommended setting up of a mechanism which would help regulate the sale of agricultural land, based on a few conditions.
On the irrigation front, the commission called for reforms which would help farmers have sustained and equitable access to water. It further recommended increasing investment in the irrigation sector under the now defunct five year plan.
To enhance the productivity in India's agriculture sector, the NCF recommended increasing investment in agriculture-related infrastructure. It also suggested promoting conservation farming. This would help farmers conserve and improve soil health, among other benefits.
Improving credit availability for the farmers is an issue the commission touched upon. Among the multiple suggestions, it recommended reduction in the rate of crop loans to 4 per cent 'simple', with government support. It further suggested issuing Kisan Credit Cards to female farmers.
On the insurance front, the NCF recommended the creation of a Rural Insurance Development Fund, which would help fund the development work for spreading rural insurance.
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Source Name : Economic Times