By Kaveesha Fernando
NEW DELHI, India (CWBN)_ The Spices Board of India states that India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices in the world, while India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) states that the country is the world’s second-largest producer of cereals (such as rice and wheat), as well as fruits and vegetables. The World Bank reports that India is also the world’s second-largest producer of cotton. Alongside these statistics, India is also reported to have one of the highest rates of farmer suicides in the world, with at least 300 000 farmers having committed suicide since 1995 (most of these cases relating to debt).
These are just some of the reasons why the rest of the world should be concerned about the farmers protest taking place in India. Statistically speaking, there’s a good chance that the grains you consume, the spices you flavour your food with and the cotton which forms your favourite T-shirt (among other things) come from the hands of an Indian farmer pushed to the brink of suicide through crippling poverty. While the agriculture industry in India is booming, the people least benefited by the growth seem to be the farmers. It’s unlikely that the outcome of the protests itself will have a direct (and drastic) impact on the rest of the world. However, in an age where wealth inequality and worker exploitation is questioned and people look towards supporting ethical corporations which in turn support the rural sector, the problems faced by Indian farmers is of clear significance.
The situation has never been great. Indian economist Arindam Banerjee feels that the way the agricultural industry in India functions could be viewed as a reason for the impoverishment of Indian farmers. “The rising cost structures of agriculture, seed and fertilizer prices, particularly with the deregulation of those markets are much higher and at the same time the higher prices that are expected from the markets are not always realizing, all of this leading to a squeeze in income for farmers, and therefore leading to rising indebtedness,” he explained to a foreign news network recently. Others have stated that the prices at which the government buys produce from farmers are too low, thus contributing to their poverty.
Then why the sudden protest? Farmers are outraged by three new laws, passed this September: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The laws will reform decades-long regulation of the sale, pricing and storage of produce, which has offered farmers protection against private-sector exploitation. Among the concerns raised are fears that large corporations will drive prices down by strong-arming desperate farmers and that they will stockpile food during the season and sell it offseason for higher prices.
In light of these on-going issues, many experts feel that the protests are fuelled not just by the new laws but also by the rising indignities which Indian farmers have faced over the past few decades. The bitterness and resentment which has been left simmering for years has finally boiled over. The protests do not show any signs of abating – the farmers have stockpiled food, organised places where they can do their laundry and even started growing produce on the side of the road.
When one examines the issue, it becomes clear that the surface issues are just the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps the world should shift its focus when thinking about the protest. Instead of looking only at the new Indian farm laws, maybe we should be looking at how the people behind a sizeable amount of the world’s produce have routinely been exploited, and how the world (for the most part) has been blind to it. That way, even if the Indian farmers win the battle and have the three laws in question repealed, we will know that there are still many inequalities which need to be addressed.
