Farmer Protest / 'Attempts are being made to mislead us, Swaminathan Commission report should be implemented' - Pandher's demand

Farmer Protest: Talks between the government and farmers on minimum support price have once again failed and farmers have announced to march to Delhi on 21 February. Farmers have rejected the government's proposal of MSP guarantee on 5 crops. Farmers say that this proposal of the government is not going to do any good to the farmers, hence they are not ready to accept it. Farmers alleged that the government is trying to pass time.

Government is trying to mislead us- Sarwan Singh Pandher

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that the government is trying to mislead us through the Legal Guarantee Act. He has demanded that the government implement the Swaminathan Commission report. He said, 'We appeal to the government to either resolve our issues or remove the barricades and allow us to go to Delhi to protest peacefully.'

Government not ready for MSP on 23 crops - farmers' organization

Farmers say that the government should fix the minimum support price on 23 crops, but the government is not ready for this proposal. Minimum support price has been guaranteed by the government on only 5 crops. Along with rejecting the government's proposal, farmer organizations have announced that they will march to Delhi on February 21 at 11 am.

Government's intentions are not clear - Dallewal

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said that the intentions of the government are not clear, the government is not serious on our demands. He said that farmers want the government to decide the minimum support price formula for 23 crops. The proposal given to the farmers by the government is not going to benefit the farmers in any way. Dallewal said the government should take a decision now, and he felt there was no need for further discussion.

The amount of palm oil the government buys, the same amount should be given for MSP - Dallewal

Dallewal said that in the fourth round of talks, Union Ministers said that if the government gives guarantee on the purchase of pulses, it will put an additional burden of Rs 1.50 lakh crore on the exchequer. Citing the calculations of an agriculture expert, Dallewal said that if minimum support price is given for all crops, Rs 1.75 lakh crore will be required. He said that the government purchases palm oil worth Rs 1.75 lakh crore and if this Rs 1.75 lakh crore is spent on growing other crops by ensuring legal guarantee for MSP, then it will not put any burden on the government.

Farmers do not get much benefit from the government's proposal - Dallewal

He said that the Centre's proposal to buy five crops at MSP will be only for those who adopt crop diversification i.e. MSP will be given only to those who will cultivate pulses instead of paddy and not to those who grow moong crop instead of paddy. will be given. Dallewal said that this will not benefit the farmers. He said that farmers are demanding MSP on all 23 crops and the MSP is based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). Dallewal claimed that crop prices based on CACP recommendations cannot ensure remunerative income to farmers.

The government had proposed a five-year agreement

In fact, after talks with farmers, a committee of three Union ministers had proposed a five-year agreement for purchasing pulses, maize and cotton at MSP by government agencies. The committee of three Union ministers – Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai had put forward this proposal to the farmers during the fourth round of talks in Chandigarh. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Monday rejected the government's proposal, saying it was an attempt to "distract and dilute" the farmers' demand for MSP and they were against the MSP recommended in the Swaminathan Commission report. We will not accept anything less than the 'C-2 plus 50 per cent' formula.