Doubling farmers' income by 2022

The Government of India has set an ambitious target for itself. Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated this target of Doubling Farmers' Income by 2022. Farm distress has affected everyone; with farmers taking to streets, some died due to suicides too, the Opposition cornering the Government inside and outside the Parliament, and the Government waiving off the loans and promising more to the farmers.
I attended a seminar last week on "Minimum Support Price for Crops" and "Agri-Export Policy" on 3rd April at India Habitat Centre, another thinktank place in New Delhi. This was organized by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture, not to be confused with Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The former is a thinktank, an NGO that also supports policies and commerce directly and indirectly.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crop produce was a concept introduced in 1970s to support the farmers with minimum price of their produce guaranteed by the Govt in case of glut in production and fall in prices. The need at that time was to produce more. As the agriculture progressed, and the country became self sufficient in food production, high production had its own adverse effects. Farmers had to resort to distress sale or burn their crops as they did not get minimum prices. Volatility of farm prices were often unpredictable. MSP that time and even now was not a renumerative price, not similar to what MS Swaminathan commission advocated and this Govt has committed now to offer to the farmers. Some panelist therefore felt the need to move ahead of MSP as the Govt will not be able to take the financial burden of increasing support to the farmers over a long period. They felt need for improving market mechanisms, removing intermediaries between farmers and consumers, amending Agril Produce Marketing Committee (APMC)Act. But, The APMC is now a force to reckon with, full of politics and politicians that influence the Govt. Of course, it will not be easy to get over it.
Others felt that Govt is playing around by promising not what MS Swaminathan has recommended. It is a surprise to know that MSP has helped only 7-8% farmers; others were left to fend for themselves especially to the dictates of middlemen or marketmen (adathies that we call locally).
Slow growth in Ag GDP is pulling down overall GDP. Maharashtra had negative Ag GDP.  Overall Ag GDP is between 3-4%. As farm entreprises and farm growth is slow, one wonders as to how the dream of doubling farmers' income come true by 2022.
Of course, there are some genuine optimists; many others are fake; and many more are looking for bare subsistence.

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