Amidst the ongoing furore regarding the Centre’s three farm laws, West Bengal became the sixth state to pass a resolution against the Agro reformation. On January 28, the ruling government in retaliation passed a stringent resolution in the Assembly with an aim that the reforms are ‘Black Laws’ and privatization will discriminate farmers including their income. After Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Kerala, West Bengal government chose to step down the state from imposing the laws that they think is vulnerable for the farmers. However, according to Union Agriculture Ministry data, West Bengal is among the five states in the country that records lowest farmer’s income of Rs. 5,000 per month as compared to Punjab and Haryana with maximum income of Rs. 25,000 per month.
West Bengal is the largest rice producing state following, jute, potato and fish. The ‘Jyoti’ category of potato is one of the major selling crops in Bengal, but, unfortunately the farmers are lagging behind in receiving proper price of their grown. As a result, the farmers are forced to sell their stock at an underrated price. In Bengal, the intermediate or middlemen dominates 90 percent of the distribution channels, whereas, direct market channel penetration is less than 13 percent. Sadly, the small scale farmers are deferred from selling their crops inter-state due to heavy levitation of logistic cost and lack of agricultural infrastructures.
According to NABARD, farmer’s suicide grew enormously in 2017 despite the State Government’s enrolment of Krishak Bandhu scheme and assurance of 100 percent premium on crops. The unavailability of proper irrigation, infrastructures and modern methods of farming, more than 50 percent of crop harvesting depends on rainfall. Probable occurrence of untimely rainfall leads the farmer to end up with hefty crop losses, directly hitting at their income. Similarly the credit facilities stand out to be another major reason for farmer suicides in Bengal belt. The inconvenient institutional credit facility forces the farmer to procure loans from private money-lenders with exorbitant interest charges. The praxis of money-lending facility to the farmer’s has also given an enormous substantial rise to the private bodies.
In Bengal, the ruling government claims that the farmers in the state are more secure under the state-owned schemes launched to boost agriculture, yet, it has not reflected in the statistical data. NABARD report establishes that Bengal alone accords 70-75 lakh of farmer families and among them more than 90 percent of the farmers hold small to marginal cultivable land of 0.05 hectares (5,381.96 sq.ft) . Various economists suggest that the ‘Broker Raj’ in Bengal is engulfing the interest of the farmers vastly.
Detaching the farmers from the Central authorised agro schemes, the ruling TMC government banged the headlines early this year for being the only state in the nation to opt out the farmers from procuring PM-Samman Kisan Niddhi. It is reported, nearly 2.3 million farmers across the state had registered for PM Kisan Niddhi but, none did receive the opportunity to gain the scheme due to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s reluctance to enact the grant. Until now, if the state had allowed the scheme to manifest, more than 70 lakh farmers would have successfully benefitted with Rs. 14,000 each of monetary assistance directly transferred into their bank accounts on three quarterly basis summing to Rs.6,000/year.
The West Bengal Government has not only ruled out PM-Kisan Sammna Nidhi for political interest but, eventually excluded Credit facilties for farmers, Crop insurance schemes, PM Kisan Mann Dhan Yojna, PM Krishi Sichai Yojna and Interest subvention for dairy sector. The former schemes are specifically designed for the agricultural sector, giving a boost to the farmers and a steady step in doubling their income. Notwithstanding with the schemes, the administrative bodies in Bengal alleges the Center for alluring the farmers to enclose vote bank and exploit them in the hands of private investors.
The West Bengal Government’s purported resolution on the three farm laws seems to be lost in the transit. A state that has meager tranches of farmer benefits, higher rate of suicidal cases and uneven distribution of MSP reflects the failure of the TMC government in withstanding the interest of the “Annadata’s”.
Rituparna Dutta