People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No.
29
July 18, 2010
|
Vol. XXXIV
No.
29 July 18, 2010 |
RABI
SEASON 2010-2011
Kisan Sabha
Demands Remunerative Crop Prices
THROUGH a
statement issued
from New Delhi, June 26, All India Kisan Sabha’s president S
Ramachandran
Pillai and general secretary K Varadha Rajan have given the information
that the
AIKS argued for remunerative prices and placed its proposals for the
fixation
of minimum support prices (MSP) of rabi
crops at a meeting held by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and
Prices
(CACP) on June 25 as part of the deliberations for the purpose.
The statement
said the chairperson
of the CACP had assured to look into the AIKS proposal about arriving
at a
consensus on calculation of the cost of cultivation and has agreed to
recommend
to the agriculture ministry that it must have a consultation with the
state
governments, experts and peasant organisations for setting at rest the
discrepancies
in cost calculations. The chairperson has also assured that the
specific
demands of the AIKS on problems of the coconut growers, including the
need for
procurement of green coconut, rejection of copra by the National Agricultural and Cooperative Marketing
Federation (NAFED), citing the moisture content and the MSP proposed
for ball and
milling copra, would also form part of its recommendations.
The AIKS
expressed serious
concern at the extraordinary situation arising out of the decontrol of
fertiliser prices under the nutrient based subsidy (NBS) system and the
exorbitant hike in prices of DAP, MOP and other fertilisers. In the
context of
the exorbitant fertiliser and fuel prices, the Kisan Sabha argued that
these
factors should be taken into account while fixing the MSP for the rabi crops.
On this
occasion, the AIKS
also condemned the unjust hike in fuel prices and demanded immediate
rollback
of the decision as this is bound to further burden the masses and the
peasantry
who are already reeling under the spiralling prices of essential
commodities as
well as agricultural inputs.
The AIKS
proposals and
specific suggestions on the MSP for rabi
crops, submitted to the CACP, also carried a detailed comparison of
fertiliser
subsidies under the NBS regime with those in 2008-09. The AIKS
statement said the
demands of the farmers for remunerative prices have been consistently
disregarded by the government. The government’s assertion while
announcing the MSP
for kharif crops --- that some of the
prices fixed were even higher than the CACP recommendations --- put a
question
mark on its reputation and gave an impression that such exercises were
futile.
The efficacy of a purely advisory body like the CACP and exercises like
the
present consultation would be questioned by farmers if such incidents
recur. It
is imperative upon the CACP to dispel doubts and come up with realistic
pricing
that will provide farmers with the incentive and the investible surplus
to
carry on with cultivation.
As for the
MSP for rabi crops in 2010-11, the All India
Kisan Sabha has made the following submissions.
1) The
recommendations
made by the CACP must be based on the cost of cultivation, which has to
be
calculated on the basis of the variable and fixed costs of cultivation.
The
variable costs include costs of human and machine labour, seeds,
fertilisers,
irrigation, pesticide, insecticide and weedicide. Similarly, the
calculation of
fixed costs must comprise of rent of land owned, rent paid for leased
land,
land taxes and cesses, depreciation on implements and farm building and
other
miscellaneous items.
2) The AIKS
has pointed
out that the forthcoming rabi will
witness for the first time the deleterious impact of the NBS regime in
fertilisers and the decontrol of prices of DAP, MOP and other
fertilisers. The
price of urea has also been increased by 10 percent to Rs 5310 per
metric tonne.
The subsidy for DAP has been fixed at Rs 16268 per metric tonne while
the
current prices will be around Rs 25,000 per metric tonne even if the
conservative price of 500 dollars per metric tonne is taken as the
international price. For MOP it has been fixed at Rs 14692 per metric
tonne (In
August 2008 DAP prices had gone up to around Rs 60,000 per metric
tonne.) With import
price parity and fertiliser companies determining the farm-gate prices,
farmers
are going to be entirely at the mercy of profit-seeking fertiliser
cartels. For DAP, the new MRP
(excluding local taxes) would work
out to Rs 9,950 a tonne, which is 6.4 per cent more than the existing
Rs 9,350.
The MOP rates have gone up from Rs 4,455 to Rs 5,055 a tonne,
translating into
an even higher 13.5 per cent rise. Already prices of DAP in the
domestic
market have risen to over Rs.11,100 per metric tonne according to
available
information. Referring to its comparison of fertiliser subsidies over
2008-09
and those in 2010-11 under the NBS regime, the AIKS said the volatile
oil
prices and increase in prices of petrol and diesel is also an added
burden on
the farmers. The CACP will have to keep note of this extraordinary
situation in
fertiliser prices as well as fuel prices other than the increase in
costs of
other inputs while determining MSP.
3) Further,
erratic monsoon
and the delay in rains may lead to a reduction in acreage and a
contingency
plan will have to be put in place to generate confidence among the
farmers.
Interest free loans, subsidised diesel, provision of rent-free pumpsets
and
tractors through the panchayats to encourage group cultivation, and
supply of
quality inputs at affordable rates must be ensured to deal with any
such
eventuality. The use of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
to subsidise the labour costs for the poor small and marginal farmers
should be
considered in such a manner that farmers as well as agricultural
workers
benefit. The centre should bear a part of the labour costs.
4) The AIKS
has demanded that the government must strengthen the public extension
services
and reinstate them wherever they have been dismantled. The move of the
government
to let the multinationals (MNCs) to take over the extension work is a
dangerous
one and has to be withdrawn forthwith. (The Rajasthan government’s rabi programme envisages such a role for
the Pepsico, Cargill, Monsanto, Mahyco, Sab Miller and others. PPP
based
implementation of the extension programme in collaboration with the ITC
is also
in the pipeline.)
5) Taking a view of the huge increases in input costs, one finds
that the
MSP of wheat in 2009-10, fixed at merely Rs 1,100 per quintal,
represented an
increase of a paltry Rs 20 or 1.86 per cent over the 2008-09 MSP.
This was
as opposed to the AIKS proposal of Rs 1500 per quintal last year. It is
to be
noted that, at Tuticorin port, the landing cost of imported wheat from
6) In the
case
of sugarcane, the AIKS had demanded an MSP of Rs 300 per quintal and
the government
fixed it as Rs 125 per quintal. Subsequently, it was increased to Rs
129.84
under a flawed “fair and remunerative price” system. In the case of
jute, the
farmers have been pushed into dire straits by its low MSP announced
over time.
In the case of copra too, hit by the India-ASEAN free trade agreement
(FTA),
import of palm oil and mite infestation, farmers are facing extreme
distress. The Kerala government has also come forward
to procure green coconut at Rs 12 per nut. The AIKS demand is that the
centre
must evolve a policy to support such moves and procure it as a new item
at Rs 15
per nut. Procurement by the NAFED involves various stipulations
which, in
effect, nullify any benefit whatsoever of the MSP announced. The
stipulation of
a fixed 6 per cent moisture content in copra is unscientific and must
be
reconsidered. Such anomalies have to be corrected and quantitative
restrictions
must be reinstated to curtail the import of cheap substitutes. Special
assistance to fight the mite menace and for phased removal of senile
palms having
low productivity must be ensured.
7) The MSPs
of
mustard and rapeseed as well as masur
(lentil) were not increased even by a single rupee when compared to the
2008-09
MSPs. This has been a gross injustice to the farmers who cultivate
these crops
in semi-arid conditions with high risk. This is even as the market
rates are
many times higher and middlemen and traders are raking in huge profits.
These
middlemen and big traders control the dynamics of the local mandis,
making it impossible for the farmers
to get a fair deal. There has to be stringent regulation of activities
of such
elements.
8) Provision
of gypsum as a source of nutrient in rabi
oilseeds and pulses as part of a National Soil Amelioration and
Replenishment
Programme must be ensured at subsidised rates. Similarly, the inputs
and technology
to correct acidity, alkalinity and salinity as well as drip irrigation
mechanism at affordable rates to ensure better water management where
possible
must also be provided. Use of the MGNREGA to develop bio-fertilisers in
a
scientific manner must be considered.
9) Minor
forest
produce must be procured at remunerative prices from the tribal people
as it is
their main source of livelihood, and avenues for value addition must be
ensured. Compensation for losses in income due to natural calamities
like
floods or droughts must be ensured.
TABLE 1
AIKS Proposals for MSP of Rabi
Crops
|
|
Commodity |
MSP Approved For 2009-10 (Rs/Qtl) |
|
MSP Proposed by AIKS For 2010-11 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Rabi Crops |
Wheat |
1100 |
|
1700 |
|
|
Barley |
750 |
|
1300 |
|
|
|
Gram |
1760 |
|
3000 |
|
|
|
Lentil (Masur) |
1870 |
|
4000 |
|
|
|
Rapeseed/Mustard |
1830 |
|
3000 |
|
|
|
Safflower |
1680 |
|
3000 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Other Crops |
Jute (TD5) |
1375 |
|
2500 |
|
|
Jute (TD4) |
|
|
3000 |
|
|
|
Sugarcane |
125* |
|
300 |
|
|
|
Copra (Ball) |
4700 |
|
6000 |
|
|
|
Copra (Milling) |
4450 |
|
5800 |
|
|
TABLE
2
Subsidy
of Fertilisers under NBS in Comparison with 2008-09
|
|
|||
|
Fertilisers |
2008-09 (Minimum) |
2008-09 (Maximum) |
2010-11 (NBS) |
|
Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) |
11022 |
53056 |
16268 |
|
Mono- ammonium Phosphate (MAP) |
10508 |
53056 |
16219 |
|
Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) |
9848 |
47317 |
12087 |
|
Muriate of Potash (MOP) |
7595 |
29804 |
14692 |
|
Ammonium Sulphate |
-- 3917 |
10110 |
5195 |
|
Complex Fertilisers |
|
|
|
|
16-20-0-13 |
5610 |
34737 |
9203 |
|
20-20-0-13 |
4914 |
36620 |
10133 |
|
23-23-0-0 |
6869 |
25039 |
11386 |
|
10-26-26-0 |
18264 |
42069 |
15521 |
|
12-32-16-0 |
14845 |
44293 |
15114 |
|
14-28-14-0 |
13722 |
39945 |
14037 |
|
14-35-14-0 |
14924 |
46828 |
15877 |
|
15-15-15-0 |
12087 |
24998 |
11099 |
|
Source: Fertiliser
Statistics, 2008-09, Fertiliser Association of India, November
2009, pp 1-187 to 1-188 Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers,
Government of India, http://www.fert.nic.in/docs/mtsubsidy_17032010.pdf Note: Complex fertilisers indicate
the combination for nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K) and
sulphur (S). For each fertiliser the subsidy (rates of concession)
varies across months and across production units/importers, the minimum
and maximum are selected from all possibilities. The negative amount
for ammonium sulphate for minimum in 2008-09 is as reported. |
|||
