FB Discussions - Farming, WTO and cabbages,

I have seen the farmers grow poorer and poorer in my years in the village.

"In 46 years when the income for all govt and corporate employees have increased by 150 to 300%, the MSP has increased only by 29%."

(via Kavitha Kuruganti)
More than 5000 paddy farmers joined together in the two day Adhirengam Paddy Festival at Thiruthiraipoondi, Tamilnadu and declared that the present MSP of Rs 1470 per quintal declared by the Govt of India for paddy was an insult to the farmer. In 46 years when the income for all govt and corporate employees have increased by 150 to 300%, the MSP has increased only by 29%. It is unacceptable. The meeting demanded that the price of procurement of paddy be increased to Rs 5100 as suggested by the food policy analyst and Kisan Ekta founder Dr Devinder Sharma. The largest meet of farmers who came to celebrate organic farming and the massive spread of traditional varieties resolved to write to the PM and concerned ministries to increase the parity of income through MSP to Rs 5100. They declared that they need parity and not charity.

Siva Vats In usa rs.3500 per quintal will be paid to farmers to keep them alive and wto will accept it. But not inIndia. Why?

Aparna Krishnan yes, why ? Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula.

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula The farm sector subsidies in the US and Europe are humongous, close to 40$ billion a few years ago. India and other developing countries kept fighting with the Western bloc over this, since they want us to reduce our farming subsidies which hardly amount to anything. Since Bali round 2013 and now Nairobi, we've kept conceding space. In Bali, they wanted us to reduce and eventually stop the govt procurement. This will be disastrous. Govt fixing a rate atleast helps farmers benchmark that, and try to get a higher rate from traders. It's another matter that the MSP/FRP is ridiculous and hasn't been tied to inflation at all.

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula From another post;

1) #BJP prime minister candidate #Modi's 2014 election promise: 50% profits to the farmer.

http://www.business-standard.com/.../bjp-vows-50-profits...

2) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his 2016 budget speech said, he wanted to double farmer income by 2022. 10% annual growth is needed for this. 

http://swarajyamag.com/.../modis-dream-of-doubling-farm...

It is another matter that, the current levels are a wrong benchmark. For eg. since 1970, Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat has been increased by 19 times only, whereas salaries of govt staff 150 times, college teachers 170 times, school teachers 320 times, corporate top execs 1000 times. 

Now let's see what this govt has done. "Govt has raised the MSP for rice by a nominal 4.3%, which is lower than retail inflation of 5.4% and food inflation of 6.2% recorded in April. Effectively, this means farmers were awarded a pay cut in a drought year."

This country's crony capitalistic adventures are funded by the socialist stifling of farmer's economic development. It is our money that has been repeatedly robbed by the Govt. There will be no pay commissions, no strikes, no 24*7 news coverage, no social media trends about this. 

Unless this slavery of farmers is not broken, India will never progress and pretty soon, we will be enslaved by MNCs. 

#SlaveryofFarmers

http://bit.ly/22BPiyE

1) #பாஜக வின் பிரதம மந்திரி வேட்பாளரான, #மோடி யின் 2014 தேர்தல் வாக்குறுதி: 
விவசாயிகளுக்கு 50% லாபம். 

http://www.business-standard.com/.../bjp-vows-50-profits...

2) நிதி அமைச்சர் அருண் ஜெயிட்லி, அவரது 2016 பட்ஜெட் அறிக்கையில் கூறியது, விவசாயிகளின் வருமானத்தை 2022க்குள் இரண்டு மடங்கு உயர்த்துவது அவர் எண்ணம் என்று. இதற்கு 10% வருடாந்திர உயர்வு தேவை. 

http://swarajyamag.com/.../modis-dream-of-doubling-farm...

இப்போதைய நிலைகள் தவறான அளவுகோல் என்பது தனி பிரச்சனை. உதாரணத்திற்கு, 1970யில் கோதுமை குறைந்தபட்ச கொள்முதல் விலை குவிண்டாலுக்கு ரூ.76, 2015யில் ரூ.1450, 19 மடங்கு வளர்ச்சி. சம்பள வளர்ச்சி, அரசு ஊழியர் 150 மடங்கு, கல்லூரி ஆசிரியர் 170 மடங்கு, பள்ளி ஆசரியர் 320 மடங்கு, பெருநிறுவன மேல் நிர்வாகிகள் 1000 மடங்கு.

இப்போ இந்த அரசு என செய்தார்கள் என்று பார்க்கலாம். அரசு அரிசிக்கு குறைந்தபட்ச கொள்முதல் விலை வெறும் 4.3% தான் உயர்த்தியிருக்கிறது. இது சில்லறை விலை பணவீக்கம் (5.4%) மற்றும் உணவு பணவீக்கம்(6.2%) விட குறைவு. வறட்சியால் பாதிப்பு ஏற்பட்ட வருடத்தில் விவசாயிகளுக்கு ஊதிவ குறைவு தான் பரிசு. 

விவசாயிகளின் பொருளாதார முன்னேற்றத்தை, சோசியலிச முறையில் முடக்கி வைத்து தான், இந்த நாட்டின் போலி முதலாளித்துவ சாகசங்கள் அரங்கேறுகின்றன. எங்கள் பணம்தான் மீண்டும் மீண்டும் அரசாங்கத்தால் கொள்ளை அடிக்கப்படுது. இதற்காக ஊதிய குழுவும் இருக்காது, வேலைநிறுத்தம் இருக்காது, 24 மணி நேர செய்தியும் இருக்காது, சமூக வலை தளங்களில் "ட்ரேன்டிங்" இருக்காது. 

விவசாயிகளை அடிமைபடுத்தி வைத்திருக்கும் இந்த நிலை மாறாமல், இந்தியா முன்னேறாது, மிக விரைவில். பன்னாட்டு நிறுவனகளால் நாம் அனைவருமே அடிமையாக்கப்படுவோம்.

#அடிமைபடுத்தப்பட்டவிவசாயிகள்

http://bit.ly/22BPiyE

BJP vows 50% profits to farmers, careful release of GM crops

BJP today promised ensuring 50 per cent profits over the cost of production to farmers and committed not to allow cultivation of GM food crops in the country without full scientific assessment, if it comes to power at the Centre.

BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM|BY PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Aparna Krishnan How are the WTO clauses designed to give a fig leaf cover to these ? That First world subsidies are OK, and ours are not. ?

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula Bullying

Vinod Chand International price of rice is 440$ per ton. That is 0.44 dollar per kg. At 67 to a dollar it works out to 29.48.

At the demanded price, the produce from Indian farmers will work out to 51 per kg. Who will buy from Indian farmers?

Companies like Adani Wilmar will import rice and sell it at 45 making a killing in the bargain at the expense of rice growers.

Solution to this problem lies elsewhere....

Aparna Krishnan This international price gives the american farmer a good rate ?

Vinod Chand No.

Aparna Krishnan So they are given additional subsidies ? And crop holidays ?

Vinod Chand I don't know...

Vinod Chand Solution lies elsewhere. Solution lies in return to the village model of existence where need for money is limited and eliminated over a period of time. Where meaning of life os different than the mad race to acquire more materialistic things....

Aparna Krishnan Yes, but we also need to crack this. Because WTO has become an overpowering factor which negates all rfforts in any direction/.

Vinod Chand Where people live in peace and harmony and each supports the other. Where jobs are not required, where it does not matter how fast the other world is developing...Where we don't really care for WTO. Where we produce for the village and not for those living in the city. Those living in the city should beg the villagers to produce for them. The villagers should ask them to go eat their money....

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula American farmers are paid not to farm so that prices don't plummet; when an American farmer told me this, I almost fainted!

Aparna Krishnan We will be in a permanent faint over their shenanigans !

Siva Vats Farmer gets from US govt subsidy over and above msp. It is to keep him alive and producing. If he is not viable still he will sell his land to another. So also in France. Sale price is based on msp only and it will not exceed landed cost of import. Wto will have allow subsidy over and above msp to indian farmer also. Indians do not feel for their farmers and that is why Indians are not forcing their government to give subsidy to indian farmaers. Argumentative Indians need to act emotionally and stop rationalizing inseminars and meetings if agriculture is to survive.

Hemal Thakker On point!

Jagga Lalgudy They declared that they need parity and not charity.!!!!!!

But, NO WE WILL GRAB LAND UNDER "LAND GRAB" BILL!!
WE WILL NEVER GIVE 6 INCHES OF OUR GARDEN IN CITIES FOR ROAD WIDENING FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
WE WILL NEVER GIVER OUR GOLD TO GOLD BOND SCHEME!
WE WILL WRITE ABOUT WHITE SUPERMACISTS KILLING NATIVE AMERICANS, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE AN INCH OF SYMPATHY TO PAY OUR FARMERS THE LIVING CONDITION WAGE - BUT WILL KEEP THEM AS SLAVES PRODUCING CHEAP FOOD GRAINS AND ASSURE FOOD SECURITY. WE WILL PAY SUNNY LEONE IN MILLIONS AND HRITHIK ROSHAN IN MILLIONS SO THAT HE CAN PAY SUZZANNE KHAN 400 CRORES TO BUY INNER GARMENTS.
HOPE WE HAVE SOME CONSCIENCE EVERY TIME WE CONSUME FOOD. I am waiting for karma to strike back.

Siva Vats In India land is the asset which appreciates the highest. Just hold land without farming or building on it and you become richer by a third every year. Amidst all the corruption land deals attract food production on land in private hands immune from land acquisition needs a living subsidy be paid to farmer. In addition a bonus indexed to higher than average productivity of land. Companies are bought with productive employees in them, at higher prices if they are going concerns. Same must happen on sale of agricultural lands giving high productivity. Capital will find investment in agriculture as highly productive going concerns attractive then in capital markets. Farmers can even register as companies and raise minority equity capital while not losing management control. Just do not let low yielding lands be attractive for capital appreciation. Make capital chase highly productive farms. This is the marriage of market savvy gujjus and jats and ahirs with farming in their blood that is necessary in agriculture..

Siva Vats Judge of WTO may allow India to retaliate by raising duty on grain import from usa. If usa does that to our basmati or tea exports we suffer. If we raise prices of imports from usa Indians will still buy them. Still, WTO is not stopping subsidy to indian farmers. Our own government does not reduce income of city folk in order to find the money for farmers. City folk run the government services. If they strike govt will backtrack on finding money for farmers. If farmers strike legal force with rifles will shoot a few of them and break their strike. City folks love to accumulate capital. Attracting capital to agriculture and making it their concern legalises absentee city farm owners. They will employ best workers to preserve their capital invested in agriculture. Bhagavan's vaishya caste combines agriculture and trade within the accumulated capital of that caste. King is allowed not more than a sixth of their turnover, 16% GST. Why should that figure not go into constitution bill?

Aparna Krishnan King referring to ?

Siva Vats Central and state governments sharing the GST revenues on which percentage there is to be no cap in the constitution.