A happy farmer will ensure a prosperous nation

After all, the Prime Minister announced the withdrawal of the disputed agriculture laws. It is certain that this step has been taken with a heavy heart in view of the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and other states. The BJP did not want its electoral equations to be spoiled by the angry farmer community. In fact, all three laws were passed in a hurry in Parliament last year amid the lockdown. This is where all the trouble happened. If laws were made and implemented with extensive debate in Parliament and with the consent of all parties and the farmers across the country, then there would have been no problem. Democracy means that work should be done with the consent of all the stakeholders. If arbitrary decisions would be imposed in the form of law on the basis of majority in Parliament, then voices of protest had to be raised from somewhere or the other.
India is an agricultural country. But after independence, the agriculture sector has been the most neglected. Although, for the betterment of the farmers and the progress of agriculture, the Modi Government has taken more commendable steps than any of the previous governments, but that is not enough. There is a constant need for a lot of reforms in the agro sector at the grassroots level. Farming is proving to be a loss-making deal for small and medium level farmers. The agrarian movement that arose out of opposition from the rich farmers did not represent the farmers of the whole country. The common farmer of the country has always been suffering. The government may have taken its steps back due to the pressure and compulsion, but the need of the hour is that the work on agricultural reforms should continue and the policy should be made by taking the stakeholders into confidence.
Anyway, Punjab, Haryana, Railways, Government and the general public have lost millions of rupees due to the opposition to these laws. According to an estimate, Punjab alone has suffered a loss of more than Rs 7000 crore from this stir so far. The Railways suffered a loss of Rs 20,000 crore as thousands of passenger and goods trains remained cancelled due to the agitation on the tracks. Traffic remained disrupted around the national capital, due to which Delhi’s industries suffered a loss of about Rs 40,000 crore. Hundreds of agitators died during last one year. To compensate for this loss, it is necessary that the efforts of agricultural reforms should continue at the grassroots level.
The issue of MSP should be resolved for the farmers to get a fair price for their produce. The government’s promise of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 should be fulfilled. Every industry decides the price of its produce itself, but it is the farmers who do not have the right to fix the price of their produce. Someone else determines the rate of their crops. In such a situation, the farmer suffers loss and the traders earn profit. To solve this problem, a solution should be found in consultation with all the farmers, businessmen and political parties. I myself belong to a farmer family. This is true that the prosperity of the nation depends on the happiness of the farmers.