Farmers’ distress ignored by both govt and Opposition, say farm leaders

• 20 years after the MS Swaminathan Committee recommended the C2+50 per cent formula for procurement, a legally mandated MSP remains elusive 

• Shortage of fertiliser in the market has created a flourishing black market 

• Uttar Pradesh has fixed 6.5 million tonnes of paddy for procurement against an estimated production of 21 million tonnes, forcing the farmers to sell at lower prices to traders

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh say they are disillusioned with not only the government’s response to the agrarian crisis but also with Opposition parties failing to raise issues affecting the farming community. Rising costs of cultivation, an acute shortage of fertiliser, inadequate procurement, mounting indebtedness and shrinking rural employment opportunities have caused severe economic distress; the Opposition, however, has also been largely silent on their plight, complained farmer representatives in Lucknow.  

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) Uttar Pradesh has announced district-level demonstrations across the state on 26 November to highlight the worsening agrarian situation and anti-farmer policies of the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. Farmers from National Capital Region (NCR) districts will also participate in a protest in New Delhi on that day, they have said. 

At the SKM's state council meeting at Laxmi Sehgal Bhawan, P. Krishnaprasad and Dr Ashish Mittal said while farmers are extending support to the campaign against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the opposition have not been responsive enough to farmers' problems.

"Opposition leaders have stopped speaking on issues such as MSP and the shortage of fertilisers,” said Dr Mottal. Nor have the Opposition presented a convincing alternative to the existing agricultural policies. The long-standing demand for a legally guaranteed minimum support price (MSP), said Krishnaprasad has remained unresolved despite two decades of political mobilisation.  

"October 2026 marks the 20th year of the presentation of the recommendation of MSP at C2+50 per cent by the National Commission on Farmers, headed by the late agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan. The politically significant recommendation, issued on 4 October 2006, has gained household popularity across the country during the last two decades, thanks to the consistent mass struggles by kisan organisations," he said. "Unfortunately, the UPA-I and UPA-II regimes too did not consider enforcing a legally mandated MSP between 2006 and 2014,” he added.  

The shortage and black marketing of fertilisers in Uttar Pradesh, they held, had reached alarming proportions. Restrictions on fertiliser distribution, and demand for producing land ownership documents first before selling fertilisers, were creating obstacles for sharecroppers and tenant farmers who cultivate agricultural land without formal ownership of the land, they alleged. 

A bag of urea, officially priced at Rs 270, was being sold for as much as Rs 400 in the black market. Similarly, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) was allegedly fetching Rs 1,800 against its declared price of Rs 1,400. The shortage of DAP during the crucial sowing period has further compounded the difficulties of wheat and potato growers. 

Inadequate paddy procurement was another major concern raised at the meeting. Against an estimated paddy production of around 21 million tonnes in Uttar Pradesh, the government has fixed its procurement target at just 6.5 million tonnes, they claimed. Registration requirements and other restrictions have further limited farmers' access to government procurement centres, forcing many to depend on private traders and middlemen. Small farmers are being compelled to sell paddy at around Rs 1,500 per quintal, considerably below the declared MSP of Rs 2,441 per quintal.

Aggressive recovery by microfinance institutions (MFIs) were pushing landless peasants and agricultural labourers into further distress, forcing some families to leave their homes and sell their limited possessions. The organisation reiterated its demand for a complete loan waiver for farmers and agricultural workers. The SKM also demanded an increase in the sugarcane price to Rs 600 per quintal and compensation for crop losses caused by Cyclone Arnab. It sought compensation of Rs 60,000 per acre in cases where crops had been completely destroyed. 

Expressing concern over the proposed India-US Free Trade Agreement, the SKM warned that large-scale imports of American wheat, maize, pulses, edible oils, poultry and dairy products could expose domestic farmers to unfair competition and threaten their livelihood. It also opposed foreign investment in food processing and ethanol production if it resulted in the diversion of foodgrains from human consumption towards fuel production. 

Both the union government and Uttar Pradesh government have already weakened the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) without providing an effective alternative through the proposed Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme. It demanded 200 days of guaranteed employment annually at a daily wage of Rs 700, citing the continuing shortage of work and delays in wage payments affecting rural labourers. 

The organisation also criticised the state government's decision to close 25,000 rural schools, claiming that the move would disproportionately affect children from economically weaker farming families. 

Among its other demands were the withdrawal of SIR, restoration of deleted voter names and an end to bulldozer action against the homes of poor people.