NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to double the farmers’ income by 2022 is in jeopardy. While demonetisation left them high and dry in the Rabi crop sowing season, state governments are allegedly
destroying the edifice on which the Prime Minister had banked to double the farmers’ income. The NITI Aayog recently complained to the Modi that each agrarian reform measure spearheaded by the Centre has been blunted by the states.
“We have rigorously pursued
reform initiatives with the states. We met everyone who could have helped push them. We have been meeting chief ministers, officials and other stakeholders. But barring a few states, others have ignored our pleas to take necessary actions,” said Ramesh Chand, member, NITI Aayog.
He added that it won’t be possible to double farmers’ income by 2022 unless states help agricultural reforms. If states implement the reforms, India could embark on a four-plus agriculture growth per annum for many years and yield more benefits than what the country saw in over three decades of the Green Revolution.
The Revolution started in India in the early 1960s and led to an increase in grain production, especially in Punjab, Haryana and UP during the early phase.
“Barring Karnataka, no state government has implemented the Agricultural Producers
Marketing Co-operative (APMC) reforms. We want state governments to implement APMC without diluting the norms. They have been allowing two to three crops under the modified APMC and keeping 50 outside the purview. This indicates that traders’ lobbies are not allowing reforms,” Chand said.
The think-tank panel is also livid that except for Madhya Pradesh no other state governments adopted the model Land (Leasing) Titling Bill.
“Uttar Pradesh did just a
cosmetic change, while other state governments are yet to act on the Bill. In the absence of a robust Land Lease Titling Law, there could be no sustainable investment in millions of acres, besides starving the tillers with formal farm credit,” he added.
Another agrarian reform, e-NAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market), has been adopted by 12 states. “The Modified APMC Bill and e-NAM can provide incentives to agri-processing investments. Politicians discuss the issue of agriculture in Parliament but don’t persuade states to implement reforms,” Chand said.