The issue of farm subsidy continues to alienate India and the US. In this regard, Washington wants India and China to be treated specially and differently from other developing nations. This is despite the fact that both countries have millions and millions of poor farmers who can’t afford to live without some form of subsidy. True, they are emerging economies and the 21st century belongs to them. Economic growth is, alas, uneven, mainly in a country like India where the gap between the rich and the poor has been widening. A square meal a day is still a dream for many. Given this reality, the government cannot afford to overlook the need to implement the food security law which cannot exist without some measure of subsidy.
Once India is able to achieve a double-digit growth rate for a couple of decades, it will be able to lift millions of its people above the poverty line. Most of the developed countries, including the US, were able to achieve their present status over a few centuries. Besides, they never faced the pressures of a burgeoning population, which now stands at a staggering 1.2 billion. Just as Rome was not built in one day, the developed countries reached their present status over a period of time. Ironically, countries like the US which complain about India’s subsidy schemes do not realise that they themselves spend billions of dollars on farm subsidies in their own countries. For instance, these countries spend up to $53,000 on per-capita basis on farm subsidies. In comparison, India spends a niggardly $200. Yet, the US and its ilk find fault with India.
Since the Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations are now underway, India should make it abundantly clear that its food subsidy scheme is non-negotiable. The fact of the matter is that there is a strong case for increasing the farm subsidies, at least indirectly. The Indian farm sector is now passing through a difficult period, as underscored by the suicides of farmers reported from states like Maharashtra and Andhra. Also, the 15 million or so Indian fishermen find themselves increasingly unable to make both ends meet. Many of them are leaving their traditional profession for want of an assured income in view of the depleting fish resources. Equally important, Indian farm subsidy is well below the WTO-stipulated 10 per cent, making US fears wholly misplaced.
