Why farmers have been on protest in Madhya Pradesh

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have called a strike from June 1 for a period of 10 days, to press for a loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce. The ongoing strike by farmers in MP is ironic, because the government claims MP has been clocking an average of 20 per cent agriculture growth rate in the last five years.

The strike has had more effect in Western MP, the area contiguous with Maharashtra where a similar agitation is on. Farmers in Ujjain, Shajapur, Agar Malwa and Indore districts prevented trucks carrying vegetables and fruits from reaching local mandis. 

At some places, police have resorted to the use of force to disperse agitating farmers and at others, police and farm ers have had violent clashes. Farmers also spilt milk on streets to get their point across. Central to the agitation is the demand by farmers to get more prices for their produce, most for vegetables. 

A new crop of onion has arrived and farmers are not getting the price they thought they would, considering the investment they have made in it. Time and again farmers have complained of not getting adequate prices for their produce while those living in towns and cities have been complaining of soaring prices of vegetables. 

The truth lies somewhere in between. While it is true that farmers have been forced to offload their produce on roads or allow it to rot in fields as harvesting it would be unaffordable, middlemen in the vegetable trade business have been making the most amount of money. 

Various state governments, including that in MP, have amended the Mandi Act to make it possible for farmers to keep their produce longer but it does not seem to have addressed the matter. The agitation in MP has acquired a political colour too.

The agitation has been called by the Bhartiya Kisan Union — an organisation that has little influence in MP. State BJP President Nandkumar Singh Chouhan said that the agitation was being fuelled by "people outside the farming community".

He implied the Congress had a hand in the agitation.

Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh said that the BJP government in MP is attempting to crush the agitation using force even though the CM claims to be pro-farmers.

Meanwhile, vegetable prices have already started soaring in MP, especially tomato and potato prices. The strike is only a day old and the crisis in the market may not have taken root. Yet again, the middle man makes a killing.

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