Agriculture is a State-specific subject and the issues of farmers of Punjab and Haryana are different from Odisha; so also the issues of farmers of western part and coastal areas based on agro climatic zones within Odisha.The farmers are as such not a socially and economically homogeneous group in an unequal society; there are dissimilarities based on their social identity, extent of land holding, caste privilege and many other socio-economic factors.
The MSP demand is primarily limited to paddy farmers only. But the fact is that Government Mandis are not functioning properly to meet the need.
The paddy procurement by farmer cooperatives and WSHGs is almost a non-starter. Virtually, the rice mill owners and private traders are purchasing paddy from the farmers and selling it to the Government at MSP rate.The real farmers, small and marginal farmers and sharecroppers are being deprived of MSP. Though there are 26 agro-items having MSP but nowhere has there been any local Mandi to directly purchase from farmers.
Same is the case of milk farmers who are being unable to sell their milk and the OMFED was not really helpful to the milk farmers during Covid-19. The minor forest produce (MFP) collectors are also facing problem in marketing their collection as the tribal cooperative societies are largely defunct.
Though the MSP of 72 items has been increased, still 69 items are under the control of the Panchyats. How privatisation of marketing is going to help these farmers when the farmers are facing distress sale issue? Who is going to regulate the purchasing price from the farmers? Who will give guaranty against distress sale?
The fact is Odisha’s agriculture is largely dominated by small holding and only a few farmers have large holding. On the contrary, a major chunk of these large holders is absentee farmers who do not really cultivate but engage sharecroppers in a casual understanding.
Many of these sharecroppers are also having small and marginal holdings. These small holdings are again dispersed due to lack of consolidation of holding. There are also traditional milk farmers, livestock farmers, tribal farmers, forest based agriculturists, fisher folk, share croppers and farmers having small and marginal holdings in large numbers. Many of them produce for their family consumption, store it for their own future and sell the surplus to local traders but the issues and prospects of these section of farmers are very occasionally discussed.
The issues are not just limited to MSP. Many of the structural issues relating to agriculture such as land reform and consolidation of holding, irrigation, cold storage, marketing, credit, insurance and above all the issues of sharecroppers have remained unaddressed.
It has been suggested for a long time that the State Government must do a special drive for consolidation of holdings so that someone can invest in land development and private irrigation. In spite of promises, still only 30-40 per cent of agriculture land is irrigated in the State and most of farmers depend on rain water for cultivation. The irrigation systems such as canal and lift points are almost defunct now; the farmers in the tail end are not getting water.
Most of the Pani Panchayats have become a failure in the absence of sufficient water supply. Lack of irrigation has been also one of major reasons for lower cropping intensity. About six months in a year, almost there have been no agricultural activities as both cereals and pulses are monsoon driven.
The fact is that contract farming companies are not going to build agriculture infrastructure for the farmers and hence, it is not a solution to structural issues faced by the farmers. The State must resolve the persistent structural issues affecting agriculture; otherwise in the current scenario, the contract farming can only serve a few section of landowning big farmers.
A vast majority of our rural population depends on agriculture as a primary source of livelihood and continues to contribute to food production. With inherent backwardness of low irrigation potentiality and poor water management, the agriculture sector has been continuously facing natural disaster, flood, cyclone and drought every year and still it is dependent on monsoon.
It is found that a majority of the farmers are sharecroppers and borrowers of private lending and also belong to the socially marginalised sections such as Dalits, Adivasis and socially and educationally backward classes who are otherwise resource-less in terms of land, education and finance capital and have been living in meager income without social security.
The institutional credit facilities available by RRBs and cooperatives are availed by the land owning farmers, but not by the sharecroppers. Even it has been difficult for the sharecroppers to sell their paddy in Government Mandis where the farmers have to identify themselves as land owners. The social and economic backwardness of farmers in backward regions is more acute.
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