Tractor rally: India farmers plan massive protest on Republic Day

A row of tractors during a rehearsal by farmers ahead of the proposed tractor rally on Republic Day, at Lehra Bega toll plaza, on January 24, 2021 in Bathinda, India.
Farmers say they want the government to roll back controversial farm reforms

Tens of thousands of protesting farmers plan to drive into capital Delhi on tractors on India's Republic Day.

They have been striking for months at the city's borders, demanding a roll back of recent market-friendly reforms.

They have been allowed to go ahead with the tractor rally on the condition that it will not disturb the official celebrations on Tuesday.

The government has offered to put the reforms on hold, but farmers say they want a repeal.

Tuesday's rally is the latest episode in a months-long protest, arguably the longest farmers' protest India has ever seen.

The laws, which seek to further open up agriculture to the free market, sparked protests even as they made their way through parliament in September. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party-led government defended the reforms, farmer groups likened them to a 'death warrant' that made them vulnerable to corporate companies.

The stand-off continued as tens of thousands of farmers from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana marched to Delhi in late November and began sit-ins at the border, many of which still continue.

Women demonstrators rehearsing for the tractor rally proposed by farmers on Republic Day, near Sampla township in Rohtak district, on January 24, 2021 in Rohtak, India.
Hundreds of women farmers have joined the protests

Tens of thousands of tractors carrying groups of farmers travelled to the city in the past few days, in addition to thousands that have already been blocking several entrance points of the city for more than a month.

Police officials allowed the farmers to go ahead with the tractor parade after several rounds of talks. Farmer groups wanted to drive their tractors to the heart of the city, but have now agreed to hold their rally near border roads.

They have been told not to disturb the Republic Day parade, which involves armed forces showcasing their latest equipment. Several states also send their floats to present their culture on a national stage.

But this year the parade route and scale have been shortened due to the pandemic.

What exactly do the laws propose?

Taken together, the laws loosen rules around sale, pricing and storage of farm produce - rules that have protected India's farmers from the free market for decades.

One of the biggest changes is that farmers will be allowed to sell their produce at a market price directly to private players - agricultural businesses, supermarket chains and online grocers.

More than 90% of India's farmers already sell their produce in the market - and only about 6% of them actually receive assured prices for their crops, guaranteed by the government.

Many farmers sell produce at large wholesale markets or mandis
Many farmers sell produce at large wholesale markets or mandis

But farmers are mainly concerned that this will eventually lead to the end of government-controlled wholesale markets (mandis) and assured prices, leaving them with no back-up option. That is, if they are not satisfied with the price offered by a private buyer, they cannot return to the mandi or use it as a bargaining chip during negotiations.

Most of the protesting farmers are from Punjab and Haryana, where the two biggest crops, wheat and rice, are still sold at assured prices in mandis.

Are these reforms necessary?

Most economists and experts agree that Indian agriculture desperately needs reform. But critics of the government say it failed to follow a consultative process and did not take farmers' unions into confidence before passing the laws.

For one, the bills were put to a hurried a voice vote in parliament, leaving little time for debate, which infuriated the opposition. And state governments, which play a crucial role in enacting such legislation, also appear to have been left out of the loop.

Experts also point out that the reforms fail to take into account that agriculture still remains a mainstay in the Indian economy.

More than half of Indians work on farms, but the sector accounts for barely a sixth of the country's GDP. Declining productivity and a lack of modernisation have shrunk incomes and hobbled agriculture in India for decades. The government, meanwhile, provides farmers with generous subsidies, exempts them from income tax and crop insurance, guarantees a minimum price for 23 crops and regularly waives off debts.

"Now the government is saying, we will get out of the way, and asking us to deal directly with big businesses. But we didn't demand this in the first place! So why are they doing this to us?" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55157574.

Experts say any attempt to dismantle decades-old concessions must happen through dialogue because fear and suspicion will only derail the process.

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