Farmers Movement Archive

Time for fruitful talks

Agriculture was the only sector that managed to register growth in the April-June quarter, which bore the brunt of a stringent lockdown. During the July-September quarter, too, the sector grew by 3.4 per cent, even as the recession-hit economy shrunk by 7.5 per cent. Such resilience during a pandemic should have dissuaded the government from tinkering with a system which, though imperfect, was largely running like clockwork. Instead, it insisted on introducing sweeping reforms without developing consensus among the stakeholders.The farm leaders have been scuttling attempts by Opposition parties to derive political mileage from their agitation. Now, they should seize the opportunity to negotiate with the Centre. We have had enough of verbal assurances about the MSP. It ought to be incorporated in the law as a farmer’s inalienable right. It’s a given that both sides would have to make some concessions so that a middle ground is found. The deadlock must be resolved amicably at the earliest. A prolonged crisis would not only impair the agriculture sector but also impede India’s economic recovery.

The Tribune

2020-12-01