Farmers Movement Archive

Research insts parrot govt line on farm laws

NAGPUR: Amid protests over new farm laws by farmers, two premier research affiliates under Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) in the city have backed the legislations. The Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) and Central Citrus Research Institute (CCRI) have said the laws are beneficial for farmers. The institutes primarily deal with research, breeding of variety, agronomy, plant protection and production of cotton and citrus fruit respectively. Their statements in support of the controversial laws at this juncture suggest the Modi government is deploying its machinery to convince farmers to give up their demand for repealing the laws. At the same, the backing raise questions on the autonomy of institutes, as the step appears to have been taken under pressure. A former ICAR official explained such institutes do have economic research wings. If such statements come after a study by experts in this field, then the institutes can always have a say. However, it should not come as a diktat from the higher-ups to the institutes. Activists have also raised objection over the statements. “CCRI and CICR need to review their own work first. Has there been any notable research that has benefited farmers so far? It appears the statements have been issued under pressure from government,” said Kishore Tiwari, chairman of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban Mission, a state government agency. “It’s indeed unusual for CICR or CCRI to speak on such matters. In that case, they should have also come up with statements on other issues raised by farmers,” said Vijay Jawandhia, a veteran activist. When asked what message they want to send to farmers, CICR director YG Prasad said, “We have not talked about general laws, trade Act or purchase agreement. We have only tried to relate it to cotton production and what are the current practices. We have a social sciences wing — economics and extension. It does market studies. Because of Covid, they could not do a detailed study this year. We have a mandate of market studies as well, besides being a research body. Cotton production is a supply chain system. We address supply side constraints.” However, the CICR release also says misleading information on closure of APMCs and abandoning of MSP is a myth to be dispelled. “Government steps in when cotton prices fall below MSP through purchase of seed cotton by Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), apart from CCIs commercial operations to ensure quality cotton supply for domestic consumption. Highest quantity of about 106 lakh bales of cotton was procured by CCI during last year. This is about 30 per cent of the cotton produced in India. These acts are beneficial to farmers and their implementation will make farming more profitable even for small and marginal farmers,” the note further said. In its press statement, CICR has said that the delays in payment, market charges and complex methods of price determination are deterring cotton farmers from selling in APMCs. “The new farm acts enable the cotton farmer to sell directly to the ginner. As per the old laws, direct purchase by the ginners was not allowed. There was also fear of rejection of the cotton at APMC due to quality aspects,” the note reads. “New farm acts facilitate the farmers and buyers to sell or buy cotton wherever they want. Removal of interstate restrictions enables ginners of other states to purchase cotton at competitive prices. Alternatively, if the prices fall below MSP, farmers can sell cotton to the government agencies,” it states. The later part of the press statement indicates the research body is toeing the BJP government’s line. CCRI director MS Ladaniya didn’t respond to TOI’s calls and messages.

The Times of India

2020-12-31

Nagpur