A Review of our Farm Policy
This article was first published in the print edition of Manushi Journal. (Issue-73, Nov-Dec 1992)
“We may not be deceived by the wealth to be seen in the cities of India… It comes from the blood of the poorest… I know village economics. I tell you that the pressure from the top crushes those at the bottom. All that is necessary is to get off their backs.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
The decision of the Government of India to import nearly 3 million tonnes of wheat from Canada, US and Australia at the cost of Rs 1,500 crores to be paid in foreign exchange, has reopened the debate on the agrarian question. Import of foodgrains on this scale after years of boasting about self-sufficiency in food, calls for attention in itself. Those who oppose this decision are particularly incensed by the fact that this wheat was purchased in the international market at a price higher than the domestic procurement price of Rs 280 per quintal fixed by the government for domestic wheat producers. The landing price of this wheat, which includes a freight charge of about $30 per tonne, is about Rs 530 per quintal, almost twice as much as the domestic procurement price…