JAI KISAN ANDOLAN OF SWARAJ ABHIYAN AND ALLIED FARMERS’ ORGANSIATIONS AND UNIONS TO HOLD KISAN SANSAD FOR PRESENTING KISAN BUDGET 2017.

JAI KISAN ANDOLAN OF SWARAJ ABHIYAN AND ALLIED FARMERS’ ORGANSIATIONS AND UNIONS TO HOLD KISAN SANSAD FOR PRESENTING KISAN BUDGET 2017.

· Historic Kisan Sansad (Farmers’ Parliament) at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, parallel to the presentation of the Union Budget, where a Krishi Budget (Budget for Farming & Farmers) will be presented, debated and put to vote

· Delegates of farmers and farmers’ movements and unions from all over India to attend this unique event and offer initial comments on the agriculture a

nd farmer related provisions of the Union Budget

· Deliberations to put an end to the apartheid of the voice of farmers and all other rural primary producers of the country in the debate on the state of our economy and its future

· Focus on the ever-deepening economic and ecological crisis of Indian agriculture, indicated by continuing suicide of farmers, increasing incidence of loan defaults and abysmally low income of all primary producers in the rural sector

· Invite: Yogendra Yadav to address a PC to propose an agriculture budget on behalf of country’s farmers at 3pm, Jan 30 at Chandrashekhar Bhavan, 13B Rouse Avenue, ITO, New Delhi.

In the context of the ever-deepening economic and ecological crisis of Indian agriculture as indicated by continuing suicide of farmers, increasing incidence of loan defaults and abysmally low income of all primary producers in the rural sector, the Union Budget is an indicator of the intent and action of the Central Government to provide short, medium and long term relief, remedy and resolutions.

Discussion on the Union Budget is one of the most anticipated media events of the year. In many ways this has become the key occasion to discuss and debate the state of our economy and its future.

Over the years, this debate has unfortunately excluded the voice of the farmers and all other rural primary producers of the country. One of the reasons of this neglect is the difficulty of accessing farmers’ voices in this short span and lack of availability of farmers’ activists and spokespersons who can offer informed comment on the budget. Jai Kisan Andolan of Swaraj Abhiyan and fraternal farmers’ organizations and unions plan to hold an event, a Kisan Sansad or Farmers’ Parliament at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi – parallel to the presentation of the Union Budget, same day (1st February), same time (11 am) – to fill this void.

After two back-to-back droughts in 2014 and 2015 and failure of 3-4 successive crops in many regions, the good monsoon in 2016 summer raised expectations – bumper crop during Kharif, report of increased sowing during Rabi and information about substantial increase in pulse production, which the country needed so badly. Yet, dark clouds persist – the overall monsoon may have been good but again a large number of districts in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab face drought, which is now becoming a permanent feature due to climate change. Specific instances of excess or deficit rain are increasing, making agriculture a gamble of life and death.

Governments chose not to correctly assess the accumulated impact of 2 years of drought on rural lives, livelihoods and livestock, despite historic judgments being passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in a PIL filed by Swaraj Abhiyan. Farmers’ suicides have continued unabated. Farmers’ movements – including those affiliated to the ruling party – have underscored the failure of this government to redress agrarian distress. Even now, a PIL is being heard to find a long-term policy solution for farmers’ suicides, which has all but escaped the attention of the nation.

Agriculture policy is whimsical, as exemplified by the decision to import pulses at Rs.90/- per kg., while offering MSP of Rs. 50/- per kg. to Indian farmers !! Finally, demonetisation has had the greatest impact on farmers – there was no money to purchase inputs for winter planting, prices of produce reached rock-bottom levels and unsold stock had to be thrown away in a country that suffers food shortage.

The GDP growth in agriculture is in free-fall for the last three years of NDA government. Going by the last two budgets and the string of anti-farmer legislations and policies of this government, farmers’ movements have held that this is the most farmer unfriendly government of independent India. This Government has been paying only lip service to remedy the acute distress of farmers by announcing fanciful schemes like universal crop insurance as a remedy for crop loss due to natural calamity and doubling of income of farmers. In this backdrop of repeated policy failure and growing disquiet in the agrarian sector, there are some indications that the Finance Minister may address these issues and agriculture could be one of the highlights of the budget this year.

In order to redress this situation, Jai Kisan Andolan has initiated a series of steps that include:

· 30th January: Release a document on farmers’ expectations from the Union Budget

· 1st February: Hold a day long Kisan Sansad to coincide with presentation of the Budget, offer instant reaction to the Government’s budget

· 2nd February: Release farmer movements’ analysis of what the Union Budget offered to the farmers

The key event here is the Kisan Sansad (Farmers’ Parliament) where a Krishi Budget (Budget for Farming & Farmers) will be presented, debated and put to vote. The forum will not be limited to the representatives of Jai Kisan Andolan and its affiliates. We are inviting delegates of farmers and farmers’ movements and unions (not affiliated to any established political party) from all over India to this unique event. Besides discussing the Krishi Budget, the forum will be used for offering initial comments on the agriculture and farmer related provisions of the Union Budget.

The delegates at the Kisan Sansad will include:

· Farmer activists and experts from different parts of the country, knowledgeable about agriculture and comfortable with English and Hindi;

· Farmers from the successive-drought effected areas of Bundelkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka;

· Farmers from Rajasthan and Haryana who have lost their livelihood due to wanton land acquisition;

The Kisan organizations represented in this event include:

• Bhartiya Kisan Union
• Karnataka Rajya Rayyat Sangh
• Kisan Sangharsh Samiti
• Raithu Swarajya Vedike
• National Alliance of Farmers Movements
• Jai Kisan Andolan

A Kisan Sansad with presentation of a Krishi Budget is unprecedented and the delegates have resolved to use this occasion to change the future of farmers and farming in India.

Prashant Bhushan Yogendra Yadav Avik Saha
President, Swaraj Abhiyan Jai Kisan Andolan National Convener, Jai Kisan Andolan