[manishsharan]

>>Also, some of these MSP crops like rice require lot of water for cultivation, and considering the shortage of water in most places in India, govt wants to reduce the farming of such crops.

This is very a important point. Most farmers who are protesting are from the province of Punjab . However, their choice of crops and farming methods is leading to depletion of undergroup water and not sustainable in the long run.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/paddy-tu...

Also, historically speaking -- Punjab farmers never grew rice as paddy cultivation uses a lot of water. Thanks to government subsidies, Punjab is now a prolific producer of rice and this has had a major impact on water table.

[sudosysgen]

If that's the main concern, one may simply change the MSP crops not to be so water intensive. Completely removing the system clearly has other goals in mind.

[nonamechicken]

Looks like fault lies partly with the government. Even though there are multiple crops with MSP, govt has been procuring only wheat & paddy in Punjab.

This is according to an interview with an agricultural economist regarding the issues in Punjab. See timestamped note below at 10:31 where he talks about this. Its in Hindi. Given below are the main points that caught my attention, time stamped in case any one wants to check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZGUBIdT6PM

Edit: Full interview available here as text: https://theprint.in/india/governance/save-punjab-from-desert...

___

If the current system of mono culture (paddy/wheat) continues, the land of 5 rivers (Punjab) will face desertification in 20-30 years, says one of the most prominent agriculture economists in India Sardara Singh Johl.

[5:55] Our current food grain production is 3 times that of the optimum buffer stock norms. Disposing of these stocks is a problem, as due to MSP, our crop is more expensive than international crops. The central government has to dispose of the stocks internationally, sometimes even lower than the public distribution price of Rs. 2-3 per kg. But that too is rejected on the ground of high chemical content in crops. We have moved from a problem of deficit to a problem of surplus.

[7:11] Land holding per farmer has decreased to a very small unit per person. This made agriculture non profitable. Farmers resort to borrowing money at higher interest from money lenders which in turn pulls them down further.

[10:31] What led to paddy/wheat mono-culture?

MSP and free electricity made paddy/wheat the most profitable. Even though there is MSP on other crops such as maize, pulses, and oil-seed, government doesn't procure them as much compared to paddy/wheat. Govt procures only paddy/wheat plus a little cotton.

[12:20] The MSP system has led to a cropping pattern out of sync with the consumption pattern. Other food grain production has crashed, as has fruit and milk production.

[12:55] The biggest problem in Punjab is the fall in water level, and its pollution because of the use of fertilizers. Punjab has the highest use of fertilizer per unit of land in the country, and the water table is decreasing 25-30 cm every year. With the Bhakra Dam, a lot of water was diverted to Delhi & Haryana. Punjab's allocation fulfills just 20% of its agricultural needs, so ground water accounts for the rest. With increasing urbanization, rainwater is not absorbed into the ground as everything is concrete now. Water that is absorbed from farmlands is high in pesticides & fertilizers, polluting the ground water. Nowadays, drinking water in Punjab can only be found at 350-500 feet with a deep tube-well. In 2 or 3 decades, groundwater for drinking might not be available. Punjab will become a desert if this continues.

[22:20] Solution to Punjab's crisis.

Economic diversification of crops is necessary. I've given 2 reports, in 1986 and 2002, proposing to maintain the water balance of Punjab. In 2002, 16 of my fellow committee members proposed to bring at least 10-15 lakh (1-1.5 million) hectares of land out from under paddy cultivation. Compensate farmers for growing other crops. How do we compensate? At that time, India imported Rs. 14000 crore worth of oil-seeds and pulses. We proposed utilizing Rs 1600 crore for compensating farmers for growing pulses and oil-seeds on 10 lakh hectares of land. Unfortunately, the plan didn't fully materialize.

[27:20] Now, the govt can give Rs 10000 per hectare to farmers to encourage the diversification of crops. MSP & procurement should be provided to other crops such as maize, cotton, oil-seed and pulses. Move the cultivation of wheat and paddy out to 50 lakh hectares of land in the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

[28:00] Future of subsidies

No farm sector in the world can survive without subsidy. USA, Japan and European countries provide billions of dollars to their farmers. They get subsidy even with farms as big as 1000-1500 acres. But Punjab's free electricity subsidy is wrong; its misused. Farmers will not do this if they are made to pay for it, and will lead to judicious use of water. Subsidize the small farmers in other ways (in a way recommended by WTO).

[Then they talk about contract farming part of the new farm bill. I skipped that.]