Courts can’t fix agriculture, problems are far too complex

A Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by justice (retired) Nawab Singh has made broad-brush observations about India’s agrarian crisis and urged serious consideration of legal sanctity to minimum support prices (MSP) for farmers. While the committee’s word is unlikely to be binding, it will play a role in shaping the apex court’s mind which has been hearing a matter on the resolution of farmers’ protests.

That India’s agrarian economy has been mired in a viability crisis — farmer suicides are its most macabre manifestation — isn’t unknown. That this crisis can only be solved by generating more jobs outside farming is also widely known but far more difficult to achieve. However, in keeping with the twists and turns of the Indian political economy, even labour-abundant farms are doing all they can to save on labour costs today. Things such as using stubble burning to clear fields for the next crop — the practice is only proliferating — are a direct fallout of such measures.

Can something like an MSP fix these problems? There are many who berate India’s MSP and the associated food security programme. Without this, we would have had no food security for hundreds of millions of people. But MSP alone can’t solve second-order problems of Indian agriculture after having secured our food security from the demand and supply side. In states such as Punjab, MSP has given a nudge in the wrong direction — unleashing water scarcity and soil degradation locally and toxic air outside.

Fixing the viability and sustainability crisis in India’s farms requires a more broad-based political dialogue among all stakeholders to evolve the appetite for transforming farming and carve out the fiscal space to support such efforts. There are no silver bullets here. Courts would do well to understand this.

Unlock a world of Benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts and a personalized news feed – it’s all here, just a click away! –Login Now!