Who gains when kisan meets india inc

Who gains when kisan meets india inc

One way to disarm opposition to the new farm laws that still agitate farmers in some parts of the country is to wear the protesters down. Another is to marshal the evidence to show that greater interaction between large companies and farmers has yielded immense benefit to the farmer.

This is true not just of farmer interaction with corporate structures formed by farmers, such as Amul, but also of farmer interaction with companies that procure farm produce in an organised fashion or sell farmers agri-inputs along with technical know-how. Early in the 1990s, Pepsi carried out contract farming of tomatoes, giving farmers an assured price for a specified quantity. In 2000, ITC launched its e-Chaupal, as part of its diversification into foods and FMCGs, away from tobacco, covering 10 states.

ITC now operates in 21states and works to improve yields, conserve water and double farmer income in collaboration with NITI Aayog. DCM Shriram provides not just fertilisers but also a variety of agri-solutions, including hybrid seeds. Mahindra’s tractors come with financing, Escorts supplies innovative farm machinery. UPL not just supplies pesticides but trains farmers in their appropriate use and deploys the right kind of equipment to tackle menaces like locusts.

Seed companies get a lot of bad press but have made India a world beater in cotton. Bayer and Corteva supply vital agrochemicals. The likes of Cargill provide farmers with reliable customers. Organised retail can provide farmers with part of the linkage they need with retail customers — the silly bar on food retailing by Flipkart should go. Farmers must be organised into co-ops or producer organisations, to gain bargaining clout. That is the real challenge before farmer organisations.