Sops roll out, focus on parties’ pro-farmer policies before 2024

Political parties have been raining sops on farmers in four of the five poll- bound states, from loan waivers to more free electricity to higher cash flow to buy inputs material to higher minimum support price for crops. The doles are being seen as a test for parties on their pro-farmer politics before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

In Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, those directly or indirectly involved in farming constitute an overwhelming majority. Around 63.3% of total households in Rajasthan, 57.7% in Madhya Pradesh, 47.3% in Telangana and 55% in Chhattisgarh are directly linked with agriculture, according to a 2021 NABARD study. If the indirect linkages are taken into account, the households engaged with farming will increase by 10-15 percentage points in each of these states, the study estimated.

Among these states, Madhya Pradesh has highest share of agriculture in gross value added (GVA) to overall GVA at constant prices for 2018-19. It also recorded double-digit agricultural growth in the past decade. Rajasthan is number five among all states, Chhattisgarh number 13 and Telangana 21. Despite the highest GVA share, the monthly income of farming households in Madhya Pradesh at ₹7,919 was among the lowest in the country and about ₹1,200 less than in neighbouring Rajasthan and ₹600 less than the mineral-rich state of Chhattisgarh.

As large populations in these states are still dependent on agriculture for livelihood despite some migrating in non-agricultural season for labour, political parties are trying to woo them, like they do before every election. State governments have spent close to ₹2 lakh crore on farmer welfare in the past five years in the states bound for elections, which includes partial farm loan waivers in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.This time, too, farmer welfare tops the agenda of all parties.