Comments by "Sankalp" (@sankalp6872) on "Wisdom, propriety, precedent as top court intervenes in farm protests, freezes laws, forms panel" video.

Hello Sg, Please do an ENTIRE CUT THE CLUTTER ON MSP. There is a need to educate people on MSP. No news outlet has done a thorough analysis of the system which is a big surprise considering it is at the heart of the current protest. Suggested sub-themes: MSP vs Price Discovery, MSP= Maximum Retail Price (the rest pocketed by middlemen), Legality of purchase below MSP, and Supply Demand Economics vs MSP economics ->Let's go the Venezuela way.
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India is a country of 130 crores. It is not difficult to arrange a crowd in Delhi. People have already blocked railway tracks for reservations, bailout packages, son of the soil, and even neutralization of terrorists. This sets a bad precedent. It's not even certain if this stay and committee will achieve the intended objectives. Already people are raising questions about the committee and farmers have not called it off yet.
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@oliverqueen5095 Jobs won't come without policy changes and people will protest against any policy changes. It's a loop. Entrepreneurs and Investors are actively discouraged. Irrational fear of capitalism and India's socialism is turning India into a wasteland. It does not matter if it's BJP or Congress if reforms get torpedoed this way..
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@indrajeetkamat6138 Everyone is middle class. The difference is that some can get away with paying taxes others cannot.
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@simrandhiman6426 Kindly quote the provision of the new legislation that makes big corporates stronger? Some nincompoops have no knowledge of the subject but are the first ones to comment. Contract farming is purely optional. No farmer is held at gunpoint and forced to sign a contract. Pepsico contract farming is a major success story in India. This year Cotton in Punjab fetched a much higher price from traders than what was offered in the form of MSP. You can spin the topic any way you like but provide evidence to build your case. Dishonesty can happen in every business. Corporates, Middlemen, and even the farmers are all motivated by profits. Why shouldn't the farmer be given a choice between a Corporate, Middlemen, and MSP? Let him sell to the one offering him the best benefits.
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@harpreetsinghmann There is no uniform minimum wage in India. In fact, India offers one of the most competitive wages in the world. It is the lack of Infra and delays in clearances that are hurting investments in India. The idea of quoting Venezuela was to show how Socialism can breed corruption and go haywire. Venezuela has more oil than Saudi Arabia yet it is a mess today. Arrogance seems to be the facade these days to hide below-average intelligence. The concept of MSP was introduced to ensure food security. Today there is enough food. Nobody is undermining the role of farmers. However, it is time for the wheat-paddy-sugarcane cycle to re-evaluated. There is a need to diversify and promote the export of crops. Even China does not buy rice from India citing quality as the reason.
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@harpreetsinghmann Wheat MSP is about Rs 19,250. The cost of procurement to FCI which includes Mandi fees and Arthiya commission is Rs 27,026. The international price of wheat is Rs 16,400. Thus, making exports unviable. The case with Paddy is similar while the MSP on Rice is very close to international markets i.e. around Rs 29,000, the procurement cost to FCI is Rs Rs 37,000. So don't judge the whole equation only by MSP. Only the MSP portion is received by the farmers but the rest is pocketed by the middlemen. FCI has a total debt of 3 lakh crores and the Govt has to shell out export subsidies to get rid of this surplus esp in the case of sugar which is simply too much in India. (source: MSP website and http://www.businessworld.in/article/The-Perpetual-MSP-Challenge/23-12-2020-357441/) As to your point about MSP stabilizing the prices -> Yes and No. The procurement on MSP is only 6% and applies only to about 6 crops. I would never recommend doing away with MSP. However, I would recommend producing less wheat and rice and shifting to palm oil and even corn where international prices are much higher. In fact, even that would be a folly. Farmers should be more dynamic and always be on the watch for prices. That is how contract farming would help. Assessing their current situation farmer can decide to enter into two or three-year contracts and agree on a fixed price today for whatever crop they decide. One year later the market price may be more or maybe less but the farmer is assured of his price. Nobody gets hurt as everyone was aware of the contract. Of course, I recommend simplicity and supervision to ensure that farmers are fully aware of all the provisions in the contract. FREE MARKETS ARE NEVER BAD. BE IT INDIA OR THE US. It can always ensure good prices and get rid of inefficiencies. It is folly to assume that Corporates are BAD. Setting up cold storage infrastructure is a significant cost. Corporates need to balance between these costs, salaries, and a 10%-15% profit margin for themselves. You can't expect them to compromise on their profits. The idea that farmers will get peanuts is merely a speculation. In fact, in the current system, they are getting peanuts as you pointed n your assessment. The market rate for quality Atta is anywhere between Rs 40 to Rs 100 per kg. Quality rice is anywhere between Rs 50 to Rs 200 and Palm oil is about Rs 60 to Rs 120 per liter. These are the various opportunities to encash upon which can only happen once we make farming more efficient and commercial. Right now we have an over-bloated system that is taking FCI to bankruptcy, Govt to bailout packages, and holding almost 60% of India's population for a paltry sum of about15% of GDP. We all know that MSP cannot increase perpetually. Costs cannot be a justification for the price. Making India an export hub can help improve farming. The Indian middle class won't mind buying caramel flavor popcorns in the movie theatre for Rs 300 or Rs 600 but the moment price of wheat goes from Rs 20 to Rs 22, people start shouting. Agriculture need not be about sloganeering "Jai Kisaan" while ensuring that the "Annadata" never gets out of his poverty. The Indian farmer should not be deprived of modern machinery and technology for farming.
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@kartikeysheokand6647 With due respect, It is not just India where you have consumers favored in the agro sector. The middle class won't mind spending Rs 450 on caramel popcorns in the movie theatre but will cry foul if corn or wheat goes up by even Rs 2 a kg. Agriculture is heavily subsidized all over the world. In Japan, subsidies are almost 52% of the cost of production. In India too subsidies are high. The benefits are not realized in India because we forget that there are 2 classes of farmers-> rich landlords and small farmers. It is very often that the former controls or even exploits the latter. I know that we like to assume that farmers are weak and need protection from others but therein lies the problem. We have created so many barriers to access farmers that private don't wish to be anywhere near them and instead prefers dealing through middlemen who built a cartel around farmers. You spoke about the plight of Haryana farmers who shifted to corn. I cannot confirm the veracity of your statement but I cannot discount the possibility of it. You can't expect results in just one year or even two as is the case with any business. Just because there is a localized supply it does not mean that there will be demand. Firms are tied in long-term contracts and have the need to ascertain the quality and other aspects before recalibrating their whole supply chains to a new player in the market even if the new producer offers corn or any raw material for that matter at a considerable discount. Hence, the need to incentivize farmers in the initial years. It is not about whether the MSP regime is good or bad or pampering the Indian consumer. What most people don't realize is that one way or the other we still end up paying full prices for all these shenanigans.
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