Three critical drivers that are lending colour to the farmers' protest

Protesters want a complete repeal of the three laws along with a guarantee that no crop inside or outside the mandis will be bought below the state-mandated MSP by anyone

Hundreds of thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other parts of the country have laid siege across the capital’s main entry points in protest against the three agriculture acts passed by Parliament recently. The farmers are demanding a complete repeal of the three laws along with a guarantee that no crop inside or outside the mandis will be purchased below the state-mandated Minimum Support Price (MSP) by anyone. Behind the protests are a host of economic and social factors that have given the agitation a unique character and colour.

Political forces: While the farmers’ groups and leaders have repeatedly underscored that their agitation is not supported by any political outfit and is purely a spontaneous uprising of peasants in favour of their demands. Political parties, particularly those in Opposition, have extended their all-out support to the agitators right from the beginning. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh was among the first to voice his opposition to the acts and also organised a big stir of his own in Punjab against the laws. Other opposition parties and even some of the allies of BJP have extended their support to the farmers. The protests have also elicited support from other groups namely the truckers and even some associated organisations of ruling BJP’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya SwayamSevak Sangh (RSS).

Economic forces: A big reason why the current farmers agitation has found greater traction in Northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh is the fear of losing out on MSP once state-run agencies such Food Corporation of India (FCI) and others see value in out-of-mandi transactions to lower their procurement costs or trade shifts outside the mandis, will throttle them of funds and close the mandis, thus destroying the well-entrenched and existing system of state procurement. While the mandis fear losing out on revenues if states lower their fees to compete with a regime in which no taxes are levied if the transaction is done outside the mandis, the states too are apprehensive about the laws as it would lead to lowering of their annual earnings from the taxes and duties levied on the transactions that happen inside the mandis and also in areas that fall within its vicinity.

Seasonal forces: There are some seasonal factors also associated with the current Delhi-gridlock. As most of the farmers are from the Northern part of the country where the main rabi crop of wheat, chana and mustard, sowing is almost complete. Farmers are largely free and can devote some time from their schedule for the protests. Data sourced from department of agriculture shows that till November 28, Punjab farmers have planted wheat in around 2.92 million hectares of land, which mean that 83 per cent of the normal acreage under wheat is already sown in the state, while in Haryana it is 55.11 per cent and in MP around 81.21 per cent area is covered. Sowing of gram and mustard, the two other crops which are grown in MP and Rajasthan majorly during this time of the year is also more than half complete. Thus, farmers can easily spend a few weeks away from the fields while the fields are attended by others.