for almost a month now thousands of
farmers in india
have been camped just outside the
capital delhi protesting against the
government of prime minister narendra
modi
farmers say three new agricultural laws
passed in september
could make them worse off the government
says the farmers are wrong
these opposing views have led to a
deadlock despite several rounds of
negotiations
between both sides dw's nimisha jaiswal
and sharik ahmed
met these farmers for their view on
what's at stake
three weeks out in the winter cold
passions
are still running high at this protest
thousands of farmers have occupied this
main highway to delhi with a simple
ultimatum
repeal the new farm laws or we will stay
put
pratinder be core has worked tirelessly
at a free kitchen to feed the protesting
farmers
she sees the blockade as an opportunity
she wants to teach her young daughters
what it means to fight for their rights
we've come here to show our kids how to
protest
to struggle when they grow up they
should know
we are sikhs we are farmers it is our
duty
bian singh believes the new farm laws
will likely slash margins on his
sugarcane crop
the new legislation allows farmers to
sell to corporates
but singh believes this will eventually
undermine the security of a minimum
support price guaranteed by the
government
he is also frustrated that farmers were
not consulted before the laws were
passed
for him it is an unwanted gift
the government is trying to explain to
us why these laws are for our benefit
they aren't listening to us the
government thinks we're ignorant we
don't understand the law
what they don't understand is that a
farmer who takes a crop from seed to
harvest
knows everything and it is this
determination to make the government
listen that has made this protest a
growing force to reckon with
that is the border of delhi and this 12
kilometer stretch
peppered with free medical camps and
food kitchens
is a temporary home for thousands of
farmers this
is the protest village veteran rural
affairs journalist p
synarth is out here to talk to the
farmers
in his view the negotiations collapsed
because
amending what he calls fundamentally bad
laws won't change their content
he also says this government's lack of
consistency on promises made to farmers
over the years
has increased their distrust he
acknowledges that the current system
needs reform
but he feels these laws fail to do that
even if you repeal these laws which i
think you should
you haven't solved the agrarian crisis
the agrarian crisis has been on
for 28 years yeah
330 000 farmers have taken their own
lives for now the young and the old have
come together determined to make their
voices heard
despite the bitter cold and the deadlock
their spirits are high
for 69 year old sukhwan singh cheema
this protest
is a celebration chima has tilled land
since
childhood and he says the time has come
to teach the government
a much needed lesson we've been
protesting in punjab for three months
now
the prime minister could have said
something to us then now that we've come
to his home he's run away
is that how you treat guests we're ready
to stay for six months
this isn't even the beginning we're just
getting started
the government insists that the farmers
are misunderstanding the intent of the
law
however the farmers say they haven't
faced water cannon and baton charges for
a cause they don't grasp
they are adamant they will not give up
till the modi government backs down
and joining me for more now is ajay veer
jakhar he's a farmer himself
and chairman of the bharat krishak samaj
a farmer's
organization in india ajay good to have
you on the program
now despite assurances from the
government to the contrary farmers are
still convinced
that they will be worse off under the
new farm laws
why is that
see various governments over the last
many many years in a bid to
keep food inflation in control have
artificially suppressed farm gate prices
for years literally for
decades and now the majority of farmers
who are not getting a short prices
want assurances for their produce while
the few farmers who get a short prices
are worried that they will lose the
benefits
now these fears are not unfounded in the
run-up to these
three three acts that have uh been uh
formulated by by the parliament there
have been many indications from
government functionaries
and government uh offices about limiting
or doing away with support price
mechanisms as they exist
the cacp which sets the support prices
or the central bank the reserve bank of
india
or a union minister have all said in in
somewhat clear terms about the
possibility of how
support prices are not sustainable and
that's why the fears
actually exist but the overall argument
coming from the government side
appears to be that farmers will have
more choice they will not be bound
by the government marketplaces where
they get these
assured support prices that you're
referring to i mean all that sounds
quite reasonable doesn't it
see now i'll just give you an example of
what these
combination of the these three bills do
now imagine a stock exchange
which without a regulator where share
transactions are not recorded where data
is not collected
where the aggrieved party in this case
the farmers are being denied re-wrestle
recourse of civil courts
now farmers have a choice if traders
come to one platform
this aggregated markets don't increase
competition but they increase monopoly
as even price discovery becomes
impossible for farmers in such a
situation terms of trade will become
worse for farmers
and over a longer term the choices will
vanish
now there is there is i think one point
of agreement at least between the center
and the farmers and that is that indian
agriculture requires an overhaul
and the government is adamant that these
laws help to do that
so what you are saying is that that is
not the case
and the government's intentions are
perhaps less than noble
no not at all i think the government's
intentions are very noble
they want to do good for the majority of
the people
but the way the bureaucracy has gone
about enacting these laws the trust
deficit between the government and
farmers
has increased these officials have not
only misled the prime minister's office
they did not consult farmers or state
governments before notifying these
ordinances
so rather than focus on processes they
have been fixated on outcomes
and whenever that is done the the
end result is never a is never a good
one
but there have been at least five rounds
of negotiations with the government and
the government has
assured farmers that look these minimum
prices of
support will be available yet the
farmers don't seem convinced
no it's not about just minimum support
prices very small portion
of the farmers get minimum support
prices it's
its farmers feel that these bills will
take away
whatever little benefits they have of
the markets
i think so it's it's the government's
responsibility to be magnanimous to
listen to the farmers to win their trust
have empathy
it's necessary that farmers return to
their villages not feeling that they
have lost a battle
but with reassurances that the central
government is working for their benefit
and not working for oligarchs and
corporate houses i think the ball is in
the central government's court
to win the hearts of farmers okay how do
you see these protests ending do you see
this
deadlock continuing
i i hope the government stops listening
to their bureaucracy i hope the
government starts listening
to the people who've elected them and
i think uh it's it's it's in the hands
of the government now
to end uh to end these protests and
as i said the government has good
intentions now it needs to find
a way to translate those intentions into
into actions ajay veer jaakar pleasure
talking to you thank you so much
thank you
you