India’s gross domestic product that had grown by 5.2% and 4.4% in the first two quarters of 2019-20, contracted by 23.9%and 7.5% in the first and second quarters, respectively, of 2020-21, per government data. However, agriculture appeared to have escaped the impact of the slump caused by the pandemic–it grew at 3.4% in both quarters, close to the 2019-20 rates.

“It is true that agricultural activities are less affected, in part because it is a fallback option for those who have lost jobs in cities or those who do wage work,” said Sudha Narayanan, agriculture economist and associate professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. Also, when other earnings fall precipitously, the logical response from landowners is to raise their own food, she added.

However, as we explain later, the growth did not result in higher farm incomes due to the rise in input costs caused by the lockdown. The agriculture sector also saw some other upheavals this year. The passage of the three farm laws during the 2020 monsoon session of parliament has led to widespread unrest over the last three weeks. The farmers are adamant that the bills be rolled back because they fear that increased privatisation of the sector will leave them vulnerable to exploitation.

Further, as we step into 2021, the government will have just one year to meet its promise of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022. Experts say this was an unrealistic target to begin with and is now looking increasingly so.

We spoke to experts on the new farm laws, the government’s bid to promote farmer producer organisations (FPOs), the plans to digitise the farm economy, and what issues will need to be addressed in the new year. Here is what they had to say.

Contentious farm laws

Three farm bills–the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (FPTC), the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 (FAPAFS)–were passed in September 2020 to “ensure a complete transformation of the agriculture sector“, as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In India, 44.2% of the workforce is employed in agriculture and more than eight in 10 farmers are small and marginal–owning less than two hectares of land. A rural household in India, on average, has a monthly surplus of Rs 1,413, IndiaSpend reported in September 2018. Small and marginal farmers face difficulties in selling and marketing their produce, which is a reason for low farm incomes.

“India needs a farmer-friendly and agriculture-friendly government,” said Modi in March 2014 before the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government won its first term. After the legislations were passed, in a November 29, 2020 radio address, he added that the “reforms have not only served to unshackle our farmers but also given them new rights and opportunities”.

However, farmers and farmer unions across India, especially Punjab and Haryana, have reservations about the impact of these laws. Thousands of farmers are protesting in the outskirts of the national capital demanding a repeal of the farm laws, as we said, and a nationwide shutdown had been declared on December 8. Farmer also went on a day-long hunger strike on December 14.

There had been widespread farmer protests in 2018 too over the implementation of minimum support price (MSP) declared by the government for 23 crops as per the MS Swaminathan Committee recommendations. In the last few years, farmers’ protests have been witnessed in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, among other states on the issue of remunerative prices, land titles and foodgrain procurement.

Farmers fear that the new laws will damage the existing system of MSP and kill the agricultural market yards or mandis, as IndiaSpend reported on December 2. The legislations have been so contentious that Harsimrat Badal, a Union minister from Punjab’s Shiromani Akali Dal, an ally of the government, resigned in protest “against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation” on September 17 after the bills were tabled in Parliament.