National Farmer’s Day: How protected is our “Annadata”?
Why Indian Farmers need a stronger voice? Understanding the threats to Farmers in India on this National Farmer’s Day: December 23rd
National Farmer’s Day comes with statements, posters, and respectful words about farmers being the backbone of the country. The intent sounds right. But the day often passes without asking what farmers are actually dealing with. Applause fills the space where answers should be.
MSP: Assured on Paper, Uncertain on the Ground
Minimum Support Price is often presented as proof of state support. In reality, it remains a promise without protection. MSP is announced, but not guaranteed by law. Procurement works for wheat and rice in select regions. Elsewhere, farmers sell below MSP because centres open late, quotas run out, or markets decide faster than policy. The demand for a legal MSP did not emerge from politics alone. It grew from experience.
When Protest Becomes the Only Language
The long farmers’ protests, and their return in 2024–25, did not begin with confrontation. They began with requests, legal backing, consultation, clarity. The government chose endurance over engagement. Barricades appeared quicker than dialogue. Protest sites were framed as disruption, not dissent. Repealing the farm laws closed one chapter. It did not restore trust.
Support Without Stability
Schemes like PM-Kisan help, but they do not solve the core problem. Input costs rise. Climate uncertainty grows. Income remains unstable. Farmers receive assistance, not assurance.
What the Day Should Ask
National Farmer’s Day should not only honour perseverance. It should ask why those who feed the country must repeatedly protest to be heard. Praise costs nothing but protection requires intent.
Until policy listens as much as it announces, this day will remain merely symbolic, one marked on calendars, but felt unevenly on the ground.
