17 Feb, 2019
The Union Budget 2019-20 tries to woo the farmers
Ajay Vir Jakhar says, the interim budget des not have farmer’s best interest in mind and it’s futile attempt to woo the farmers.
2 Feb, 2019
Budget 2019 and scepticism in the countryside
Since the grandiose announcement in 2016 of doubling farmers’ incomes, the real incomes of farmers have fallen. What can the budget offer in 2019?
1 Feb, 2019
Ballot sans hope
Budgets and even ballots are seemingly irrelevant after the GST roll out and the government allowing non-state actors to influence the narrative even as the farm sector sinks into an abyss
26 Dec, 2018
FACE TO FACE – Right policies; effective follow up
Loud propaganda or slogans do not change livelihoods. “We need right policies and follow-up action to help farmers come out of the current farm crisis,” says Ajay Vir Jakhar, Chairman of the Punjab Farmer Commission and Chairman of the New Delhi-based NGO, Bharat Krishak Samaj. Excerpts:
While there is no doubt that there has been an increase in farm output in the last two years on account of favourable monsoon, how come the farm-ers did not really benefit?
17 Dec, 2018
Harvesting a cruel joke
The crisis engulfing farmers was created by negligence and bad policy. The resultant migration to urban India has devastating socio-economic consequences.
12 Dec, 2018
The cost of deceiving farmers
Frustration on the farms has reached an inflexion point and all of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promises could actually go against him.
21 Sep, 2018
Dhaka diary – Between the traffic and the Politics
Despite the reigning chaos, social parameters, health and education indi-ces of Bangladesh are far better than those in India.
20 Sep, 2018
Who will tell the PM?
Evaluating the consequences of the centre’s agriculture policy is as im-portant as keeping the Prime Minister informed when things are going wrong.
20 Jul, 2018
The false MSP hope
The MSP hike is unlikely to stem the rural unrest that is gnawing into the ruling alliance’s vote-bank.
14 Jul, 2018
Framing the ‘least bad’ policy option
The farming infrastructure in Punjab lay in a shambles and the Punjab State Agriculture Commission considered all stakeholder opinions to prepare a policy document, which could be implemented.
