The demand for legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) will help achieve the government’s decades-old target of shifting paddy farmers of Punjab to other crops, which no scheme has so far able to achieve, said farmer leader Swaran Singh Pandher, one of the key leaders spearheading the current moment, that has been camping on Punjab-Haryana border for the past many months.

Pandher, president of Kisan Mazdoor Sangarash Committee (KMSC) was among other leaders who addressed media in New Delhi announcing their plan to restart the march towards Delhi from December 6.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) Abhimanyu Kohar said that Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has already announced that he will be observing fast unto death from November 26 at the Khanauri border point.

SKM (non-political) and KMSC has been leading the farmer protest demanding legal guarantee of MSP among other demands. The protesting farmers were stopped by the security forces in February this year from proceeding to Delhi and ever since they have put tents at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana.

Asked why his outfit did not join the talks that the Supreme Court-appointed panel had with all stakeholders including farmers, Pandher said their members did meet the panel.

Pandher said that some misinformation has been spread about the demand on MSP saying that why farmers of Punjab were demanding for it when the Centre has already buying the entire paddy and wheat.

“Farmers are aware now of the impending danger as groundwater has been rapidly depleting. Wherever water is an issue in Punjab and Haryana, farmers will be readily shifting to other crops if they are assured of purchases at MSP and that can only a law can ensure,” Pandher told business line. He also said that paddy growing is a compulsion for the farmers even as they do not prefer rice on their daily food.

He also said that the farmers unions are ready to discuss with the Centre on their demands as talks had not happened after February.

According to Pandher, the government will be able to solve many issues including higher production of oilseeds and pulses in the country, air pollution and soil degradation due to stubble burning if it agrees to enact a law. Asked why they are not highlighting the issue of crop diversification, he said it was the major point of discussion during the four rounds of talks the Central team had with farmer leaders in January-February.

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