Q . What are the methods used by the Farmers’ organizations to influence the policy-makers in India and how effective are these methods? (10 marks, 150 words, GS-2)
Answer-
Approach-
- The first para could be about the farmers’ organization and their role.
- Next para could be about the methods used by them.
- Third para could include the details about the issues and shortcomings.
- Ending with the influence they have over the policy formulations and how effective they are.
Farmers’ Organisations is a type of pressure groups which act in a manner to defend their common interest. They are not political parties since they do not contest elections or try to get power. Rather they try to influence governments to make shift the policies in their favour.
The common ways or mode of operations used by Farmers organizations to pressurize the government includes- lobbying, correspondence, publicity, petitioning, public debate, protests, contacts with legislators or support to political parties.
Major issues on which they tend to pressurize the government includes- rise in MSPs, free water, electricity, lower interest rates on institutional credit, loan waiver, crop insurance, compensation in case of crop failures, approval to GM crops, issue of land acquisition, lack of social security, crop prices in case of non-MSP crops etc.
Since the time earlier we can see the effectiveness of the influence of farmers’ organization on government, evident from like Land reforms, Land acquisition policy, MSPs for 22 crops, subsidized electricity and fertilizers, approval to Bt Cotton, low interest rate institutional credit, crop insurance schemes, compensation for crop failures, bonus for food crops in public procurement by state governments and social security schemes for farmers like PM-KISAN, PM-AASHA, PM-KMY etc.
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