Three major demands of farmers remain unresolved in Budget 2025-26
Even RSS affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh feels the government could have done more
The Union Budget is out but the three major demands of farmer groups that came up during consultations with the ministries of finance and agriculture remain unrealised, disappointing the farming community.
Among the key demands were streamlining the process of calculating the minimum support price (MSP) and increasing the MSP.
The farmers also wanted goods and service tax (GST) axed from agriculture machinery, equipment, fertilisers and pesticides. None of these were announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Unhappy BKS
Even the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), feels some more steps should have been taken by the government even as it welcomed some of the announcements.
“The BKS made three major demands…The government has agreed to hike the loan amount under the Kisan Credit Card from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. We wanted an increase in the money given under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi but the government has not made any such announcement in the budget,” BKS general secretary Mohini Mohan Mishra told The Federal.
“Another demand was removing GST from agricultural machinery, equipment and other products to reduce the cost of production but no such step has been announced,” Mishra added.
Organic farming
Although Mishra welcomed the decision to open a Makhana Board in Bihar to promote the production and sale of makhana, the BKS said the call for a separate market to buy and sell organically produced crops had not been met.
“This has been a long-standing demand that the Centre should promote organic farming. While the government has taken steps to promote organic farming, much needs to be done to make it more effective,” he added.
Members of different farmer outfits feel the Union government has not resolved the question of MSP’s calculation.
MSP blues
The Budget ignored the Bharatiya Kisan Union Arajnaitik (BKU Arajnaitik) wish to include the cost of production and 50 per cent profit at the time of calculating MSP.
“Until the government does not solve the MSP puzzle, it will be difficult for the farmer to benefit from farming,” Ramandeep Singh Mann, a farmer leader from Punjab, told The Federal. Mann was part of the delegation that has been in touch with the Union government on issues related to farmers.
Loan to farmers
Members of the farming community also questioned the decision of the government to increase the loan under Kisan Credit Card from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
While the BKS supported the move, some farmer leaders fear that this may adversely impact the farmers in the long run.
“The first problem is that there is no resolution to the problem of cost of realisation of farm produce. If the farmers do not get better prices, they will find it difficult to return the loans. Increasing the loan of farmers under the Kisan Credit Card scheme will hurt the farmers in the long run. It is like a debt trap for the farmers,” Mann added.
Loan waiver
Farmer representatives also insisted on a farm loan waiver. Farmers were hopeful that the Union government would announce some relief for farmers in the budget.
“The one common demand of farmers across states was that they expected a farm loan waiver or some relief for farmers but no such step has been taken by the government,” Anil Ghanwat, president of Swatantra Bharat Party and a former member of the Supreme Court-appointed committee on farmers, told The Federal.
