As this kind of protest to attract the attention of the authorities has been popular over the past several years, the authorities should have anticipated the difficulty that people would be forced to endure.
Source: Hindustan Times
Had the officials had in-depth discussions with farmer leaders and reached an agreement over the fair price for the crop at the initial stage itself, when they had threatened to sit on dharna, even the farmers would have abstained from mounting a protest.
Concerns regarding the Central government’s stance on importing edible oils have once again been raised in light of the dispute over how much farmers should be paid for their sunflower seeds. It is incomprehensible that other participants in the system, such as wholesalers, merchants, and importers, may make substantial profits while our own farmers scream for a fair bargain.
Even the customer ultimately receives a raw bargain. India spends $18 billion a year importing 130 lakh tonnes of edible oil. The confrontation between Russia and Ukraine drove up import costs to $20 billion.
Sunflower farmers and factories using oilseeds must be encouraged to reduce the nation’s reliance on imported edible oil, which now meets around 60% of its requirements. Additionally, it would lower retail prices.
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