The ongoing Farmers’ Protest 2.0 could severely hit trade and industry as well as loss of employment in the Northern states, as apprehended by the Industry body PHDCCI. According to the President of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sanjeev Agrawal, the ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi-NCR will cost more than Rs 500 crore every day and will negatively impact the quarter-four Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) numbers of Northern states.
While appreciating the constructive talks between the farmers’ unions and the Union government, Sanjeev Agrawal stated that the cost of lingering agitation will be more than Rs 500 crore per day and will have an impact on the Q4 GSDP of Northern States. He added that the Industry body is looking forward to an early resolution of the issues from both the Government and the farmers, with a common consensus for the welfare of all in the country.
He pointed out that the Farmers’ agitation is severely impacting the businesses of MSMEs in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as raw materials of such units are procured largely from other states to execute production processes and to meet up the demand of the consumers.
Pertinent to note that in the wake of the Farmers’ Protest 2.0 that commenced on 13th February, several major routes leading to Delhi have been sealed to stop the large influx of agitating farmers from Punjab, to avoid a repeat of ugly scenes witnessed during the previous Farmer protest in 2020-2021. Additionally, traffic has been substantially diverted leading to traffic congestion in the protest-hit areas, added logistical challenges, and losses in time and money.
According to an old estimate, more than 50 thousand trucks come to Delhi daily carrying goods from different states across the country while about 30 thousand trucks carry goods from Delhi to other states. As Delhi is neither an agricultural nor an industrial state, to maintain its distributive character of trade, it has to depend upon the buying and selling of goods. Delhi as well as local businesses in the protest-hit areas are the major sufferers of farmers’ protest as it is leading to logistical barriers, road blockages, and forced adoption of alternate – remote or longer routes.
The major hit will be on the MSMEs in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. PHDCCI President Agarwal further noted, “The combined GSDP of Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi is estimated at Rs 27 lakh crore in 2022-23 at current prices. There are around 34 lakh MSMEs in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi which employ about 70 lakh workers in their respective factories”
He added, “The economic activities such as food processing, cotton textiles, garments, automobile, farm machinery, information technology, trading, tourism, hospitality, and transport will be severely impacted by the continuous farm agitation with the disrupted supplies of many raw materials to the industry.”
As per media reports, major tourist destinations are also facing the negative impact of the farmers’ protest with reduced tourist footfalls from the Delhi-NCR and neighbouring regions.
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Earlier on 13th February, the members of the Confederation of Bahadurgarh Industries (COBI)-District Jhajjhar in Haryana urged farmers not to harm their livelihoods and not stage the protest in the industrial hub of Bahadurgarh. During the peaceful demonstration, the members of the Confederation were seen raising posters appealing to the protesting farmers not to congregate in the Bahadurgarh area to ensure minimum impact on their business.
The posters raised by the COBI members read “Industries and workers of Bahadurgarh humbly request our farmer brothers not to gather and take away our means of livelihood.”
Speaking to AajTak, the employees of Bahadurgarh Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that “last time they suffered the loss of Rs 20,000 crore due to the farmer protest as they blocked the Tikri border for one year and seventeen days.”
The farmers’ protests have also started to inflate the prices of basic amenities like food, milk, and other commodities in the Delhi-NCR area. The traders in Ghazipur Mandi recently reported a Rs 4 increase in carrot prices over the past 15 days due to supply chain disruptions amidst farmers’ protests.
It is important to note that Businesses suffered an estimated loss of Rs 60,000 crores during the Farmers’ Protest in 2020-2021 that continued for over a year against the three farmer laws rolled back by the Union government as demanded by the agitating farmers to call off their protest.
Evidently, the Confederation of All India Traders(CAIT) had back then pegged the losses endured by the country during 12 months of farmers’ protest at Rs 60,000 crores. The trade body said that the losses were predominantly incurred in the initial phase of the protests—November, December 2020, and January 2021.
Furthermore, in March 2021, Union Minister for Roads, Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari gave a written reply to the Rajya Sabha about the losses incurred because of farmers’ protest. The Union Minister informed the house that the National Highways Authority of India suffered a toll revenue loss of Rs 814.4 crore till 16th March 2021 as a result of farmers’ agitation in three states. The total losses to NHAI escalated further as the protest was called off in December of that year.
Farmers’ Protest 2.0 and the development so far
As reported earlier, a large number of farmers marched towards the national capital on 13th February. The police have deployed concrete slabs, iron nails, barricades, barbed wires, and police and paramilitary personnel at Kurukshetra in Haryana because of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by the farmers. The police fired tear gas on the protestors at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border. The protestors are seeking legal guarantees for MSP and other demands.
In addition to drafting a law on MSP, the protesting farmers have been demanding that India should quit the World Trade Organisation (WTO), halt trade agreements with other nations, and a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 to farmers who attain the age of 60 years among others. The protest has been called by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha and Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, led by farmer union leaders Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher.
So far there have been four rounds of talks between the representatives of the agitating farmers’ Unions and three Union Ministers on 8th,12th,15th, and 18th February. After the fourth round of meetings yesterday, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the talks were “positive”. During the meeting, the Union government presented a five-year plan for the purchase of pulses, maize, and cotton crops by government agencies at minimum support prices to boost crop diversification.
Minister Goyal said, “We proposed a solution involving cooperative societies like NAFED entering into five-year contracts with farmers, ensuring purchases at MSP without quantity limitations.” He also highlighted the proposal’s focus on diversification into pulses, cotton, and maize with MSP assurances without limitations on the quantity.
Following the government’s proposal, the farmers have decided to temporarily halt the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march while they go through the proposal and decide on a further action plan.
