Farmer groups divided on wheat export ban, seek stronger crop export policy for better income​

The union's heneral secretary, Jagmohan Singh, questioned the timing of the wheat export ban, stating that India was selling wheat abroad when international prices were low and stopped when they rose. Despite shrivelling crops and a lower yield this year, he maintained that for now, India has enough wheat for self-consumption. However, he stressed on the imminent need for upgradation of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and for an improvement in wheat storage facilities to ensure that wheat stocks don't spoil. Pointing to the entry of multinational corporations in most sectors of the economy, he stressed upon the need for the government to implement a robust crop export policy to help farmers earn more.

The group's convenor Kavitha Kuruganti has batted for the use of real-time data for policy decision-making in the era of climate change, where adverse weather conditions have become the new normal. Stating that it isn't useful to debate the export ban, she urged governments to instead offer a bonus over MSP to procure wheat stocks lying with farmers instead of penalising them with ad-hoc decision-making.

Terming the removal of import duty on cotton as yet another instance of the government siding with consumers and industries clamouring for cheaper raw materials at the farmers' expense, she there is a danger of a larger policy failure in absence of reliable data systems, coordination between ministries and prediction abilities of anticipated as well as current crop stocks. She sought a predictable policy environment with no midway changes in export-import policies from the start of the sowing season to the end of marketing for all crops.