In India, protesting farmers reject government offer, will continue march to New Delhi

The farmers are seeking a guarantee minimum price for 23 crops, and rejected the government’s offer of a five-year contract for guaranteed prices for five crops

The protesting farmers began their march last week, but efforts to reach New Delhi have been blocked by authorities, who barricaded highways into the capital

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Farmers gesture at the police, at the protest site of farmers, who are marching towards New Delhi to press for the better crop prices promised to them in 2021. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:35pm, 20 Feb 2024

Indian farmers who have been protesting for a week to demand guaranteed crop prices have rejected a proposal from the government, and say they will continue their march to the capital, New Delhi.

The protesting farmers began their march last week, but their efforts to reach the city have been blocked by authorities, who have barricaded highways into the capital with concrete blocks, metal containers, barbed wire and iron spikes to barricade highways to the capital to avoid a repeat of the 2021 farmers’ protests, during which they camped in the city’s outskirts for over a year.

The farmers are seeking a law that would guarantee minimum prices for 23 crops. Late on Monday night, farm leaders said they refused the government’s offer of a five-year contract for guaranteed prices for five crops, including pulses, maize and cotton.

The government’s proposal made on Sunday was “not in the interest of farmers,” Jagjit Singh Dallewal, one of the leaders of the protest, told the Press Trust of India news agency.

He added that the farmers – tens of thousands of whom have been camping out some 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the capital as they waited for the government offer – will resume their march to New Delhi on Wednesday.

“We appeal to the government to either resolve our issues or remove barricades and allow us to proceed to Delhi to protest peacefully,” Dallewal said.

Indian farmers from several associations mainly from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab are headed to Delhi as part of a protest demanding a law guaranteeing minimum support price for their produce. Photo: EPA-EFE

The protests renewed a movement that began over two years ago, in which tens of thousands of farmers hunkered down on the edges of New Delhi for over a year against agriculture laws which the government ended up repealing.