In open letter, they ask developed countries ‘not to be on the wrong side of history’.
A group of former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers have released an open letter, asking the developed countries “not to be on the wrong side of history” in the backdrop of increasing international statements in favour of the farmers’ protest.
“Sustainable agriculture demands that farmers adopt the latest technology to diversify their production, and the farm laws passed by the government is a step in this direction,” the former IFS officers said, while backing India’s provision of minimum support price (MSP), something criticised by the developed countries as an unfair practice.
In the statement, the 20 signatories decried attempts to disrupt India’s sovereign prerogatives. “Obviously, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. The balance between market forces and food security/famers’ welfare is a delicate one and it is the sovereign prerogative of governments to strike that balance,” they said.
The signatories included Ajay Swarup, Mohan Kumar, Veena Sikri , Vishnu Prakash and J S Sapra.
They stated that in the post COVID-19 future of sustainable agriculture and food security, there was an opportunity for the U.S., the European Union and the U.K., along with 19 members of the Cairns Group, to end the double standards that had skewed global production and markets.
The Cairns Group is a coalition of agriculture produce exporting nations.
The former IFS officers also criticised various aspects of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on agriculture, saying it was born out of a bilateral deal between the two biggest subsidy providers in farming, the U.S. and the E.U., in 1992.
‘Commercial realpolitik’
The WTO agreement on agriculture was characterised by democratic deficit and based on commercial realpolitik, they noted.
“India will gradually and incrementally allow the market to decide prices of agricultural produce, not because of the WTO or because the developed countries are saying so, but because it is in the fundamental interest of the Indian farmers and will enable the latter to double their income,” the statement said.
The WTO, under the leadership of the developed countries, would be failing in its duty if it did not amend the agreement on agriculture that facilitated the developing and least-developed members to achieve the sustainable development goal of ending hunger and securing food security, it stated.
Developed countries led by the U.S., the E.U. and the Cairns Group have an opportunity to be on the right side of history here. They must support the efforts of the developing and least developed countries even while agreeing to amend the WTO Agreement on Agriculture to accommodate the legitimate demands of the developing and the least developed countries, it said.
The statement has come in the backdrop of several international personalities, including celebrities, activists and lawmakers, supporting the farmer unions’ agitation near Delhi against the three farm laws and criticising the government’s decision to suspend Internet in the affected areas.
