Why farm prices must be raised to balance GST contribution

Doubling farmer income is impractical and not enough, the government must allow prices to double and rise regularly for farmers to earn respectfully and agriculture-based states to develop (we aren’t talking about mineral-rich states at all)

MDDTimes

Can farming be ever a respectable job in India?

Staples, vegetables and fruits production come mainly from some states that contribute less GST to the centre than those with British-legacy metros and cities. Why is this important? Because people dwelling in the metros seem to have forgotten their roots and keep chest-thumping about the GST contribution of their states. They lament that not the entire GST amount returns to them and instead a bulk goes to “poorer” and therefore undeserving states. People in some states like Tamil Nadu even say, “Make Tamil Nadu a country and we will develop more than Korea”!

Let us first take a look at the GST contribution of states to the centre – a rough measure of industrial/manufacturing development of a state.

For November 2022, the Central government received nearly Rs.146,000 crore gross GST revenue, up 11% YoY.

State-wise, the picture is different and as follows (highest to lowest; Rs crore, November 2022):

PositionStateNov-21Nov-22Growth
1Maharashtra18,65621,61116%
2Karnataka9,04810,23813%
3Gujarat9,5699,333-2%
4Tamil Nadu7,7958,55110%
5Uttar Pradesh6,6367,2549%
6Haryana6,0166,76913%
7Delhi4,3874,5664%
8West Bengal4,0834,3717%
9Telangana3,9314,2288%
10Odisha4,1364,1621%
11Rajasthan3,6983,618-2%
12Andhra Pradesh2,7503,13414%
13Madhya Pradesh2,8082,8903%
14Jharkhand2,3372,5519%
15Chhattisgarh2,4542,4480%
16Kerala2,1292,094-2%
17Punjab1,8451,669-10%
18Bihar1,0301,31728%
19Uttarakhand1,2631,2801%
20Assam9921,0809%
21Himachal Pradesh762672-12%
22Goa518447-14%
23J&K38343012%
24Dadra and Nagar Haveli27030413%
25Sikkim2072091%
26Puducherry17220922%
27Other Territory9518493%
28Chandigarh180175-3%
29Meghalaya1521626%
30Center Jurisdiction180154-14%
31Nagaland303411%
32Arunachal Pradesh406255%
33Tripura58603%
34Manipur355042%
35Ladakh1350273%
36Mizoram23243%
37Andaman & Nicobar Islands2423-7%
38Daman and Diu67%
39Lakshadweep2-79%
Total 98,7081,06,4168%

In return, the central government released Rs17,000 crore to states/UTs on 24 Nov 2022 towards the balance GST compensation for the period April to June 2022. The total compensation released during 2022-23 stands at Rs115,662 crore, and more remains to be reimbursed.

State/UT(Rs. crore)
Maharashtra2,081
Karnataka1,915
Uttar Pradesh1,202
Delhi1,200
Tamil Nadu1,188
Punjab984
Gujarat856
West Bengal814
Rajasthan806
Kerala773
Madhya Pradesh722
Andhra Pradesh682
Haryana622
Telangana542
Odisha524
Chhattisgarh500
Uttarakhand342
Jharkhand338
Himachal Pradesh226
Jammu and Kashmir208
Assam192
Goa119
Bihar91
Puducherry73
Total17,000

There is disparity, but minor. However, what is being overlooked is the contribution of farm produce and other sectors that ensure food, water and national security. What about the lives of armed forces? Will the “rich” states remain so forever? What about mental well being and environment?

Let us focus on food. Here are the prices of some staples, vegetables, and fruits (8-9 Dec 2022, Delhi).

Per quintal (maximum/Rs)Per kilogram (maximum/Rs)Remarks (minimum Rs per kg/variety)
Rice2,62526.2526.25/Mexican
Wheat2,90329.0327.51
Tur/Arhar Dal66 MSP
Potato1,38013.804.00
Onion1,12511.252.50
Tomato9209.202.00
Apple5,93859.3816.25/’Delicious’
Banana1,50015.0010.00/Ripe
Green leaves (seasonal)1,50015.004.00

Sources – Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (delagrimarket.nic.in); Economics And Statistics,Ministry Of Agriculture,Government Of India (dacnet.nic.in)

There is significant stockpiling of rice and wheat which could earn more for the farmers if exported. Would this be OK for other items like software or garments? What if the food producers say they are entitled to the share of food being produced by them for reimbursement from central stockpiles? What about medicines and water?

The question is can the people living in cities, earning in lakhs per month, not afford to buy these staples at a higher price? How long will the government be subsidising food for consumers and how long will farmers have to live below their means? These questions are important while we are discussing GST and tax redistribution.

Indian production of rice
Production (000 tonnes)
2019-20 State Production/Share (%)
1 West Bengal – 15,881.44/13.36
2 Uttar Pradesh – 15,517.80/13.05
3 Punjab – 11,779.28/9.91
4 Andhra Pradesh – 8,658.88/7.28
5 Odisha – 8,360.37/7.03
6 Telangana – 7,427.77/6.25
7 Tamil Nadu – 7,171.14/6.03
8 Chhattisgarh – 6,774.77/5.70
9 Bihar – 6,297.99/5.30
10 Assam – 4,984.63/4.19
11 Haryana – 4,824.30/4.06
12 Madhya Pradesh – 4,778.15/4.02
13 Karnataka – 3,634.48/3.06
14 Jharkhand – 3,012.80/2.53
15 Maharashtra – 2,897.59/2.44
16 Gujarat – 1,983.05/1.67
17 Tripura – 810.24/0.68
18 Uttarakhand – 658.38/0.55
19 Kerala – 605.57/0.51
20 Jammu & Kashmir – 587.02/0.49
21 Rajasthan – 480.53/0.40
22 Manipur – 385.50/0.32
23 Nagaland – 363.31/0.31
24 Meghalaya – 303.44/0.26
25 Arunachal Pradesh – 244.73/0.21
26 Himachal Pradesh – 143.79/0.12
27 Goa – 90.39/0.08
28 Mizoram – 60.01/0.05
29 Pondicherry – 59.35/0.05
30 Dadra & Nagar Haveli – 36.28/0.03
31 Andaman & Nicobar – 17.98/0.02
32 Delhi – 16.80/0.01
33 Sikkim – 16.14/0.01
34 Chandigarh – 4.40/0.00
35 Daman & Diu – 2.03/0.00
Source: National Horticulture Board (NHB)
*2021-22 ( 1st Adv. Estimate)
Indian production of wheat
Production (000 tonnes)
2019-20 State Production/Share (%)
1 Uttar Pradesh – 33,815.50/31.35
2 Madhya Pradesh – 19,607.14/18.18
3 Punjab – 17,615.56/16.33
4 Haryana – 11,876.39/11.01
5 Rajasthan – 10,916.12/10.12
6 Bihar – 5,579.72/5.17
7 Gujarat – 3,326.82/3.08
8 Maharashtra – 1,793.68/1.66
9 Uttarakhand – 904.08/0.84
10 Himachal Pradesh – 563.42/0.52
11 West Bengal – 509.94/0.47
12 Jammu & Kashmir – 488.35/0.45
13 Jharkhand – 439.44/0.41
14 Karnataka – 179.70/0.17
15 Chhattisgarh – 115.29/0.11
16 Delhi – 82.87/0.08
17 Assam – 14.43/0.01
18 Telangana – 9.21/0.01
19 Arunachal Pradesh – 6.68/0.01
20 Nagaland – 6.28/0.01
21 Manipur – 5.75/0.01
22 Chandigarh – 2.46/0.00
23 Meghalaya – 0.90/0.00
24 Tripura – 0.33/0.00
25 Sikkim – 0.18/0.00
26 Odisha – 0.17/0.00
27 Dadra & Nagar Haveli – 0.12/0.00  
Source: National Horticulture Board (NHB)
*2021-22 ( 1st Adv. Estimate)

India is a blessed country, where around 65% farm area is unirrigated but gets rains on time. And, along with subsidies and meagre income of farmers, it generally ranks in the top three in rice, wheat, vegetables, fruits, and milk production and exports.

It goes without saying that if there are droughts, prices could overnight shoot and make life miserable for people, especially in the cities. Hence, it is important to raise investment significantly in the farm sector – irrigation, machinery, farmer income and research. This will also lead to less migration and more food security, which obviously is more important than software exports in the long term.

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