Did Union Enviornment Minister Prakash Javadekar manage to win over the Goan farmer finally, or was it an exercise in futility? The BJP central leadership’s plan to depute Javadekar to try and calm down the turbulence caused within the farming community over the new farm laws has in fact put the union minister in a tight spot. Much before Javadekar could even speak, he was treated to a hostile reception from farmers in Goa, with an Opposition chorus in the background crying hoarse over Mhadei and Mollem issues.
Javadekar maybe an obvious choice for the high command because he hails from Maharashtra and could narrate in Marathi to local farmers in fair measure. But what the Union Minister has not understood is that the problems faced by Goan farmers are distinctively different and don't exactly fit into the national template on numerous counts. Javadekar, before even dwelling into the benefits farmers are going to reap from the new laws, should have listened to the farmer. Merely lecturing on the wholesale benefits of reforms was a meaningless exercise because the ground situation is different in Goa.
Majority of Goan farmers are undertaking agriculture on tenanted farmlands and they don't have ownership rights over the piece of land they are undertaking cultivation. By not being actual owners, they don't become the direct beneficiaries of schemes and doles. The recent announcement of the government that only Krishi card owners are eligible for compensation for crop damage is an example. Even if other farmers are given an assurance, it would always remain vague in the absence of ownership rights.
The Union Minister's visit also reflects the fact that the State BJP failed to get the farmer on board. The disconnect is clearly showing because it had to rely on a central minister to spell out the new farm reforms, unless if we are to believe that the local leadership, including the agriculture minister, has no clue on what the laws entail. Ironically, by picking Javadekar for the job, a man who is seen as a villain in the Mhadei issue and who refused to address the people of the State on the critical water issue or the Mollem plan, the BJP has only ended up losing face with people. The party not only faced protests, black flags and more ridicule but also failed to win the confidence of the farmers.
If the BJP wants to make inroads in rural Goa and win the hearts of farmers, it has to lead by testimonies. Let farmers come up and explain their experiences to the rest of Goa on how their agro ventures have paid off and how secure and seamless their lives are, and how they prospered. Let farmers come forward and explain how they have benefited from schemes. Let these farmers be ambassadors of the State government and be shining examples for others to follow. All the political taking can never inspire or convince the common Goan farmer who till now is living in a world of uncertainties.
