Leaders of farm unions are requesting legal assurances of increased state assistance or a minimum price at which crops must be purchased.
Each year, the government sets a benchmark by announcing support prices for over 20 crops; however, only rice and wheat are purchased by state agencies at the support level, benefiting only about 7 percent of farmers who grow those crops.
In addition, they demand that the government keep its pledge to double their earnings, claiming that the last few years have seen a spike in cultivation costs while incomes have remained flat, turning farming into a losing venture.
The Modi administration promised to increase funding for rural development in 2016 with the goal of tripling farmer incomes by 2022. Farmers further demand that the government guarantee a minimum of 50% profit above their total cost of production.
They have also requested that the federal minister’s son be prosecuted by the government for allegedly running over and killing four protesting farmers during the 2021 demonstration.