Serving Farmers and Saving Farming: Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth of Farmers’ Welfare – Fifth Report, Volume II

The eight-member National Commission on Farmers (NCF), chaired by Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, was set up in 2004 by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to assess the extent of India’s agrarian crisis. The Commission held 37 formal meetings over two years between 2004 and 2006, as well as technical consultations with individuals, groups and government officials in various parts of the country. It produced five reports (the fifth of these in two volumes) and presented two drafts of a National Policy for Farmers to the government. The revised draft policy was developed in consultation with central and state government departments, farmers, farmers’ organisations, tribal families, women’s groups, academia, civil society bodies, political parties, panchayat institutions, mass media representatives and individuals. The second volume of the fifth report, submitted on October 4, 2006, to the then Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar, reiterates the need to address India’s agrarian crisis and revive the pride associated with farming “as a way of life and as a means to livelihood.” It also summarises all the state-level consultations organised by the Commission that ultimately led to the Revised Draft National Policy for Farmers.