From farm to furore: How farmers' strike in Maharashtra's tiny village sparked statewide protests

Puntamba is a nondescript village, home to about 18,000 people, nestled 340 kilometres from Mumbai on the banks of a dry Godavari river in Ahmadnagar district. Suddenly, though, it is the Ground Zero of the farmers' strike that has swept across the state, catching the government completely unawares.

Little did the farmers here imagine that their village's move for a better price for their crop would catapult them into the centre of what has become a raging issue, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis capitulating to most demands made by farmers.

The idea for the strike, too, came about when a group of farmers, with no work after the harvest, were shooting the breeze in the temple yard.

Satish Borbane, a farmer himself, recalls that during one such gathering, talk turned to how 20 farmers had in the village had committed suicide due to mounting debts and falling crop prices.

"In that discussion, one of my friends asked 'If the doctor or the advocate can go on strike, why not the farmer?' " Borbane told DNA.

Most laughed it off at the time. But the idea had been planted, and it took hold.

"Many of us said that if we can get good and permanent results and force the government to change its policies, that would benefit us in long term," says Sarjerao Jadhav, a former sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat, who owns about 4.5 acres of land.

The roots

In some ways, the problem this year can be directly laid at the so-called reformist impulses of the government.

"When three years ago the BJP government came to power, they, unfortunately, stripped the subsidies on fertilisers and seeds," says Jadhav. This means that the prices of one 40-kg bag of fertiliser and 200 gms of seeds went from Rs 200 and Rs 300, respectively, to Rs 1,800-2,200 and Rs 2,000.

The steep increase in input costs effectively erased any hope for viability.

A second whammy came in the form of demonetisation. "Labour refused to work on credit and they had neither bank account nor were they ready to take payment in cheque. That delayed harvesting and as result, production was damaged," recalls Borbane.

Abhay Danavate, a 55-year-old farmer, remembers that in 1995, they sold onions at Rs 5 per kg. Since then, he says, costs have increased ten-fold from Rs 1,400 an acre, but onion still sells at the same rate. "In fact, this year, onion prices has gone down to Rs 3 per kg. Now tell us how the farmers should survive?" questions Danavate, who owns 14 acres but struggles to make ends meet.

The plan

Back at the temple the day after the strike idea was mooted, the villagers gathered in large numbers. The elders asked the others to consult neighbouring villages and districts. The reasoning was that if only one village went on strike, it wouldn't make any difference.

The Gram Panchayat also passed a resolution outlining their demands, and which was replicated by 2,200 villages.

It worked. As the strike spread like wildfire, Fadnavis announced the government would meet 70 per cent of the farmers' demands, particularly the farm loan waiver before October 31

The farmers

Meanwhile, Abhay Danavate says he has 2,000 quintal of onion in temporary storage. "There are no fair prices to our crops. The expenses per acre on onion farming is almost Rs 36,000 … while the income is only Rs 14000 per acre. Therefore, farmers is no money to pay the loan," Danavate explained.

Sharada Shelar has debt of Rs 1.5 lakh. "Initially, we had only Rs 50,000 loan but in last three year, it has become Rs 1.50 lakh. We had mortgaged my marriage jewellery. Now, it looks that I will never get back my jewellery to wear," she said ruefully.

Kiran Kurande's mother wanted him to get married before they decided to try their fortunes elsewhere. "But the irony is no one wants to give a daughter to a farmer. Once upon a time, it was one of the most prestigious professions, now it is one of the most hated ones; who do we blame?" said the 26-year-old.