A Short And Telling History Of Farm Protection Laws

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF JAPAN

Japan was in the throes of the winter of 1945-46. It had surrendered to the Allied forces. Japan had probably the most debilitating feudal system, with the highest concentration of land and a vastly impoverished peasantry. General Douglas MacArthur, in command of occupied Japan shot a call to arms to end the crippling feudalism in Japan. The following instruction was not a part of a left-wing or Communist manifesto, it was sent by MacArthur to the Imperial Japanese government:

"in order that the Imperial Japanese government shall remove economic obstacles to the revival and strengthening of democratic tendencies, establish respect for the dignity of man, and destroy the economic bondage which is enslaved the Japanese farmer 2 centuries of feudal oppression, the Japanese Imperial government is directed to take measures to ensure that those who till the soil of Japan shall have more equal opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labour.. The Japanese Imperial government is therefore ordered to submit to this headquarters on or before 15/03/1946 a program of rural land reform."

The Japanese government brought in a tepid land reform bill more or less keeping the vested feudal interests in place. Outraged, MacArthur once again demanded the Parliament to bring in a more radical and more watertight legislation which ultimately came to be passed in October 1946. This legislation is credited with ending feudalism in Japan and its ensuing economic recovery.

FARM SUPPORT IN JAPAN, TAIWAN, SOUTH KOREA AND CHINA.

Land reform legislations gained ground with institutional support in north-east Asia viz. in Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. Along with land reform legislations, legislative and administrative mechanisms were set up to implement the two-pronged action of purchasing agricultural produce at about market prices and sold to consumers at a discounted price. For instance, the government in South Korea throughout the 70s and 80s bought large quantities of rice at about market prices, and then sold it to consumers at a discount of upto 50%. Similar mechanisms were set in place in Japan Taiwan and China. This enabled surplus farm production and ensured food security. With a sound agricultural policy in place, Japan, South Korea China and Taiwan powered their economies to hitherto unseen and unparalleled heights.

LAND REFORMS IN INDIA

It is interesting that in post-independent India the Parliament had to fight a bitter battle with the judiciary to bring in land reforms. A study of the previous judgments in major land reforms cases before the Supreme Court will reveal that none of them ever alluded to the study of economic history of land reforms. It was never brought to the notice of the courts that land reforms were all pervading and at all stages of history. It commenced as early as in 133 BC and continues till date. Land reforms were implemented by the Greeks in 6^th Century BC. Tiberius proposed land reforms which were passed by the Roman Senate in 133 BC. In Europe, France implemented land reforms after the French revolution. It was implemented in Sweden (1757), Denmark (1819), Greece (1835), Finland (1757), Canada (1873), Czechoslovakia (1945 to 1948), Ireland (1870 to 1920), Poland (1919 to 1944), Romania (1945), Hungary (1945), and the emancipation of serfs took place in Russia in 1861. In the 20^th century, land reforms were implemented in Taiwan (1950's), Egypt (1952), Vietnam (1955), South Korea (1949), Philippines (1963), Brazil (1930), Bolivia (1953), Peru (1950's) Bolivia (1953), Chile (1963) till the assassination of Allende in 1973, Peru (1950s), Iran (1962-1971) and Syria (1958), the list is endless.

Every nation has at some point of its time in its history, implemented land reforms to set right the skewed land ownership patterns. According to Professor Amartya Sen, China's economic surge is substantially attributed to its successful implementation of land reforms, and thereby enabling the development of their human capital. Even if we look at the Indian context, the states which implemented land reforms effectively surged ahead of the rest of the states which are still battling with poverty, illiteracy, backwardness, explosive population growth. At the vanguard, is the state of Kerala which massively implemented land reforms and today has living standards comparable to South Korea.

CONSTITUTIONALITY OF AMERICAN FARM PROTECTION LAWS

In 1933, with most farmers in the USA were losing money because of the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) signed the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA).In the Agricultural Adjustment Administration subsidized farmers began to regulate agricultural production by destroying crops and artificially reducing supplies. It also offered subsidies to farmers to encourage them to willingly limit their production of crops. The AAA came under challenge in the celebrated decision of United States vs Butler. The majority of 6 to 3 struck down the AAA as unconstitutional. Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, denounced the majority opinion striking down the farm law as a "tortured construction of the Constitution." Many farmers were incensed. On the night following Roberts' opinion, life-size effigies of the six majority opinion justices erected and incinerated.

The Butler decision ultimately led to FDR's famous 'Fireside Chat' where he said "we have reached the point as a nation where we must take action to save the Constitution from the court and the court from itself". President Roosevelt determined to support the American farmers, hit back with 1938 legislation, the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, which essentially created a similar organization for distributing farmer subsidies. These legislative measures, many of them in place even today, pulled America out of the Great Depression.

FARM SUPPORT ACROSS THE GLOBE

It is an admitted position that countries across the globe have legislative and administrative systems in place providing support to their domestic agriculture. The Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation Report 2020 found that 54 OECD and EU countries and 12 emerging economies are providing $700 billion annually to support their agricultural sector. Out of this, $536 billion is in the form of payments to the agricultural producers themselves. This is simply because agriculture ensures food security for the nation and requires tremendous assistance as the nature of farming is its precarious vulnerability to the weather and uncontrolled events. It is noteworthy that the top spenders on farm support are rich countries like the United States, the European Union and China. Incidentally, China, the fastest growing economy in the world spends 4 times that of the United States and more than the combined spending of the 3 big spenders the European Union, the United States and Japan.

This narration is important because it busts the myth that industrial growth can be achieved only by compromising on agriculture. Farm Laws have to be analyzed and tested with the global context and measures in mind.

Views are personal.

(Author is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India)