Young Punjab kids ‘rich for 4 yrs after selling their lands… then broke’: World Bank's Ajay Banga on urban agri economy

World Bank President Ajay Banga highlighted the challenges facing urban and agricultural economies, noting that many traditional growth centres are undergoing significant change.

Referring to his home state of Punjab, once regarded as India’s agricultural heartland, he said that some young people who sell their family farmland receive substantial sums but often spend them quickly on consumer goods and lifestyle expenses.

Banga said, "Urban centres, all of which are now in question in different ways…I come from Punjab, which was India's agricultural centre. Today you'll find young kids there who have just sold their farms. They are rich for 4 years and buy an SUV, smoke and drink a lot. Soon they are broke and end up trying to find gig jobs."

Banga added, "Nothing wrong with that, but that's nothing compared to what there could have been if they had a chance for productivity; you need cooperatives, you need technology that gives farmers access to better seeds, better fertilisers."

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The Punjab Agricultural Revolution generally refers to the transformation of agriculture in Punjab during the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Punjab became India's most productive agricultural state and played a crucial role in achieving national food security.

Current issues of farmers in Punjab

Farmers in Punjab are currently holding protests and submitting memorandums to authorities over issues including delayed sugarcane payments, the proposed transfer and sale of cooperative sugar mills, and shortages of key farming inputs like urea.

Their wider, long-standing demands include a legally guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP), comprehensive debt relief, and reforms to crop insurance schemes.

Earlier in May, the farmers also pressed for statutory backing for MSP, a resolution to disputes over river water sharing, and the repeal of certain provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act. Under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), large groups of farmers gathered in Mohali near the Chandigarh border with plans to march toward Lok Bhavan.

As they advanced, some protesters reportedly crossed barricades, and one young participant attempted to push through using a tractor. The farmers insist that river water distribution should follow the riparian principle, arguing that Punjab, through which the rivers flow, should have primary rights over their use.

They are also demanding the repeal of Sections 78, 79, and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, which place control of Punjab’s river waters under the central government. In addition, they are calling for the withdrawal of the Dam Safety Act and the Water Amendment Act 2024, which they say undermine states’ water rights.

The protesters have further urged the central government to reconsider any plans for an “anti-agriculture” free trade agreement with the United States. They also allege that amendments to the rules governing the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) are aimed at ending Punjab’s permanent representation in the body.

(With inputs from agencies)