In India, protesting farmers reject government offer, will continue march to New Delhi

The protesting farmers began their march last week, but their efforts to reach the city have been blocked by authorities, who have barricaded highways into the capital with concrete blocks, metal containers, barbed wire and iron spikes to barricade highways to the capital to avoid a repeat of the 2021 farmers’ protests, during which they camped in the city’s outskirts for over a year.

The government’s proposal made on Sunday was “not in the interest of farmers,” Jagjit Singh Dallewal, one of the leaders of the protest, told the Press Trust of India news agency.

He added that the farmers – tens of thousands of whom have been camping out some 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the capital as they waited for the government offer – will resume their march to New Delhi on Wednesday.

“We appeal to the government to either resolve our issues or remove barricades and allow us to proceed to Delhi to protest peacefully,” Dallewal said.

The protests renewed a movement that began over two years ago, in which tens of thousands of farmers hunkered down on the edges of New Delhi for over a year against agriculture laws which the government ended up repealing.

This time, farmers who rode on tractors from neighbouring Haryana and Punjab states say the government has failed to make progress on other key demands from the previous protests.

At the heart of the latest protests is the demand for a law that would guarantee minimum prices for their produce.

The government protects agricultural producers against sharp falls in farm prices by setting a minimum purchase price for certain essential crops, a system that was introduced in the 1960s to help shore up food reserves and prevent shortages. The system can apply to 23 crops, but the government