The old saying that farming is the best occupation no longer holds true, says Raj Kumar, a farmer from western Uttar Pradesh, who complains that stagnant sugarcane prices and rising input costs have made agriculture unsustainable.

Kumar, a Rawa Rajput from Satheri village, says sugarcane prices have not been raised for several seasons while urea and the fertiliser DAP have become costlier.

“Pehle kehte the, Uttam Kheti, Beech Vyapar, Neech Naukri. Ab to sab ulat gaya hai. (We used to say agriculture is the best, followed by trade and working for someone else was the least desired. This wisdom seems to have been turned on its head),” says Kumar.

Kumar says he does not know much about the new farm laws but is supporting the protesting farmers because agriculture has become unviable.

The farmers protesting against the three laws are worried that these will lead to the collapse of the existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) system and leave them vulnerable to exploitation by large corporates. They are demanding repeal of the laws and a legal guarantee for a minimum support price for crops. The protests, which started in Punjab and Haryana, are spreading across the country.

In Uttar Pradesh, mahapanchayats are being held to spread awareness against the laws and rally support for the protest at Delhi’s borders.

Roshan Lal, a Saini by caste and a small-scale farmer, said delay in payment for sugarcane and the rising diesel prices besides the problem of stray cattle had made their lives miserable.

“More than farm laws, no hike in cane prices, delay of over a year in payments of sugarcane and the menace of stray cattle have broken our back,” Lal said. “All this has forced us to raise our voices for farmers’ issues.”

Sohan, a Kashyap by caste from Ganshampura village who owns less than one acre and uses his crop mostly in his jaggery workshop, says: “Here sugarcane is everything. If its prices increase, the prices of jaggery will also go up otherwise it would be difficult to pay even wages.”

Sohan also complains about the stray cattle. He has heard about the farm laws but doesn’t know much about them.

However, opposition to the laws becomes louder and more visible in the Jat-dominated regions of the western Uttar Pradesh. In Shoram village, seen as the headquarters of the khaps (caste councils) of the Jat community, a mere mention of farm laws evokes a strong response.

“These laws are not only against the farmers but against the country... those who are guarding the borders are our sons and behind their back you are trying to snatch the rights of their brothers who are into farming,” said Bhupender Choudhary, a villager.

The protest will continue till the government takes back the farm laws, says Vipin Balyan, a 35-year-old farmer from Shoram village. “The proponents of these black laws will pay heavily in coming elections.”