Greenstories-new farm

India & agriculture have been each other’s identity from the start of history to date. Throughout history, it is observed that the major profession of the land depends upon the land & that trend continues till date.(farm laws) Approximately 60% of the Indian population is dependent on agriculture & any policy that comes to effect in this sector will directly affect millions of lives.

In 2020, the central government tried on its part to make significant changes related to this sector, claiming them to be a step taken to develop the already strong agriculture sector which contributed a healthy 18% towards the total economy.  But, the step backfired and now millions have raised their voice against the new farm bills of 2020.

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The need for a new farm bill

North India is famous for its highly fertile fields, which India has been using for decades to feed all of its citizens & to develop a strong export sector. The farm produce & farmers are governed under various laws to maximize the regional as well as national production quota & standards.

These laws provided a sense of minimum security within the masses, especially in states which relied heavily upon the agro sector for their overall economy. Some of these notable laws are:

  • Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act,1984 (51 of 1985)
  • Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Act,2001
  • The Seeds Act, 1966
  • The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937
  • Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Act,2001

As can be seen, some of these acts date from the pre-independence era & a proper framework was devised to counter all the farmers’ issues on a national scale. For the same matter, a commission under the vigilance of Mr. M.S. Swami Nathan was formed which submitted its reports from 2004-06 mentioning the ways to uplift the quality of life for farmers.

The need for some pending farm reforms was the dire need to bring the farmers in the spotlight & uplift their quality of life as well as that of product & after some time, central government, led by BJP followed the footsteps of hoping to uplift the local farmers & presented 3 bills in September of 2020. The bills then became law and frankly, all hell broke loose. 

New farm laws & why the protest

Why are the new farm laws being rejected in mass? 1

The mannerism of passing the bills in the lower house startled the whole of the nation & the seeds of mistrust were placed then only between farmers & the government. The passing of these laws immediately sparked sharp criticism from the opposition as well as from the farmers all over the country especially from the states of Punjab, Haryana & Rajasthan. All of which, depend heavily upon agriculture & thus farmers for their economy. Farmers of these states were protected under the umbrella of MSP which was an unwritten guarantee by the government to provide farmers with minimum support price for their produce.

The bills that were passed & eventually became law are:

 

The set system was governed under APMC mandis to ensure its proper implementation & a buff was needed to strengthen APMC mandis to make them more transparent, connected & reliable but, the government went a step ahead to form a parallel private space for farmers which does not adhere to the rules & regulations set under the pre-existing mandis.

The main reason for discontent was at the point of making a strong parallel market which can eventually bypass the mandi system. The concept of a parallel market is great as it provides farmers with a certain level of independence to choose from, but opting to make that parallel market free of the already tried & tested mandi system rules & regulations is what became the unbecoming of these bills along with various other clause related to dispute settlement, legalization of MSP, etc.

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Read Also : Uncultivated food: food that money can’t buy,

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Farmer’s demands & its legitimacy

Owing to these developments, farmers demand that:

  • The clause of MSP must be made into a proper law rather than an unwritten guarantee.
  • A rollback of all three ordinances.
  • To ensure the survival & development of the present mandi system.
  • A law should be made to increase MSP by 50 % to the average value & it must be made mandatory.
  • The newly proposed unlimited stock limit be revised & repealed.
  • Repeal the newly implemented power act related to electricity subsidies.
  • A law should be made to guarantee the in-time payment for their produce.
  • A proper legal system be provided for resolving disputes related to the sector.

Taking the limelight is the major demand for legalizing MSP (minimum support price). It is the minimum price given by the government for procurement of any crops & in total of 23 crops including crops like rice, paddy, wheat, sugarcane, etc. recovered in it at least on paper.

In reality, the MSP is guaranteed only if a farmer sells his crop under the umbrella of APMC mandi & in many states like UP, Bihar, etc., this mandi system is practically non-existent for a long time. This resulted in very low income of farmers of said state when compared to the farmers of Punjab & Haryana.

The demand to nationalize & legalize MSP will certainly increase the income of all the farmers irrespective of their states. The main fear of farmers is that a parallel mandi system will provide them with lucrative deals for 5 to 6 years & when the established mandi system will cease to exist, the corporate will give the deals as they please as they will not be covered under MSP. This fear is a direct result of the case study of UP & Bihar, whose farmers suffered the same fate after the mandi system was dismantled due to private & corporate incursions.

Looking at it from any angle, these demands seem just & fair as the agriculture sector experiences worst growth in increase of personal income post-1945 when compared to other sectors. A farmer’s income increased by merely 19% till now whereas service sector saw an increase of 100 to 200%. These figures lower down the morale of farmers.

Some visionary measures must be kept on the table to address the present cause of agitation within the farmer’s community & at the same time, it must be kept in mind that farmers need to be secured & protected from any possible form of exploitation that can arise in the future.

Therefore, a framework constituted towards betterment of quality of life for our farmers is needed badly to increase their average income as well as catering towards the facilities a farmer can get in return for feeding the whole nation.

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Read Also : Incredible benefits of organic farming you must know

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