Agriculture Bill: Will big industrialists kill the rights of farmers?

Two of the three bills, being called the Agricultural Reforms Bill by the Central Government, were passed by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday. Now the final seal of President Ramnath Kovind is yet to be approved, after which it will become law.

Two bills that have been passed by Parliament are the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Simplification) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Price Assurance and Trade Bill on Agriculture Service, 2020.

Farmers of Haryana-Punjab have demonstrated several times against these bills and farmers have different apprehensions about this.

Farmers believe that this bill will gradually eliminate the mandis in APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) ie common language and then promote private companies so that the farmers will not get the right price for their crops.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said many times that the government is not ending the MSP (Minimum Support Price) nor is it shutting down government purchases.

At the same time, the Opposition is an attacker on the Modi government at the Center regarding these Bills and due to this the NDA’s oldest partner Akali Dal has also renounced his ministerial post in the government.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his party have been continuously opposing this bill. Rahul Gandhi also tweeted that Prime Minister Modi is making farmers ‘slaves’ of capitalists.

How will private companies come?

Let us know how in the future due to these bills, there are apprehensions about the arbitrariness of private companies.

The first bill is the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Simplification) Bill, 2020 which will be a law under which farmers and traders will be free to sell crops outside the APMC mandi.

It is worth remembering that the government says that it is not closing APMC mandis, but is making such arrangements for farmers in which they can sell their crops to private buyers at good prices.

The second bill is the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Price Assurance and Agreement on Agricultural Services Bill, 2020. This law is for the National Framework for Agriculture Agreement.

It empowers farmers to engage in the sale of agricultural products, farm services, agricultural business firms, processors, wholesalers, large retailers and exporters.

In simple words, it will provide a framework for the farmers to come to the contract farming.

MSP for private companies?

Harkesh Singh, a farmer from Ambala, says that whatever the government has said in the law, it has been done before, things like contract farming and selling their crops have been done before and this bill is just like ‘Ambani-Adani’ Traders have been brought in to give benefits.

He says, “If the farmer now does contract farming, then he can go to SDM only when there is a dispute when he could go to court earlier. Why such ban was imposed. It seems that the government is tying the farmers And is leaving corporate companies open. They no longer need a license to purchase a crop. “

At the same time, Chaudhary Pushpendra Singh, president of Kishan Shakti Sangh and a knowledgeable person of agriculture, does not seem very upset with these bills. They say that after this law, anyone can sell their crops to anyone and anywhere, which is good, but where is the system of MSP in it?

He says, “The absence of MSP outside Mandi is the biggest point of controversy. There is no major problem with all the three laws but there is no provision for making any other system equal to Mandi. If there is no ‘private player’ “MSP should be provided for this sector, if it is coming down in this area. For example, if Rs 1925 per quintal for wheat is made for Mandi, then the same arrangement should be for private companies also.”

In the report of Shanta Kumar Committee, created to improve the efficiency and financial management of Food Corporation of India, it is said that only 6% farmers are able to sell their crops on MSP. There is also a large number of farmers in Haryana and Punjab, due to which more demonstrations are also taking place in these two states.

Chaudhary Pushpendra Singh says that there is only MSP in 23 crops in the country, if the provision of MSP had been made for private companies, then it would have benefited the farmers of all the states of the country and the chances of further exploitation would be reduced.

BJP Kisan Morcha president Virendra Singh Mast says that the law of the mandi has not been changed and it was the people and artisans working in the mandi who forced the farmers to sell their crops.

“The farmer of the country can now go anywhere and sell his crop. The country is being misled by demonstrations on the basis of the money of the artisans. Millions of farmers are praising it.”

Will companies end market system?

Farmers Harkesh Singh fears about ending the mandi system. They say that one year private companies will buy crops from you at good prices, after that when the mandis are closed then corporate companies will buy the crops at arbitrary prices.

Citing the state of Bihar, Harkesh Singh says that after the end of the mandi system there, the condition of the farmers is not good and they buy crops at arbitrary prices, if the government is friendly to the farmers then it will take the crop directly from the farmers to private companies Sell.

Chaudhary Pushpendra Singh has a different opinion on the possibility of ending the mandi system. They say that under the food security law, 80 crore people of the country are given ration and that ration is bought from the farmers, how will the mandis be closed if the government buys this ration tomorrow also.

In 2006, the APMC Act was abolished in Bihar. From this, it was estimated that farmers would be able to sell their crops in the state at their favorite prices.

Citing Bihar, agriculture expert Devinder Sharma says that if the market conditions were good for the farmers, why the situation in Bihar has not improved so far, there was talk of private mandis, investment etc. But every year the farmers there They bring their crops and sell them in Punjab-Haryana.

APMC mandis will be over, MSP will be over, on such doubts, Devinder Sharma says that it is ‘a loud shock slowly’ because APMC mandis have reached the verge of ending.

Citing an example, Devinder Sharma says, “Punjab has the largest network of mandis. The basmati rice exporters there are now saying that until the 4.50% tax on mandis is removed We will buy goods from outside because there is no tax outside. Similarly, the exporters of cotton and other goods have said that they will not buy goods from the market. If the tax does not come from the market, the government will not earn and if the earnings are not maintained then the maintenance of the mandis will be discontinued. Will be done.”

He says, “The private sector wants that when the mandis are finished, its hold is strengthened, this is the fear of the farmers. When the mandis are over, the MSP will also be finished.”

What will happen if you give MSP?

The condition of farmers in India is not hidden from anyone. They do farming under very difficult conditions and then they do not even get the right price.

According to the agricultural census conducted in 2015-16, 86 percent farmers of the country have small land holdings or it is those farmers who have less than 2 hectares of land.

Agriculture expert Devinder Sharma says that how the plan to bring private players into agriculture will be successful in India when the US and Europe fail, the farmers there are in crisis even when the government gives them subsidy.

Devinder Sharma is also right to apply MSP legally for everyone.

He says, “Private players must come in the agricultural sector, but why don’t we make MSP a legal measure. Private companies are saying that they will pay more than MSP to the farmers. The government, economists are also saying the same If it is, then why is it not legalized that no crop will be purchased at such a low price. “

“If the MSP is legalized, then the farmer will be happy. If the open market was so good for the farmers in America, why would the farmers have been subsidized there.”