Agriculture Bill Beneficial or Harmful for Farmers? Why is there opposition to the bill?

- Controversy over three agriculture bills: Farmers' concerns over agriculture bills, opposition, government's response

Ahmedabad. 21 September 2020, Monday

The three controversial agriculture bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday amid heavy opposition from farmers and the opposition in the country. The central government called the bills an important step in improving the country's agricultural sector and claimed that it would help double the income of farmers. But farmers and political parties have equated the bills with death knells for farmers.

APMC, Farmers-Opposition Concerns Over Closure of Government Procurement Meaningless: Govt
Among the agricultural bills passed in the Rajya Sabha, the first is the Farmers and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the second is the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the third is Amendment. , Is 2020. These three bills have different provisions. However, the biggest concern of farmers is that these bills will lead to the closure of the minimum support price (APMC) and government procurement system. So the dominance of the corporate world in the agricultural sector will increase. Let us know the details of these bills.

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Farmers and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill
Under the bill, the government plans to develop a mechanism where the farmer can sell his crop at the place of his choice, so that the farmer can trade his crop not only with himself but also with traders in other states. Under the policy, farmers in areas where they have surplus crops will get better prices if they sell them in states where the crop is in short supply. Shortage states, on the other hand, will also get the item at a lower price. Currently there are no more options available to farmers to sell their produce. Farmers can sell the crop only in the APMC of their area or to the state government. Their income decreases as they have less option to sell their products. However, farmers are worried that the APMC system will come to an end once the policy is implemented. Farmers will not get the minimum support price (APMC) when this system ends. However, Prime Minister Modi has made it clear that the APMC will be maintained and will not be affected by the bill. At the same time, APMC is not at risk from this bill.

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Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill
Under the bill, the government claims that contract farming will get a national framework. This will put not only the farmer at risk but also the company contracting with him. Another big benefit is that farmers will not have to spend on marketing their produce and brokerage will end. Farmers themselves will set prices for each other's products and sell crops by entering into agreements with agricultural companies, wholesalers, exporters and retailers. Farmers will get a fair price for their produce. Farming is still an uncertain process in the country, it is affected by rainfall, market convenience, etc. and the entire risk of farming is on the farmers. The concern of farmers and the opposition to the new bill is how farmers will fight corporate in the event of a dispute. They will have less resources. In reply, the government said that the dispute could be resolved on terms related to agreement supply, quality, grade, standards and price.

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Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill
This bill defines a change in the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act made in 1955. The government has removed grains, pulses, edible oils, onions, potatoes, etc. from the list of essential items in its provisions. The government argues that under normal circumstances the government will not have control over the collection and distribution of these items. It will modernize the food supply chain and keep prices stable. The government says farmers are not benefiting from the law, which requires less investment in cold storage, warehousing, processing and exports. Thus, farmers suffer if bumper crops are harvested. These shortcomings will be eliminated under the new bill. However, farmers and the opposition are worried that this will lead to price volatility. Food security will be completely eliminated. States do not know how much stock they have in the state. So the black market of essentials will increase.