Tractor March on 26th January ?? why protests on farmer’s bill ?? Farmer’s bills Protests
Two Images QUITE Frequent from past Movements containing # xxx ” we are xxx, we are not TERRORISTS ” & “xxx xxx AZZADI” why, From Whom ?? From What ??? i got to read a line Yesterday “art, pen & People” , wow struck my mind, nicely written.
Farmers’ protest against the three reforms—the Farmers’ Produce Exchange and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Guarantee, and the Farm Services Act—is currently common.
The Supreme Court has postponed the enforcement of the three farm laws that are at the root of the farmers’ protests. The Supreme Court has set up a group of experts to help overcome the impasse.
Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Guarantee and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act is currently in widespread agitation against the three amendments.
Farmers have laid siege to Delhi, just as the Modi government is trying to find an amicable solution. Once again, the 8th round of meetings between protesting farmer groups and the central government failed to draw any result.
On September 27, the President gave his assent to the three controversial agricultural bills that had already been passed by the Parliament. The opposition, as well as the long-standing BJP ally of Shiromani Akali Dal, called these reforms “anti-farmer.”
After talks with Home Minister Amit Shah failed, the government put out a proposal to amend the agricultural legislation, but farmers’ union leaders refused the deal, claiming that they would settle for nothing less than a full repeal of the legislation.
Here’s what you need to hear about:
What are the three agri reforms in contention? in Tractor March on 26th January ?? Why protests on farmer’s bill ??
The Farmers’ Produce Exchange and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation), the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Guarantee and Farm Services, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act have been passed by the House and have earned the President’s approval to turn them into laws. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has assured that the Minimum Support Price Scheme will remain in effect and that sufficient security of land tenure has been placed in place to protect the interests of farmers.
What are they for? in Tractor March on 26th January ?? Why protests on farmer’s bill ??
The Government has announced that these reforms would stimulate the development of the sector through private sector investment in infrastructure building and supply chains for agricultural produce on national and global markets. They are meant to help small farmers who do not have the resources either to exchange for their produce at a better price or to invest in technologies to increase farm productivity.
The Agri market bill aims to encourage farmers to sell their goods outside the APMC ‘mandis’ to whoever they choose. Farmers can get better rates through consolidation and cost-cutting in the transport market. However, this Bill may mean that states would lose ‘commissions’ and ‘mandi payments.’ The contract farming law would allow producers to enter into a deal with agribusiness companies or major retailers on pre-agreed prices of their goods.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020 aims to exclude commodities such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onions, and potatoes from the list of essential commodities. This will bring an end to the imposition of stock-holding caps, even in rare cases.
Who is protesting? in Tractor March on 26th January ?? Why protests on farmer’s bill ??
Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and others are demonstrating against these amendments. There is currently a huge rally taking place at Delhi’s borders. Badal had tendered her resignation after the Bills had been passed. Opposition groups, including TMC, Congress, DMK, and BSP, rejected agricultural sector reform proposals, saying they were against the interests of small and marginal farmers. Congress lifted its face against the government of Modi, calling the change a plot to defeat the Green Movement.
Slamming the government, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said: “This government has watched as farmers will take land to their imperialist mates, whether it is the Land Acquisition Act, whether it is in the industrial sector by undermining the labor courts, and now this three-pronged assault on the Indian agricultural system by means of two farm bills-one linked to the APMC,
One clear thing is that the government did not consult the farmers until passing the bills. Why was the government in a rush to pass these measures and after the lockdown? The government has destroyed agriculture throughout the region. After these bills, certain states that survive due to agriculture would be devastated.
Suppose corporate agricultural operations made it possible for small to medium-sized farms to be forced to sell due to surrounding residents entering into contracts with businesses. The rural economy will be absolutely broken. During the corona days, private dairy owners deliberately decrease the procurement costs due to low offtake but do not share the incentives with final customers. Such corruption would happen because of the low price they bid for land bought from small farmers. Refurbishment of flat ventures current owners typically face abuse in the same manner as farmers would experience as a result of corporate entry.
According to this interpretation, the Center has the right to enact legislation that promotes the free trade of agricultural products (inter-and intra-state) and does not allow restrictions on stocks or exports. But this can only happen after the farmer has sold it. Regulation of the first sale of agricultural produce is a “marketing” responsibility of the states, not the Centre.
For their part, farmers would not want any limitations on the movement, transportation, and sale of their goods. Maharashtra’s onion farmers vehemently protested the Centre’s use of a restriction on exports and the introduction of stock limits whenever retail prices tended to increase. But these limitations are related to “trade.” When it comes to “marketing”—significantly undermining the hegemony of APMCs—farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana, are not very persuaded of the “freedom of choice to sell to anyone and anywhere” claim.
The explanation for this is simple: most of the government procurement at minimum support prices (MSPs)—paddy, wheat, and increasingly pulses, cotton, groundnut, and mustard—is happening in APMC mandis. In a situation where more and more trade moves out of the APMCs, these regulated business yards will lose income. “They might not shut down officially, so it will be like BSNL vs. Jio. And if the government keeps buying, we’ll be left with just the major corporations to market,” said a farmer based in Panipat (Haryana).
