Why the Agriculture Bills recently introduced in the Parliament being opposed by the farmers?

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 – were introduced in the Parliament on September 14 to replace the ordinances issued during the lockdown. Lok Sabha has passed these bills this week.

The farmers and farmer associations across the country have been protesting against three ordinances promulgated by the Centre on June 5. Last July, there was a mammoth ‘Tractor Protest’ by the farmers of Punjab and Haryana opposing the ordinance. On Thursday (September 17, 2020), SAD leader Sukhbir Badal announced in Lok Sabha that Harsimrat Badal, the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries from his party, will resign in protest over these bills.  Let us look at what are these bills, and why are farmers protesting?

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) bill 2020 allows intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ produce beyond the physical premises of APMC markets. It means the bill allows farmers to sell their produce in the open market. Further, State governments are prohibited from levying any market fee, cess, or levy outside APMC areas. State Governments used to charge a 6% commission on the procurement agency.

The Farmers Agreement bill 2020 makes a framework for contract farming through an agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce.  It provides for a three-level dispute settlement mechanism: the conciliation board, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Appellate Authority.

The Essential Commodities Bill 2020 allows the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances (such as war and famine).  Stock limits may be imposed on agricultural produce only if there is a steep price rise.

Why farmers are opposing?

Farmers fear they will no longer get paid at Minimum Support Price MSP, as the bills allow farmers to sell their produce in the open market, while commission agents fear they will lose their commission.  For example, Food Corporation of India (FCI) a central government agency has been procuring large parts of wheat and rice grown in Punjab. In the 2019-2020 Rabi marketing season, Punjab supplied 129.1 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of the 341.3 LMT wheat procured for the central pool. In 2018-19, it contributed 113.3 LMT of rice to the total 443.3 LMT in the central pool. Now, farmers fear that the Food Corporation of India will no longer be able to procure from the state mandis, which will rob the middleman/commission agent/arhatiya of his 2.5% commission. The state itself will lose the 6% commission they used to get from the procurement agencies like FCI.

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