Skip to main content

If corporates control costs without APMC, farmers with less landholding 'may suffer'

Cherry Yadvendu* 

With a dream to free the country's farmers from the age-old mandi construction and free them from the shackles of go-betweens, the government presented three farm bills -- the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce Bill, 2020; the Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020; and the Essential Commodities Bill.
However, farmers are mostly worried that this will at last prompt the finish of discount advertises and guaranteed costs, leaving them with no back-up choice. That is, in the event that they are not happy with the cost offered by a private purchaser, they can't get back to the mandi or use it as a negotiating advantage during arrangements.
Almost 12 rounds of talks between the 30-odd farmer associations and the public authority have yielded no outcomes. A record of fighting farmers show they are worried that the minimum support price (MSP) system will stop to exist if corporates control costs without Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs). In such a situation, more unfortunate farmers in the country with less landholding will be affected. As per information, more than 86% of Indian farmers own under 2 hectares of land.
They are fighting since another person chose for their future, without asking them. They are here to ensure that what small amount they have with themselves; those are not detracted from them. They are troubled of the expectation and the potential outcomes emerging from these three ranch laws.
In the event that we intently look and investigate the current farmers' fights and their requests, we don't see them setting any expectations for their upliftment or for their improvement. They are simply fighting so they don't get denied of the methods and their privileges that they presently have with them. Consider that briefly.
In the previous year, farming is the only area that has seen positive development despite the general economy witnessing a slump. The public authority has attempted to dishonour the farmers' fights by acquiring the story of hostile to public components, undermined and documented arguments against the activists and pioneers, endeavoured to curb them through the power and doesn't appear to be keen on settling the issue. However, the farmers have been resolute in their interest in cancelling the laws. 
Almost 89% of the rice created by the farmers in Punjab is secured by the public authority. In Haryana, it is 85%. Obviously, the farmers in Punjab and Haryana have an immense impetus in developing rice and getting rid of value hazard. The public authority obtainment framework and the MSP have basically guaranteed that semi-parched regions like Punjab and Haryana develop rice, a yield which needs a great deal of water.
The public authority obtainment framework and MSP have guaranteed that semi-parched regions like Punjab and Haryana develop rice, a yield which needs a great deal of water
Also, this has made its own arrangement of issues. Nonstop selection of rice-wheat editing framework in North-Western fields of Punjab, Haryana and West Uttar Pradesh has brought about consumption of ground water and disintegration of soil quality, representing a genuine danger to its manageability. It likewise makes the issue of stubble consuming throughout the cold weather months.
All these three explicit farm laws are associated, and neutralizes the farmers' advantages. In the event that the public authority suspects something, it should make laws relating to the anxieties of the farmers. Simple confirmation would little to foil away their apprehensions. Endeavors are being made to feature the dissent in a terrible light, giving it some political and troublesome points. Some are claiming that solitary the princely farmers and brokers are fighting as these laws contrarily influence simply their inclinations. 
Annulment the laws is the thing that the farmers are requesting. A stop is there and neither one of the parties are moving from their stands. The public authority needs to make advances in persuading the farmers. If not, perhaps it would be directly in taking them back. In the event that any such law is to be made, it must be made by finishing and going the fair treatment of law, by taking part in an exchange with every one of the partners in question.
Regardless of whether a few specialists accept that the recently passed ranch bills will improve India's horticultural area, believing the public authority is by all accounts the genuine obstacle for the nation's farmers.
---
*2016-21 batch, Indian Institute of Management, Indore

Comments

TRENDING

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha*  The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza*  An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000. 

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas*  Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist  Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024. 

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

Golwalkar's views on tricolour, martyrs, minorities, caste as per RSS archives

By Shamsul Islam*  First time in the history of independent India, the in-charge minister of the Cultural Ministry in the current Modi government, Prahlad Singh Patel, has glorified MS Golwalkar, second supremo of the RSS and the most prominent ideologue of the RSS till date, on his birth anniversary, February 19. In a tweet he wrote : “Remembering a great thinker, scholar, and remarkable leader #MSGolwalkar on his birth anniversary. His thoughts will remain a source of inspiration & continue to guide generations.”

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco*  Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma*  Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some  recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Environmental cost of Green Revolution: India world’s second-highest fertilizer importer

By Glenn Davis Stone*  Feeding a growing world population has been a serious concern for decades, but today there are new causes for alarm. Floods, heat waves and other weather extremes are making agriculture increasingly precarious, especially in the Global South .