farm bills : boon or bane for farmers?

After adding colour to everyone's life, farmers are still living in black and white !!!

It's been a week since farmers are protesting!!! why are they protesting? why there is chakka jaam? Why those people are on roads? What are they demanding? 

Several questions but answer is same...

 these farmers are protesting for farm bills, passed in rajya Sabha on 20th September 2020 by voice vote.

 Since that day farmers of Punjab, Haryana and western UP are on roads and demanding to take the decision back. 

 farmers are stating that this bill is "anti farmer" and "anti labour".  farmers along with bhartiya kisan Sangh (BKS) were upset by these ordinances.

 Those Ordinances which dragged the farmers on roads are as following :

1. farmers produce trade and commerce (promotion and facilitation) bill 2020.

2.The farmers (empowerment and protection) agreement on price assurance and farm services bill, 2020.

 3.the essential commodities (amendment) Bill 2020.

 BILL 01 : farmers produce trade and commerce (promotion and facilitation) bill 2020 : 

1.It allows barrier-free intra and inter state trade of farm produce.

                Which means that farmers are allowed to trade their farm produce without any barrier wherever they want. 

2.establishment of private mandis , agricultural produce marketing agency (APMC) 

 You might be thinking what is APMC? And  how are they linked together? 

Let me tell you : APMC established in 1950 in India. there are approx 7000 APMCs.

APMCs are the place where farmers sell their produce in best price to licensed middlemen. 

The middleman buy products from farmers and later sell them to big retailers/traders.

This bill sounds all good !!!  then what's the point in protesting? 

Because there are some of the changes recently brought in these bills which led the farmers agitation.

*changes brought :

 1.elimination of middlemen.

 Hence farmers can sell their produce to whoever they want and wherever they want at mutual prices.

*fear of farmers : 

1.Closure of APMC mandi

       No mandi means no storage for grains.

2.no tax on private market

3.small farmers may find it difficult to travel from one place to another.

BILL NUMBER 2 : The farmers (empowerment and protection) agreement on price assurance and farm services bill, 2020 : 

Also known as contract farming because this bill is legally contract!  contract? who will be there in this contract?

Actually this contract is between farmers and agri-firms, exporters large scale buyers to produce a crop for a pre-agreer price.

          = which means that exporters/large-scale buyers will sign a contract before the production or harvesting the crop.

*Fears of farmer : 

1.farmers are worried over the removal of minimum support price (MSP)...

MSP? 

 MSP is the price at which government purchases crops from the farmers.

        *department of agriculture and cooperation government of India declares MSP for 22 crops for the sowing seasons.

 *BILL NUMBER 3 : the essential commodities (amendment) Bill 2020 : 

 This bill allows the economic agents to stock food without the fear of being prosecuted,

 for example :  the price of sugar was 70,n later they sell at the time when the price of sugar got increased in the market at 75 or 80 etc.

Hence, farmer is helpless to sell their products at very low price in order to meet both ends .

now in the end I would like to draw your attention to the complaints of farmers.

 these bills are looking good on paper only.

Farmers complaints: 

1.these bills are not in favour of farmers instead there is a huge loss of farmers.

2.Farmers says MSP exists, but not in function.

Hence farmers are not able to get benefit of MSP as buyers are not ready to buy according to MSP.

3.farmers are not agree in removal of APMC. instead they want APMC to be strengthened by Government.

4.middlemen is the source, middlemen should stay so that farmers don't have to wonder here and there.

5.farmers are against privatisation.

 Farmers says "we don't want government to sell them to private sectors as we used to get better plan and services.

#conclusion : what could be done?

1.In case, private markets provide better facilities than government, farmers won't be upset.

2.strengthen of APMC instead of sweeping it away.

Rest you know the suicide rates of farmers which is still increasing....