What is farm bill 2020?
India is dominating as an agricultural country. More than 70% of its population is directly or indirectly involved in agricultural activities. These farmers are doing hard work and feeding the entire nation but the saddening fact is that they are knotted in the fetters of starvation and poverty. In 2020 the central government passed 3 new bills for the betterment of farmers and the agriculture sector.
- These bills are the Farmers Produce and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020,
- Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Assurance
- Farm Services Bill 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020.
The government said that these bills are a boon for the farmers. These bills make structural changes in the agriculture sector and also encourage corporate investments in the agriculture ecosystem to make agriculture more profitable for farmers. Which change the life of farmers but farmers and the state government are opposing these bills. Farmers are against these bills and they are protesting against the bills and the government. Punjab and Haryana are those states in which 70% of the population is dependent on farming for their lives.
What are the benefits of the Farmer Bill 2020?
- The farm bill forecast a track for farmers to sell their crops in the open market. Before the bill, Farmers are fixed to sell their produce only in the APMC mandi`s but after the bill, farmers can sell their products to anyone and anywhere and where they can get a higher price.
- MSP is a minimum support price, Government decides the rate for the crops so anyone can sell their crops to the government mandi at MSP pricing.
- Before the bill, the government fixed the rate for the broker who deals with farmers and consumers. Government fixes the dealer rate of 6% for the total sale of the crop. But dealers are smart and they buy the total crop or produce of farmers at normal prices and sell to the consumers at higher prices. In that situation, the only dealer gets the profit neither farmer get the profit, not the consumer. After the bill farmer sells their produce outside of the mandi`s or to anyone.
- There will be no APMC market fee on transactions in such areas.
- APMC will also continue its functioning.
- Farmers have choices to sell their produce.
- These farm bills empower the farmers to sell their produce directly to the corporate sector or exporter buying in bulk from the farmers.
- The farm bill doesn't affect the MSP and MSP based procurement system will continue as per new bills and farmers can sell their crop product in mandi on the existing MSP.
What is the motive of the government towards Farm Bill 2020?
The government has passed three bills to boost the agriculture sector and double the farmer's income by 2020. It is thought by the government that the freeing of the agriculture sector will help in better pricing due to competitiveness in the market. When the farmers sell their products to corporates directly so it will induce the corporate sector to invest in agriculture and they will also help the farmers better access to modern technology and by this farmers will be benefited. Farmers also get financial help to grow crops.
Why Farmers are protesting against the Agriculture Bill 2020?
· Farmers are tensed about
getting MSP for their produce as of New Farm Bill 2020. They are not sure if they are getting MSP or not
· Farmers also fear that
large retailers and the corporate sector could dominate the agriculture sector
with money power and other sources.
· Farmers doubt that
if the trade move towards the alternative platform and then the APMC mandi may
become unavailable and have to shut down in the future. And then there will be
the monopoly of the corporate sector. Farmers fear that mandi will become
useless just like BSNL, and MTNL when Airtel and Vodafone came into the
market.
· Farmers also fear what would happen to the deal when the crops are not growing as crops the
corporate sector wanted. It will be canceled or remain. Who pays the farmers
for the poor harvest? And they also fear that if the companies cancel the deal
after the contract.
· The price assurance
bill doesn't prescribe any mechanism for price fixation.
There is no other thing when the corporate houses could lead to farmer`s exploitation
