INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As the controversial farm bills were introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar assured that
minimum price or MSP-based procurement of agriculture crops from farmers will continue.It is not related to the farm bills that seek to give
cultivators freedom to market their produce, Narendra Singh Tomar further said.Days after their passage in the Lok Sabha, Narendra Singh
Tomar introduced the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and
Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.The bills are facing staunch opposition
from farmer bodies as well as from within the ruling coalition
Several protests were also staged across some states like Punjab and Haryana and Uttar Pradesh against the introduction and passage of the
bills.Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the food processing minister from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) party, resigned from the government last week
over the intruduction of the bills.CPI leader KK Ragesh, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
leader Trichi Siva and Congress's KC Venugopal moved resolutions for sending the two bills to a select committee of the House for
consideration before they are taken up for passage.Speaking at the introduction, Narendra Singh Tomar said that the two bills are "historic
and will bring a revolutionary change in farmer's lives".They seek to remove restrictions on marketing farm products and allow cultivators
to engage with private companies to sell their crops.READ | Harsimrat Kaur Badal quits Modi govt: Why the farm bills are
controversial"Farmers will get the freedom to sell their produce at any place and person of their choice," he said adding the bills were
brought after feedback from stakeholders that the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) were not doing justice to farmers.The bills
seek to bring competition and ensure fair price to farmers, he said."There are misconceptions being spread about the minimum support price
MSP is the government's administrative decision and not linked to the bills
MSP based procurement was there in the country, is there, and will continue," he said.Under MSP, the government guarantees the procurement
of crops such as wheat and paddy at minimum prices from farmers.Opposition parties as well as SAD feel the bills are the first step toward
removing the MSP which will force the farmers to make distress sales to private companies.Ragesh said the country is witnessing massive
agitation by farmers over the bills
"I request the minister and the government to see the wrath of farmers and withdraw these orders and bills."The bills seek to replace
emergency ordinances issued earlier.The agri bills, he said, are being dubbed as Covid relief package for farmers but in effect, these are
"package for the corporates"."How can it be Covid package? Covid package could have been loan waiver for farmers," he said.Agriculture, he
said, is a state subject and the union government was "snatching powers of the states".He said the bills will be throwing farmers at the
mercy of the corporates.Farmers do not have bargaining power and they cannot enter into a contract with corporates from a position of
strength, he said.Opponents of the bills see them as an attempt to dilute the country's public procurement system and lead to exploitation
by private companies.The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to give freedom to farmers to
sell their produce outside the notified APMC market yards (mandis)
This, the government says, is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels.Farmers will not be
charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce under this Act, according to the government.WATCH | Are agriculture bills anti-farmer or
reformist? It will open more choices for farmers, reduce marketing costs, and help them get better prices
It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers in areas with shortages at lower prices.The
Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to give farmers the right to enter into
a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a
pre-agreed price.It seeks to transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors.Narendra Singh Tomar said this
legislation guarantees cultivators price they negotiate at the time of sowing itself.A third bill, the Essential Commodities (Amendment)
Bill, 2020 that seeks to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion, and potatoes from the list of essential commodities and
will do away with the imposition of stock holding limits, is to be moved separately.(With inputs from PTI)
