What are the Farm Bills 2020?
In June this year, three bills were issued as ordinances that aimed to change the marketing of agricultural produce across India.
These bills, also known as the Farm Bills 2020, are-
- Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020: deregulates production, storage, movement and sale of several agricultural products; the power of the government to regulate food commodity supply and storage is removed, except under extraordinary circumstances like famine or war
- Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020: allows farmers to sell their produce outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis, without paying any State taxes
- Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Bill, 2020: allows farmers to practice contract farming and direct marketing, which involves signing contracts with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers and exporters
The Agenda Behind the Bills
As the Indian farmers were one of the worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government introduced the ordinances to give easy access to markets across the nation and increase income through private investments. It wished to prevent farmers from plunging into debts due to traditional intermediaries.
Out of the three, the Rajya Sabha passed the last two ordinances. On 24 September, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his approval for the Farm Bills, leading to fuelling the farmers’ protests.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Agricultural Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, guaranteed that the system of Minimum Support Price (MSP) will remain and government procurement will continue. It is believed that the bills have just introduced an additional system running alongside the previous one, which will provide farmers with a freer and more flexible environment.
Why the Protests?
The Farm Bills took an unexpected turn when farmers all across north India protested against the government’s decision, displaying their clear detest for the bills. Although the Centre assures the farmers that the bills will give agriculture a revolutionary turn (for the better), they believe these are nothing but false claims.
MSP is a price set by the Government of India for 23 agricultural commodities purchased directly from the farmer. APMC mandis regulate MSPs, with the government as a guarantor, whereas private companies do not consider it. Experts believe that due to this, corporates might monopolize trade, and the MSP system will suffer in the process. The on-going protests’ most crucial demand is to make MSPs universal; that is, all buyers (even those in private sectors) will use the rates as a minimum value below which trade cannot be made.
Protestors are suspicious that these bills will lead to cutting down of government procurement. Most government procurement centres in Punjab, Haryana and other states are within APMC mandis and introducing tax-free private trade will render markets unviable. Farmers are afraid that they might not be able to overpower the ‘big companies’ in their bargaining tactics and cases of legal disputes.
The Centre also faced massive backlash from the opposition parties, which they called intentional moves to drive the farmers astray. Shiromani Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from her post of Union Minister of Food Processing as the farmer agitations aggravated. The Akali Dal quit the NDA government even after being one of the oldest allies of BJP. Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, called the Farm Bills ‘death sentence’ for the poor and marginalized farmers. P Sainath of the People’s Archive of Rural India and P Chidambaram also slammed the Centre, while the government still termed their decision as ‘historic.’
The Farmer Uprisings
“If you’re doing something, then you should listen to the people in a democracy; otherwise, we can’t call it a democratic government. Why can’t this government write that no company will buy the crops below MSP.“
“If we talk about sugarcane, private companies buy it from farmers. The farmer goes with the crop but doesn’t get the desired price. They will have to wait six months or even a year for payments. The same thing will happen with wheat and rice if this bill gets in effect.“
“I have no other choice but to commit suicide if I don’t get the fair price for my crops.“
Many farmers voiced their opinions to reporters with genuine desperation and fear dripping from their words. Amid the lockdown, and in the scorching heat, they took to the streets raising slogans like, ‘Long Live Kisan!’. However, when the government seemed adamant, things took a violent turn.
Delhi: A protest was being held by the Punjab Youth Congress workers when about 20 protesters gathered near India Gate and set a tractor on fire.
Punjab: Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee blocked railway tracks, wearing black clothes as a part of their ‘Rail Roko’ agitation. This led to the partial cancellation of 20 trains.
Karnataka: The demonstrations called for a state-wide bandh, which got the support of opposition parties.
Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh witnessed similar agitations, including blocking highways and railroads. Over 50,000 farmers were observed protesting in Maharashtra.
Since the last week of November, farmers mostly from Punjab and Haryana are protesting the Farm Bills at various National Capital borders. Thousands of kisaans are protesting at the Singhu border in Delhi. Multiple talks between farmer unions, leaders and the Central Government failed before the Supreme Court was forced to step in. The apex court of the country stayed the implementation of the three bills. It recommended a four-member committee to break the deadlock between the protesting farmers and the NDA-led central government. However, the farmers refused to accept the committee, and only the repealing of the bills would be acceptable. As the deadlock remains, there seems to be no agreement between the protestors and the government.
For months now, they have been struggling through the freezing weather and rains while living on the streets. Although the protests garnered a lot of global attention and support from celebrities, there were no amendments that could satisfy the agitated farmers.
On Republic Day, the Capital once again witnessed the protesters’ wrath when farmers participating in a tractor rally clashed with police personnel. They broke barricades and stormed into Red Fort amid the ‘Kisan Gantantra Parade,’ which led to injuring police and agitators alike. One protestor died near Delhi’s ITO as his tractor rolled over after hitting a barricade. The police had resorted to lathi-charge and tear gases to control the situation, to which the farmers responded by damaging public property and violence against the men in uniform. Samyukta Kisan Morcha(SKM), the umbrella organization of over 40 Indian farmer unions, condemned the violence during the tractor rally and said that they believed only in a peaceful movement. There has been a temporary suspension of telecom services in Delhi NCR as ordered by the Union Home Ministry.
The protests do not seem to calm down while the farmers are growing more anxious and impatient. In the end, we need to ask each other just one question: How can this nation achieve milestones while the farmers feel their concerns are being suppressed?
Written by Shranya Shrivastava for MTTN
Edited by Rushil Dalal for MTTN
Featured Image by loksatta.com
Sources: The Hindu, India Today, ScoopWhoop Unscripted, NDTV, The Hindustan Times, Times Of India, Finology
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