Is the protest against Farm Bill appropriate ?
The demand over the several decades by various political parties and agricultural economists have been that the exploitation by the middle men (trading houses) should be put down by enacting strong law and ensuring that the maximum profit would go to the farmers. Obviously, this implies that the farmers should sell the products directly to the consumers avoiding the middle men.
While several governments in the past run by various political parties have taken earnest steps to help the farmers by launching different schemes such as minimum support price, crop insurance, soil data card, e commerce for farmers etc., the present Modi government has taken the positive steps further by introducing contract farming laws that enable buy back arrangement for the farmers from the consuming centres. It has now been firmly told that middle men should not compel the farmers to sell the farm produce to the middle men known as “mandis” in Punjab and Haryana and farmers should sell directly to the consumers, if they so desire.
With the Farm Bill, certainly, the beneficiaries are farmers and the losers are the middle men, and this is as it should be. Then why are the farmers protesting?
What is the justification for them to protest against the Farm Bill, since they are the beneficiaries and this is what they have been asking for during the last several decades.
In such circumstances, one inevitably wonder whether the farming community have been misinformed or taken for a ride or being used by the powerful and rich traders ( mandi owners) to force the government to scrap the Farm Bill.
Unfortunately, the politicians in India use every opportunity to further their interests by organizing or encouraging one section of the society or the other to agitate and cause unrest, irrespective of what they have advocated in the past and unmindful of the overall harm to the society.
Are the farmers in Punjab and Haryana fighting a battle to safeguard the interests of trading houses ( mandi owners) and section of politicians, at their own cost ?
N.S.Venkataraman
Nandini Voice For The Deprived
nandinivoice.com more
While several governments in the past run by various political parties have taken earnest steps to help the farmers by launching different schemes such as minimum support price, crop insurance, soil data card, e commerce for farmers etc., the present Modi government has taken the positive steps further by introducing contract farming laws that enable buy back arrangement for the farmers from the consuming centres. It has now been firmly told that middle men should not compel the farmers to sell the farm produce to the middle men known as “mandis” in Punjab and Haryana and farmers should sell directly to the consumers, if they so desire.
With the Farm Bill, certainly, the beneficiaries are farmers and the losers are the middle men, and this is as it should be. Then why are the farmers protesting?
What is the justification for them to protest against the Farm Bill, since they are the beneficiaries and this is what they have been asking for during the last several decades.
In such circumstances, one inevitably wonder whether the farming community have been misinformed or taken for a ride or being used by the powerful and rich traders ( mandi owners) to force the government to scrap the Farm Bill.
Unfortunately, the politicians in India use every opportunity to further their interests by organizing or encouraging one section of the society or the other to agitate and cause unrest, irrespective of what they have advocated in the past and unmindful of the overall harm to the society.
Are the farmers in Punjab and Haryana fighting a battle to safeguard the interests of trading houses ( mandi owners) and section of politicians, at their own cost ?
N.S.Venkataraman
Nandini Voice For The Deprived
nandinivoice.com more
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we are now in G7 countries, well developed, sending satellites to space-why stay far behind in agriculture-farm produce should be processed, branded, stored and supplied-Farmers have to understand, their income will go up. more
Dec 06
It appears that the vested political interest has engineered this 'fear' of farmers 'ruin' so that the government in chair is embarrassed and the opposition score a point for future elections. None of these are interested in farmers' welfare. The farmers too are a pampered lot and are afraid to venture into new bolder practices of fending for themselves. They have been given to fear the exploitation by the corporate houses too. All this can be addressed by helping and encouraging the farmers to form Farmers Cooperatives at Taluka/Tehsil/District levels. These cooperatives should be able to guide and help farmers to plan seasonal crops as per the market needs and trends and climate fore castes, arrange loans and funds for manures /fertilisers/seeds . They should also guide them to obtain crop insurance. It should also get them proper bulk or retail sales outlets at mandis or their own cooperative shops. They should also get government's help for setting up of cold storage and various processing industries at local levels. The profit from sales of these processed products to be share among the farmers members of the cooperatives. Such empowerment to the Farmers' Cooperatives will protect interference by middlemen and and corporate houses plus provide the farmers jobs and occupation through out the year. Such an system can also be used to educate and train farmers and their families to develop small cottage and handicrafts ventures for them to earn more. Thus the mass migration of villagers to large cities in search of jobs would also reduce. More scientific under protected canopies and methods of farming by drip irrigation, hydroponics and tissue culture can also be introduced to offset the vagaries of weather. more
Dec 05
How will the middlemen suffer due to these laws? Why will the companies make contracts where the farmers will benefit, when companies are driven by cold-blooded profit? Has it ever happened anywhere in history? If you allow traders to stock unlimited quantities, how will the farmer benefit and will the stockist not use his stockpile to create artificial scarcity? Without MSP, why the trader will not bargain hard with the farmer to sell at the minimum price? Even today farmers are selling below MSP when the government doesn't buy his produce. more
Nov 30
No. the farmers should have written a letter to the Prime Minister raising their conerns and awaited his reply. If still not satisfied, they would be justified in protesting. alternately they could have raised the issues with their respective chief Ministers who should have held a meeting with the Prime Minister and sought solutions for their concerms. This is how disputes are resolved in a family. Hooliganism is not the answer. more
Nov 30
