FAREMER" BILL

  Blog tech 

Theme for the blog -  farmer's bill

Recently the government of India has passed THE AGRICULTURAL BILLS which are approved in both houses of the parliament and are assented by the president of India RAM NATH KOVIND  in SEPTEMBER 2020.

the highlights of these laws are as follows:

1- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020

2- Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020

3- Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020

but these laws were not at all acceptable to the farmer of India mainly the farmers of Haryana and Punjab so as a result the refusal of these three bills came out in form of the farmer's protests which was accelerated in December 2020 but got its major boost on 6th February 2021 in form of CHAKA JAM on the national highways connecting Delhi , Punjab , and Haryana thus creating inconvenience for common citizens of India.

the provisions  of these farmer's bills which are explained as follows:

 Farming Agreement: The Act provides for a farming agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce.

(b) Minimum Period of Farming Agreement: The minimum period of the farming agreement shall be for one crop season or one production cycle of livestock.

(c) Maximum Period of Farming Agreement: The maximum period of the farming agreement shall be five years. It also states that if the production cycle of any farming produce is longer and may go beyond five years, the maximum period of farming agreement may be mutually decided by the farmer and the buyer and explicitly mentioned in the farming agreement.

(d) Pricing of Farming Produce: The pricing of farming produce and the process of price determination should be mentioned in the agreement. For prices subjected to variation, a guaranteed price for the produce and a clear reference for any additional amount above the guaranteed price must be specified in the agreement. 

(e) Settlement of Dispute: The Act provides for a three-level dispute settlement mechanism-- Conciliation Board, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Appellate Authority.

reasons for farmer's agitation :

1)Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhi border points since 26 November last year, demanding a repeal of three farm laws — Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. 

2)They also demanded a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for their crops. Farmer unions in Punjab and Haryana said the recent laws enacted at the Centre will dismantle the minimum support price (MSP) system. 

3)Over time big corporate houses will dictate terms and farmers will end up getting less for their crops, they argue. Farmers fear that with the virtual disbanding of the mandi system, they will not get an assured price for their crops and the “arthiyas" —commission agents who also pitch in with loans for them — will be out of business.

 4)Their demands: The key demand is the withdrawal of the three laws which deregulate the sale of their crops. The farmer unions could also settle for a legal assurance that the MSP system will continue, ideally through an amendment to the laws. 

5)They also wanted the government to withdraw of the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, fearing it will lead to an end to subsidized electricity. Farmers say rules against stubble burning should also not apply to them.

AANYA GUPTA 

XIC 

MOUNT ABU PUBLIC SCHOOL

15JUNE2021