Topics Covered: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
The 3 Farmers Bills And The Controversies Surrounding them:
Context:
Farmers in many states are protesting against three recent bills passed by the Parliament.
The controversy pertains to:
- ‘Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020′
- Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020′ and
- Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020.
General concerns and criticisms:
- These bills are anti-farmer and will only result in reduced crop prices for farmers and undermine seed security even further.
- Food security will be eroded as government intervention is eliminated.
- These bills promote corporate control of the Indian food and farming systems.
- They will also encourage hoarding and black marketing, in addition to exploitation of farmers.
- The bills also lack any assurance about Minimum Support Price(MSP).
Let us now take up one by one;
- The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020:
Key provision: It allows for regulating the supply and stock limit of certain specified agricultural produce under extraordinary circumstances such as an extraordinary price rise and natural calamity of grave nature, etc.
Issues:
- Any action on imposing stock limits will be based on the price trigger.
- In case of horticultural produce, a 100 per cent increase in the retail price of the commodity over the immediately preceding 12 months or the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower, will be the trigger for invoking the stock limit for such commodities.
- For non-perishable agricultural foodstuffs, the price trigger will be a 50 per cent increase in the retail price of the commodity over the immediately preceding 12 months or the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower.
- This stock limit regulation will not be applicable for value chain participants of any agricultural produce if their stock limit remains within their installed capacity.
- It will also not apply to exporters if they can show demand for export.
- The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Bill, 2020:
Key provisions:
- The Bill, through Clauses 3 & 4, gives freedom to the farmer to indulge in intra-state or inter-state trade in areas outside the APMC mandis.
- It also prohibits the collection of any market fee or cess under the state APMC Acts with respect to such trade outside the APMC market yards (Clause 6).
- A key provision of the Bill is Clause 14, which gives it an overriding effect over the inconsistent provisions of the State APMC Acts.
- Also, the Central Government has been given powers to frame rules and regulations under the Act.
Issues:
- This leads to a situation where local farmers do not find adequate demand for their produce at MSP in the local market.
- Since most farmers are small or marginal landowners, they do not have wherewithal to transport their produce to large distances.
- Hence, they are forced to sell them at a lower price than the MSP in the local market itself.
- The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020:
Key provision: It seeks to create a legal framework for contract farming in India.
There are two broader concerns here:
- First, one principle concern with contract farming has been regarding the negotiating power of the two parties involved. It seems likely that individual farmers might not find themselves equipped or powerful enough to negotiate with corporates or big-pocket sponsors to ensure a fair price for their produce.
- Second, the Bill says that the quality parameters can be mutually decided by the two parties in the agreement. But the quality aspect will become crucial when a few corporates will try to usher in uniformity which might end up adversely impacting the already skewed agro-ecological diversity in the country.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- What are APMCs? How they are regulated?
- Overview of Model Contract farming act.
- The price range fluctuation allowed in the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
- Stock limit regulation under the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will not be applicable for?
- Other key Provisions of the bills.
Mains Link:
Do you think the reforms proposed for agricultural sector under the realm of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan ensure better price realization for farmers? Elucidate.
Sources: the Hindu.
