Farmers Movement Archive

Academicians, economists write to agriculture minister about controversial laws

BATHINDA: A group of academicians and economists have written to Union agriculture minister Narendra Tomar about their concerns over farm laws. “At a time of unprecedented agitation by farmers across the country, we believe that the central government should repeal the laws that are not in the best interests of the small and marginal farmers and about which a broad section of farmer organisations have raised critical objections,” wrote Prof D Narasimha Reddy, Prof Kamal Nayan Kabra, Prof K N Harilal, Prof Rajinder Chaudhary, Prof Surinder Kumar, Prof Arun Kumar, Prof Ranjit Singh Ghuman, Prof R Ramakumar, Prof Vikas Rawal and Prof Himanshu. The statement was issued on Thursday read: “We do believe that improvements and changes are required in the agricultural marketing system for the benefit of millions of small farmers, but the reforms brought by these Acts do not serve that purpose. They are based on wrong assumptions and claims about why farmers are unable to get remunerative prices, about farmers not having freedom to sell wherever they like under the previously existing laws, and about regulated markets not being in the farmers’ interests. We are putting forward crucial reasons why these three Acts are fundamentally harmful in their implications for the small farmers of India.”

The Times of India

2020-12-18

Amritsar