Farmers Movement Archive

Organic farmers welcome new agri bill

Jaipur: The new farm bill — Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020 — has brought cheers to farmers growing crops organically. Organic farming (without the use of chemicals) costs almost twice or thrice the usual farming that makes extensive use of pesticides. The licenced organic farmers find it difficult to look for a buyer under the mandi system where they must compete with the usual types of farm produce. Organic farmers say that under the new system, they will have the advantage of selling directly without any mandi tax to buyers that are very limited and spread across the country. Rameshwar Jat, a farmer who has leased his 16 bighas of land to a producer-cum-agent for growing organic strawberry in Hamirgarh tehsil of Bhilwara, is set for revising the price of his produce. Once the bill becomes law, the producer based in Pune wouldn’t have to pay the mandi fees of 2%. “The buyers are very selective for the produce as it is more costly than the usual strawberries. We grow here for a juice company which sells it abroad. Since the new bill gives us that liberty to reach out to the buyers, we will contact the company directly or the manufacturer abroad. I am sure it would fetch us more profit,” said Jat. For organic farming, farmers have to take license from the agriculture department. They have given the undertaking that they cannot add any chemicals and only natural elements like seeds, manure and water are to be used. The bill gives them the freedom to sell the produce without the mandi and the fee it collects. For organic farmers, it is not the mandi fee which bothers them, but the new system will give them the wings to sell their produce according to their terms and price. Badrilal Gujjar, who owns 4 hectare of land in Hattipura village in Bundi, produces a small portion of corn and wheat in organic form. His WhatsApp is flooded with messages that farmers can sell their produce anywhere to anyone, which has raised his hope of expanding the organic farming on his farmland. “If this is true, I would love to grow millets, corn and wheat in a huge quantity as I know buyers in Maharashtra who always insist on organic crops,” said Gujjar. Similarly, farmers in Udaipur and Kota division who grow organic produce are expecting more profits with the coming of the new bill. There are companies that deal with organic farming to tap the growing business in this field, due to the growing awareness. Since it is at a nascent stage in Rajasthan, the organic farmers don’t have an association or a body to raise their concerns or problems.

The Times of India

2020-09-25

Jaipur