Farmers Movement Archive

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray assures no implementation of farm laws until concerns resolved

Maharashtra government has started a dialogue with farmer leaders over the implementation of controversial laws that aims to bring reforms in the agriculture marketing sector. Chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday assured them the state will not be implementing these legislations until their concerns are taken care of. Farmer leaders have expressed concerns over cheating and exploitation of the agrarian community in the absence of a guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for trading outside Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMC). They have also demanded a dedicated court on the lines of industrial and labour courts for farmers to get justice.On Tuesday, Thackeray had called a meeting with several farmer leaders to discuss the critical issue of reforms in the agriculture marketing sector, that has turned controversial as farmer organisations and many political parties including ruling allies — Congress and NCP —had opposed implementation of three legislation enacted by the Central government that aim to bring reforms in the sector.A presentation made by Anoop Kumar, principal secretary, state marketing department in relation to the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 also pointed out lacunae. It stated that the legislation said there will be no regulation for trading outside APMC jurisdiction, which is like leaving farmers at the will of private traders who can exploit them by determining the lesser price of the produce. It further stated that there will be no control to ensure farmers are paid their remuneration against the produce in time. “There is also a possibility that small and medium farmers can be exploited by middlemen and farm produce aggregators. This is because they are financially powerful and small and medium farmers may not be able to bargain while fixing prices of the produce. As a result, the model price system can be destroyed and prices will start falling,” stated the presentation.Under this law, the farmer can sell his finished produce to any merchant anywhere in the country. There will be no compulsion to sell them at the APMC.Ajit Nawale, general secretary, Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha (ABKS) demanded MSP protection for the farmers. “We pressed that the farmers should get MSP if they are trading outside APMC. There should also be a protection mechanism in case a trader doesn’t pay their remuneration and makes an attempt at cheating,” Nawale said. “We have also demanded formation of agriculture or farmer courts so that they can be approached by the community if cheated or exploited by any means,” he added.Vijay Jawandhia, agriculture expert from Vidarbha demanded a guarantee for MSP for the farmers. “The Central government wants to do away with the MSP system as prices of farm produce are too low and no market in the country is in a position to provide MSP to farmers for their produce. Consequently, the Centre has to increase its procurement of farm produce beyond capacity,” he said.Following opposition by farmer organisations as well as ruling allies, the state government last week had stayed a notification issued in August for implementation of the ordinances, now converted into legislation by the Centre, and had declared to form a cabinet sub-committee to look into concerns and objections raised so far.“As per the provisions in the ordinances, the farmers are free to market their produce at field, factory, warehouse or cold storage without any hindrance and any market fee applicable under the APMC Act. Any other fee or charges applicable under the APMC Act cannot be charged now as per the provisions made in the ordinances. The law and judiciary department has vetted the ordinances and validated its applicability. Though the existence of the APMC has not been affected by the promulgation of the ordinance, the farmers will have a parallel mechanism to get fair prices for their produce. The market committees are expected to implement the provisions in the ordinances effectively,” states the notification issued on August 10.

Hindustan Times

06-10-2020

Mumbai