Farmers Movement Archive

‘Not enough information available among farmers about contentious agri-marketing laws’

Amritsar: Direct dissemination of the pros and cons of the three agriculture marketing laws to the farmers and how they would impact their lives could change the direction of the ongoing farmers’ agitation, said Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) experts. Professor Satish Verma of CRRID said none of the farmer organisations had so far taken an initiative to explain to the farmers about three agriculture laws. According to him, Verma said the majority of agitating farmers knowledge was limited to whatever they were told by their respective leaders, social media news, and heresy. Satnam Singh, a farmer from Amritsar who is at present in Singhu border, said, “My WhatsApp is full of messages which say how these farm laws are harmful to our future. Even our leaders says so.” He, however, agreed that like him hardly any farmer had read the three laws or contacted any subject expert on the issue except their leaders. Jamhuri Kisan Sabha leader Satnam Singh Ajnala claimed that farmers knew the three agriculture laws well. Besides, he said, they trust their leaders. “Why will we mislead our own brothers,” he said. Verma said instead of immediately introducing the new agri-laws, the Center should have discussed them with farmers and farmers unions. “Probably one of the strongest reasons for farmers’ protest is that the government brought the agri-laws in a stealthy way, which multiplied the apprehensions of farmers and farmers’ unions against the three laws,” he said. According to Verma, the new agri-laws allow the farmers to market their produce in other markets so they would collectively have high bargaining power than selling the produce individually outside as well as inside the agriculture market. The transaction cost of buying firms would also reduce in case of dealing with a large number of marginal and small farmers, he added. Verma said the farmers could also sell their produce through eNAM (National Agriculture Market) portal which is a pan-India electronic trading portal that networks the existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee mandis, and could sell anywhere in the country without physically moving to that place. The farmers actually need not physically take their produce to other markets but they could upload the information of their produce on e-NAM. However, he said only one issue had to take care of which was the physical verification of the produce. “For example, a particular farmer claims that his wheat or paddy is of a particular variety with this much percentage of moisture, now to verify the same there has to be some agency to sanctify it , but this can be resolved” he said. Sources alleged that a few farmers leaders who not only had political ambitions but were politically motivated were using farmers’ power to suit their needs and the recent turnout of events in Delhi had even proved the same and exposed their political dreams. Expressing differences with Prof Verma, Balwinder Singh Makowal of Jagriti Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO) said, “No matter whatever we do, we will not be able to compete in any way with the big firms and corporate houses. We don’t have enough means even if we sell our produce collectively at FPO level.” In response to a question about selling their produce, he said farmers were not so internet savvy or had the computer knowhow and even if they employ someone the ‘big fishes’’ would reach to the market much before they could even think of doing so . “Complete rollback of farm laws is the only solution,” Makowal said. Harish Sharma of Collective Efforts for Voluntary Actions which helps 8 FPOs of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh in selling their produce said there appear to be some benefits of the new agriculture laws. “But we have to give time to the laws to be implemented and see how they change the farmers’ lives for the better,” he said. However, he said they had been successful in selling the produce of FPOs through e-NAM. “The farmers are often fleeced by the commission agents in the fruits, vegetables, and grain markets. Hopefully, these laws will get them rid of middlemen and they would be able to sell directly to the buyer,” he said.

The Times of India

2021-02-26

Chandigarh