NEW DELHI: Ongoing farmers’ protest at Delhi borders is “exception” and “limited to one state”, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar he said on Wednesday and hoped for an early solution as the government is in talks with farmers’ unions.
“There is an atmosphere of enthusiasm in the country for the recent reforms in the agricultural sector”He said when referring to the enactment of three new laws.
“The ongoing protest is an exception and the unrest is limited to one state. We are holding discussions and conversations. I think there will be an early solution,” Tomar said at a virtual conference organized by the industry body Assocham.
The minister noted that while there is an ongoing upheaval on the one hand, there are also thousands of farmers who support these laws.
Take highlighted the measures taken by the central government in the last six years to boost farmers’ incomes and make the agricultural sector profitable.
Thousands of farmers, particularly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting for more than two weeks against the three farm laws, saying that the new legislation will lead to the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) and mandi systems and leave them at the mercy of corporations. .
Tomar, who is leading the negotiation with some 40 farmers’ unions together with Food Minister Piyush Goyal and State Minister for Commerce Som Parkash, said the government has taken several initiatives during the Covid-19 pandemic for the growth of the sector. agricultural, including a Rs Rs 1,00,000 crore Fund for the creation of farm-level infrastructure and the establishment of 10,000 FPOs. (Organizations of agricultural producers).
These budgetary provisions in agriculture and related sectors will strengthen the rural economy and make agricultural activities profitable, he said.
As the clash between the government and farmer groups protesting the three farm laws continues, Tomar had said on Tuesday that the laws have been well received in several states and that the Center was willing to continue its talks with “genuine farm unions. “to find a solution with an open mind.
The MSP in which the government agrees to purchase the produce from farmers is an administrative decision and “will continue as is,” the minister had said.
Earlier this week, Tomar told PTI that the next round of meetings will definitely involve farmers. Peasant leaders have to “decide and transmit” when they are ready for the next meeting, he added.
In its proposal to farmers last week, the Center said it will give a written guarantee that the MSP system will stick, and will also resolve its other key concerns. The unions, however, are demanding a complete rollback of central laws and have threatened to intensify their agitation.
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