December 12, 2020 10:39:16 am
Farmers protest at the Delhi Singhu border in New Delhi on December 11, 2020 (Express photo: Abhinav Saha)
In its joint opinion piece, Aadil Boparai and Salman Khurshid, both from the National Congress of India, explain why farmers have reason to doubt the government when it claims that the three agricultural laws in question will help farmers.
On the one hand, “it is an indisputable fact that there was no consultation carried out by the central government when the ordinances were promulgated, and later while the bills were being promoted in Parliament.”
Two, despite the various perceived pro-corporate and anti-farmer provisions in farm laws, the Union government has bypassed the federal structure by legislating on issues that fall exclusively within the domain of state government under the state list. of the Seventh. Hours of the Constitution.
Third, global experience in agricultural markets shows that the corporatization of agriculture without a concomitant safety net in the form of a guaranteed payment guarantee to farmers results in the exploitation of farmers at the hands of large companies.
“This poses a significant challenge for small and marginal farmers who make up 86 percent of our farming class,” they write. “Current laws alter the bargaining landscape in favor of corporate actors to the detriment of farmers. The fact that farmers believe this to be so cannot be ignored. “📣 Follow Express explained on Telegram
Fourth, the main concern is the systematic dismantling of the APMC mandis, which have stood the test of time and provided farmers with the remuneration to stay afloat. “Agricultural laws open the field to an alternative set of private markets / yards, where the buyer will not have a legal obligation to pay the minimum support price (MSP). Since such private markets / yards will not be charged any market rate / fee; the agricultural sector will see the gradual shift of the mandi trade from APMC to these private yards ”, they point.
Fifth, the market rate charged by APMC mandis is used for the development of rural infrastructure, interchange roads, and storage facilities. The trade shift to avoid paying any market fee / fee by private players and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will eventually witness the redundancy of APMC mandis, leaving farmers at the mercy of corporate sharks.
Six, the new agricultural laws expressly exclude the jurisdiction of the civil court, leaving farmers without remedy and without an independent means of dispute resolution mechanism.
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