Acquisition of rabi crops begins on October 1 of each year.
New Delhi:
The acquisition of rice and winter rice will start two days in advance, the government said today in a signal to agitated farmers, who today held a nationwide protest against the new farm laws, backed by the opposition Congress. The usual hiring date is October 1 throughout the country. A government note said: “This would ensure that farmers sell their products at the minimum subsistence price (MSP) quickly.
The move is in line with the government’s efforts to reassure farmers, who have intensified their dissent against farm laws that were enacted yesterday.
Earlier, the government had pushed acquisition dates forward by five days in Punjab and Haryana, the two states where farmer agitation is most intense.
The minimum support prices were also announced a month earlier this year amid concerns from farmers that they will be removed once the new laws take effect. Prices also increased, especially for wheat, lentils and mustard, the big crops in Punjab and Haryana.
Most farmers’ organizations, however, viewed this move with deep mistrust.
Gurnam Singh, leader of the farmers ‘organization “Bharatiya Kisan Union”, called the move a “conspiracy” by the Center to end farmers’ agitation. Most organizations also said the increase was too small to make a difference.
The new laws, signed by President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday, will help farmers increase their income and free them from interference by middlemen, the government said. Bypassing the wholesale markers, the new laws allow farmers to negotiate directly with large corporations for the sale of produce and even allow pre-harvest contracts.
Farmers, however, are afraid to deal directly with companies. They fear that they will not be paid even the Minimum Price of Livelihood set by the government and that they will be exploited. Calling the new system “anti-farmer”, they have demanded that the laws be repealed.
Congress, which has been backing the farmers’ protest, spoke today of invalidating the Center’s laws in the states it governs. The head of the party, Sonia Gandhi, asked the states governed by Congress to consider the possibility of enacting laws to that end.
“The Honorable President of Congress has advised the states governed by Congress to explore the possibilities of passing laws in their states pursuant to article 254 (2) of the constitution that allows state legislatures to pass a law to negate the laws anti-agriculture centrals that encroach upon the jurisdiction of the state under the constitution, “Congress said in a statement.
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