March on!
The ongoing protest in India Rimsha Acharya
T
he three farm acts passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020 have ignited a tidal wave of anger resulting in farmers' protests across states of India. Farmers have mobilised at Delhi's borders, bringing traffic to a standstill. The ongoing farmers' protest has garnered support across the country with people marching on the streets and demonstrators blocking highways and railway lines in various states. The three farm acts that have been passed are as follows: The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The main point of contention with these bills is that it creates a free market in the agricultural sector meaning farmers no longer have to sell their produce at designated markets. The bills also remove the Minimum Support Price (MSP) which means that there is no longer fixed price for certain produce that the farmers sell. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 creates a free agricultural market whereby farmers are no longer restricted to sell their goods within the designated APMC trade areas. Under this legislation, state governments prohibit imposing a market fee, cess or levy outside the APMC market. 14 | The Brief
The creation of a free market in the agricultural sector enables big farmers to sell at higher prices and sell to private corporations. However, the high transportation cost, especially for rural farmers limits their ability to find buyers who might yield them a better price for their produce. Moreover, should there be an increase in the cost of cultivation but a low selling price for products due to low demand, farmers, will be susceptible to fluctuations in the market where they will not receive a subsidy or MSP. The creation of the free market in the agricultural sector also means that the corporations are no longer required to honour the MSP. Farmers are able to sell outside of the APMC and enter into contracts with firms to sell their harvest. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020: The act's primary purpose is to create a contract farming framework. It is a legal means by which a farmer and buyer can have a legal agreement before production or rearing farm produce. Chapter III of the Act provides a dispute settlement mechanism between farmer and the buyer: the conciliation board, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Appellate Authority. The Act enables the buyer to set conditions for producing, delivery, and many other matters. Farmers have noted that large companies are likely to curtail the product's price by rejecting the majority of the produce for not meeting their Ed.1 2021
