Protesting farmers not ‘properly understood’ new farm laws, says Niti Aayog member

Niti Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand has stated protesting farmers haven’t totally or correctly understood the brand new farm legal guidelines, asserting that these legislations have potential to extend farm revenue in an enormous manner.

He additional stated that the motive of the three new farm legal guidelines is strictly the alternative of what the protesting farmers have understood. In an interview to PTI, Chand stated, “The way, I am reading these farmers, who are protesting, it looks like that they have not fully or properly understood these three laws.” “If these new farm laws are allowed to be implemented, there are very high chances of big increase in income of the farmers and in many states, it may even double,” he stated whereas replying to a query on whether or not the federal government remains to be assured of doubling farm revenue by 2022.

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The Narendra Modi-led NDA authorities has set a goal of doubling farmers’ revenue by 2022. On September 27, President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the three farm payments — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020. Elaborating additional on farmer contentions, the Niti Aayog member stated protesting farmers are saying that the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) has been eliminated and full freedom has been given to stockists, black entrepreneurs, and so on.

“If you look at what actually has been done is, there is a modification done in the Essential Commodity Act. According to that modification, a criterion has been laid when Essential Commodities Act can be imposed, and that is if there is a 50 per cent increase in prices of cereals, oil seeds and pulses, then it can be imposed,” Chand defined. “Or if there is 100 per cent increase of price of onion and potato then Essential Commodities Act can be imposed,” he added.

Citing an instance, the Niti Aayog member stated that on October 23, the Centre had invoked the Act when onion costs have been rising.

It was required, he stated including “states were told to put stock limit”.

Similarly, allaying fears of protesting farmers about contract farming, he identified that there’s a large distinction between company farming and contract farming.

“Corporate farming is not allowed in any states in India… and contract farming is already happening in many states and not even a single incidence has come where land of farmers has been taken over by private companies,” Chand stated.

The Niti Aayog member asserted that the brand new Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act has been tilted in favour of farmers.

To a query on farm sector development, Chand stated,” In this fiscal yr (2020-21), I anticipate the expansion of agriculture to be barely greater than 3.5 per cent.” Agriculture and allied sector’s development stood at 3.7 per cent in the course of the 2019-20 fiscal yr.

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On frequent ban on exports of onion, he stated every time costs transcend a band, the federal government intervenes and it occurs in every single place in India, the US and the UK. Noting that costs are all the time maintained inside a band, Chand stated in some state of affairs, the federal government protects pursuits of farmers by stopping imports, and generally, it protects pursuits of customers by banning exports.

“We can’t allow onion prices to go to Rs 100 that too when farmers are not selling onions. 60-70 per cent of onions reach market in the month of April and May and it does not reach market at this time,” he stated.

Chand argued it isn’t that by imposing ban on exports the federal government is doing one thing terribly mistaken in opposition to the producers.

“It is done only in a particular situation, never in normal situation,” he defined. Thousands of farmers, primarily from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting in opposition to the three new legal guidelines. They say the intention of those legal guidelines is to dismantle the minimal assist value system.