Understanding the Farm Bills
The farm bills, also known as the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, were passed in September 2020 by the Indian parliament. The bills aimed to reform the agricultural sector by providing farmers with the freedom to sell their produce outside of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis and enter into agreements with private parties.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill allowed farmers to sell their produce to anyone in the country without any restrictions, including the APMC mandis. The bill allowed electronic trading, which aimed to increase transparency and reduce transaction costs.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill aimed to enable farmers to enter into agreements with private parties to sell their produce. The bill provided a framework for contract farming, which aimed to protect farmers’ interests by requiring private parties to pay a minimum price and provide a guaranteed market.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill aimed to remove the stockholding limits on essential commodities, including food grains, pulses, and onions, except in exceptional circumstances.
Criticisms of the Farm Bills
The farm bills were met with widespread protests by farmers and opposition parties. The main criticisms of the bills were:
Dismantling of the APMC mandis
Farmers feared that the dismantling of the APMC mandis would lead to the collapse of mandi infrastructure, which would negatively impact small and marginal farmers who did not have access to electronic trading platforms.
Removal of Minimum Support Price (MSP)
Farmers feared that the removal of MSP would lead to a decrease in their income as private parties would not be obligated to pay a minimum price for their produce. Farmers also feared that the removal of MSP would lead to the domination of private players and increase the risk of exploitation.
Dispute Resolution Mechanism
Farmers feared that the dispute resolution mechanism provided in the bills was tilted in favour of private parties.
Repeal of the Farm Bills
After months of protests by farmers, the government repealed the farm bills in November 2021. The repeal of the bills was seen as a victory for farmers and a setback for the government. The repeal of the bills was welcomed by farmers and opposition parties who had been demanding the repeal of the bills since their passage.
Reasons for Repeal
The government cited various reasons for the repeal of the bills, including the need to maintain peace and harmony in the country, the need to restore the trust of farmers in the government, and the need to address the concerns of farmers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the farm bills were aimed at reforming the agricultural sector by providing farmers with the freedom to sell their produce outside of the APMC mandis and enter into agreements with private parties. However, the bills were met with widespread protests by farmers and opposition parties, who criticized the bills for dismantling the APMC mandis, removing MSP, and having a dispute resolution mechanism tilted in favour of private parties. The government repealed the bills in November 2021 citing the need to maintain peace and harmony in the country, the need to restore the trust of farmers in the government and the need to address the concerns of farmers. The repeal of the bills was seen as a victory for farmers and a setback for the government.