REPEALING OF THE FARM LAWS

Authored by- Anuj Vishwakarma

INTRODUCTION-

On November 19, 2021, in a surprise move, Prime Minister of India announced the withdrawal of the three highly contentious farm laws. The unexpected move from the Prime Minister came after a year since the farmers first appeared at the gates of Delhi. The Prime Minister in his address to the nation, while apologizing to the people of India, recognized the government’s failure to explain the truth to the farmers. The bills were approved by the parliament in the month of September, 2020. However, the Supreme Court had put a stay on the implementation of all the three laws amid the agitations and protests of farmers experienced by the government, mainly in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh.

What exactly were these laws?-

The laws were envisaged by the government with the objective of transforming the agriculture sector of the country and increasing the farmer’s income. This trilogy of the laws comprised of three very crucial laws: the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities Act, 2020 (ECA).The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 was envisaged to provide the farmers with the independence to sale and purchase the produce. It allowed the selling and purchasing of agricultural produce outside the premises of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 was aimed to contribute to the national framework for the farmers under which they were allowed to make agricultural and marketing contracts with the corporate sector. Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 was aimed to provide the farmers with the freedom to hold his produce. The Act deregulated some essential comedies like cereals, edible oil, pulses, onions, potatoes, and oil seeds. It removed the stockholding limits on such products except in “extraordinary circumstances”.

Is the repealing of the laws a right decision?-

The government has announced that the laws will be repealed in the next winter session of the Parliament. Among many puzzling questions, the one stands out is why did the government decide to repeal the laws which they themselves initiated, hurriedly, through the ordinances? Was it a move in the national interest of the country as mentioned by the Prime Minister in his address to the nation? Or was it a strategic political move from the government to satisfy its own interest. With the Uttar Pradesh Elections near, the government will not want to dissatisfy and agitate the people of Uttar Pradesh, specially, Western UP where the protests were on active rolls. Tuning out from the debate over the intentions of the government behind the move, it is crucial to investigate whether the repealing of the laws is a sin or a boon to the farmers. India is an agricultural country and more 70% of India’s population is directly or indirectly involved in the agricultural sector. Farmers are the heart of the sector and sustain the whole country. And it is essential for the government to provide the farmers with the deserving returns. The trilogy of the laws which were passed by the government, even though hard in nature, were the key to the transformation of the agriculture sector into a more strengthened and sustained sector.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the most controversial one, was a free pass to the farmers to escape the unfair tax and fee charged by the APMCs. It aimed to done way with the ‘so-called’ concept of middlemen which would have resulted in the freedom of farmers to do inter-state trades. The act would have opened more choices for the farmer, reduce marketing costs for the farmers and help them in getting better prices. The FAPAFS, most commonly called the ‘Contract farming Bill’ could have been used as a tool to empower the farmers by engaging them, through contractual means, with the wholesalers, large retailers, exporters, aggregators, etc. and escape the risk of unpredictability of the market. It act envisaged an agricultural set up with the direct involvement of the farmers in the sector. Farmers would have engaged in direct marketing and thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realization of price. The effect of the ECA would have been the set up of a competitive market environment which would automatically have benefitted to the incomes of the farmers. The act was a right step in the direction towards the freedom of farmers to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply.

Conclusion-

There have been apprehensions by the protesting farmers that the new laws would pave the way for removing the cushion of Minimum Support Price and the laws would result in the persecution of farmers at the hands of big corporate. The implementation of the laws was crucial in the same regard. For the growth of the agricultural sector, which like any other sector has also been affected by the ongoing pandemic, brave and defining laws are the need of the hour and this trilogy of the farm laws appealed to be the catalyst of growth in the agricultural sector, with the benefits to many other sectors like corporate and the people of the country. The repealing of the laws is unfortunate and the reason only known to one’s believe.

References-

REPEALING OF THE FARM LAWS

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