NEW DELHI: Welcoming the Prime Minister’s decision to repeal the farm laws, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday expressed regret that the government was unsuccessful in convincing some farmers groups about the benefits of these laws.
Tomar said the government wanted to remove hurdles faced by the farming community by bringing in the three new farm laws. These laws would have benefited farmers, Tomar said. He added that the PM’s intention was to bring a “revolutionary change” in the lives of farmers. “I am sad that we were not successful in convincing some farmers about the benefit of these laws.”
Tomar said the PM tried to bring changes in the farm sector through these laws. But the situation became such that some farmers found problems in these laws. “We tried to convince them but were not successful,” said Tomar.
The minister spoke of the government’s commitment to agriculture and farmer welfare in the last seven years and highlighted various schemes launched since 2014. The government has decided to fix the minimum support price (MSP) at least 1.5 times the cost of production and procurement has doubled, he said.
To support small farmers, the government has launched the PM-KISAN scheme under which `1.62 lakh crore has been disbursed to farmers, he said. He added that crop loan has been doubled in the last seven years of BJP rule.