VIJAYAWADA: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the three new agriculture laws enacted by Parliament, which Opposition parties are protesting against, would give farmers a choice to sell their produce on their terms wherever they wish. She added that these reforms would help in the “complete development” of farmers, who are the backbone for an “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.
She said this while interacting with farmers in Vijayawada on Wednesday and briefing them on the new laws — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020. She also visited Jakkula Nekkalam village near Gannavaram in Krishna district and interacted with farmers there.
Sitharaman said the three laws would give farmers a free hand to sell their produce, and asserted that agriculture market produce committees would remain intact and farmers could choose if they want to sell their produce in or outside the market committees’ yards.
“If a farmer goes through the market committee, there will be 8-8.5 per cent taxation — 3 per cent by the market committee, 3 per cent for agriculture infrastructure and 2-2.5 per cent for middlemen. With these three new laws, if a farmer opts to trade outside this system, there won’t be any taxation, so the farmers will benefit. They can decide where and to whom they want to sell,” she explained.
Sitharaman also said contract farming should not be seen as an agreement that would be detrimental to farmers. “It will not be a one-sided agreement in favour of purchasers. Why are we hesitating to give farmers the choice to sell their produce on their terms? In independent India, all those who produce a commodity have access to free markets except farmers. Why are we hesitating to give farmers that choice and right?” she asked during the interaction with farmers and stakeholders organised by the BJP State unit in the evening.
To a query on whether the new laws would leave AMCs redundant, she said, “If they become more robust and respond to the needs of farmers by offering attractive prices, why should we presume they will become redundant?”
Responding to the Opposition’s allegations against the three laws, the minister pointed out that the Congress, in its 2019 election manifesto, said it would disband the entire APMC system and facilitate free trade across the country. “We also had it in our manifesto and fulfilled it. Why is the Opposition now claiming it would be detrimental to farmers? Does it mean they lied in their manifesto for votes?” she asked during a press conference earlier in the day. She also sought to clarify that the Centre was not overstepping its powers by interfering in States’ matters.
“APMC is a State law and agriculture is a State subject. But trade of the produce is in the Centre’s purview and that is the only thing we amended,” she noted.If there are any issues, a committee at the district-level headed by the Collector will resolve them. This means farmers needn’t go anywhere to sell their produce, or resolve their issues regarding trade,” the minister elaborated.
She also said Minimum Support Price would continue, and noted that during the UPA regime, MSP was mostly restricted to paddy and wheat, which, she claimed, led to a drop in cultivation of coarse grains as farmers opted for produce with MSP. “Now, besides wheat and paddy, there are 22-23 commodities in the MSP list. This helped in continuation of cultivation of other crops too.”