New Delhi: Lok Sabha today passed two bills aiming at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers’ income, which ultimately brought the SAD participation in the Narendra Modi Cabinet at the end.
The Lower House passed the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 with the voice vote. With the passage of these bills, the Shiromani Akali Dal participation in the Narendra Modi Cabinet came to an end as the lone Minister from the SAD quota, Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal sent her resignation to the PMO in the late evening. Earlier during the discussion on the bills, SAD MP Sukhbir Singh Badal had indicated that Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal would resign from the Cabinet in protest against the anti-farmer policy of the Modi Government.
These bills were introduced in Lok Sabha on 14th September 2020 by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, to replace ordinances promulgated on 5th June 2020.
Replying to the discussion on the Bills before they were passed by the Lok Sabha today, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is fully committed to the welfare of Gaon-Garib-Kisan. He reassured emphatically that while farmers will now be freed from the restrictions of having to sell their produce at designated places only, the procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP) will continue and mandis established under State laws will also continue to operate.
He said that these legislations will bring about revolutionary transformation and transparency in the agriculture sector, electronic trading will increase, there will be accelerated agricultural growth as the private investment will be attracted in building supply chains and agricultural infrastructure, new employment opportunities will be created and rural economy will get a boost, which will in turn help to strengthen the national economy.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for the creation of an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice relating to the sale and purchase of farmers’ produce which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-State and intra-State trade and commerce of farmers’ produce outside physical premises of markets or deemed markets notified under various State agricultural produce market legislations; to provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
It is to be mentioned here that farmers in India suffered from various restrictions in marketing their produce. There were restrictions for farmers in selling agri-produce outside the notified APMC market yards. The farmers were also restricted to sell the produce only to registered licensees of the State Governments. Further, barriers existed in the free flow of agriculture produce between various States owing to the prevalence of various APMC legislation enacted by the State Governments.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework fairly and transparently and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
