FARMERS PROTEST

Why thousands of Indian farmers are out on the streets in the biggest protests ever???

(image source NDTV)

The story is... There are some farm laws that were recently imposed by the Indian Government, which according to Indian PM, will free the farmers from middlemen monsters and the farmers will be free to sell their produce anywhere at good rates which will increase their earnings.

However, farmers fear that they stand to lose more than they could gain from the new regulations and that the main beneficiaries will be the AGRICULTURAL CORPORATIONS WITH ENORMOUS FINANCIAL FIREPOWER.

Govt. states that the new laws make it easier for farmers to bypass government-regulated markets (known as Mandis) and sell their produce directly to the private buyers.

They can now enter into contracts with private companies, known as a “contract farming,” and sell across states.

BUT THE FACT IS THAT NEW REGULATIONS WILL ALSO ALLOW TRADERS TO STOCKPILE THE PRODUCE. This is actually a big violation of HR laws and was considered criminal offence under the earlier rules.

The new rules are imposed to provide an escape route for all the big and small corporates to keep them away from prohibitions or restrictions against hoarding or stockpiling, which is going to make it easier for traders to take advantage of rising prices, such as during a pandemic or other natural disasters.

The biggest concern that farmers have is that the new rules are going to make them insecure. More than 82% of India’s cultivated farmland is controlled by small-hold farmers who own less than 5 acres of land and they fear that they just don’t have enough bargaining power to get the kind of prices they need for their hard work (which they do with very limited resources). The farmers say that the Govt. has left them at the mercy of big corporations.

(It is actually utterly senseless to believe that farmers with small land holdings will have any bargaining power over big private players.)

The new legal provisions say that to resolve any disputes, farmers can seek out a so-called conciliation board, district-level administrative officer or an appellate authority. IN SIMPLE WORDS, THESE CASES WILL NOT GO TO A REGULAR COURT.

The Govt. says that farmers can enter into contracts with buyers, which will give them legal protection, but ON THE OTHER HAND, THE NEW LAWS DON’T MAKE WRITTEN CONTRACTS MANDATORY EITHER. So in case of any violation of their terms, it is going to be very hard for the farmers to prove that they have been robbed, fooled or cheated, leaving them helpless.

Farmers fear they may lose key protections with a recently passed legislation and the new rules do not guarantee any minimum price for their produce, and they worry that the existing MSP will also be abolished soon at some point.

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DISCLAIMER:

Some of the information provided in this article is excerpted from various reliable media sources (strictly not intended for commercial use), just to spread some awareness amongst common people.