WHY DO I SUPPORT 'FARM LAWS'?

  

Courtesy- The Indian Wire

Do you get a good price for any product of horticulture in India? Yes, I said 'any crop'. There are few crops which offer a reasonable price, but all others don’t. An almost negligible amount of horticulture produce is sold to the government and covered under the hailed MSP scheme. Then where do our marginal farmers sell it? The answer is- anywhere in open mandis, to any random private player (Dalal) and at any trivial price with no security in place. If this was not the case, farmers from our very own ‘protesting Punjab and Haryana’ would have never thrown their capsicum and cauliflower on roads and it was more visible when farmers in Maharashtra protested against extremely low prices of tomato and onions. If these were open for free trade, without the restriction of district and state boundaries, probably these events might not have occurred. Open markets lead to greater prices in case of good quality produce. MSP (Minimum Support Price) is the reason for the ongoing protests, but I do not understand why are small farmers brought in the issue. Are they being used as a shield by some miscreants or politically motivated people? A report by FirstPost says that MSP is ruled by 6 per cent of big farmers whereas other 86 per cent of small farmers do not even go to mandis so are not benefitted by the policy. 

The Farming Bills of 2020 are indeed a great step to transform Indian agriculture from ‘subsistence farming’ to a ‘farming business’. It will unleash the potential of the market by providing opportunities for selling produce anywhere in the country. People try to get their produce exported when the government did not do much about it but now if the government is set to do something about it, ‘some farmers’ have a problem. Anyways, it’s a democracy so views are always welcome and therefore I am also sharing my opinion in support of the farm bills.
 
To those who say- “It is a new concept to India”:
Contract farming has been in place since long just that it was not popular, and it was not guided by any law. Tea and coffee, timber wood, most of the horticulture produce and coconut etc have never been covered under MSP and those planting it have never had any problem. It is those who were given an upper hand by the government do not want that reservation to be snatched away while there has been no mention of MSP policy being removed. To my utter surprise, more than fifty per cent of MSP coverage is utilised in the states of Haryana and Punjab, just two. 
Most importantly, the farmers engaged in cultivating herbs and some medicinal plants for the giants like Patanjali, HUL, Dabur etc work under fixed pacts called contract farming. Added to them are those associated with the likes of Spencer’s and Gofers who are also guided by experts from these companies to grow plants as desired by the market. Many of these farmers belong to the areas of Haryana, Punjab, West U.P. and Delhi benefitting from the presence of industries and an urban supply chain requiring a large amount of produce of fixed quality daily. Ironically, farmers from the same area are saying that ‘this new law supports crony capitalists.’
 
To those who say – “Contractors will seize land”:
The Central Government, with its new Farm Laws of 2020, has done a great job to assure farmers of good price by opening the market for competition and giving it to the bidding. Yes, there is no doubt that private sectors will get an active role in agricultural marketing, but it does not imply that new rules permit them to seize anyone’s land. There are clear cut judicial provisions in the law which do not permit the contractor to develop any permanent structure in the fields and if it happens, by law, it will belong to the farmer. For safety, it is farmers responsibility to keep a track of all the processes and agreements one is entering in. In other words, The government can make a legit law for road safety, it can install traffic lights and position guards but for your safety, you have to drive safely and you have to wear a helmet. 
 
To those who say- “Contract farming cannot offer good price”
I have personally seen farmers who attached themselves with the potato chips making factories and they are doing fantastic. There, price is assured by the company against the uncertainties faced by Indian farmers. Recently, Reliance entered a deal with a group of farmers in Karnataka for the supply of 1000 tons of paddy. Reports suggest that prices offered are better than those offered under MSP.
To explain, under contract farming you sell your products directly to the company using it. This helps you do away with all the formalities, taxes and middleman fees thus automatically gives you a benefit. According to a report by Economic Times, a group of farmers earning mere Rs30,000 per acre from rice is now earning around Rs3 lakh per acre with contract farming of medicinal plants.

A farm of future - A hydroponics farm in India
Courtesy- Forbes India

 'You can not reject a change whose time has come’. Contract farming is one such change for  India. The most sophisticated urban areas are now  looking towards hydroponics, aquaponics,                aeroponics etc for becoming self-dependent while also maintaining the quality of their diet. To remain    consistent in the supply chain, we need to accept the    changes that come in. The benefits include, working    with security in the farm sector else it is clearly in sight to see big corporates directly entering agriculture, second, assurance of good money on maintaining a set of standards and third can be a better-improved version of agriculture with modern inputs including technology. Start-ups like CityGreens and NowaFarms in Bengaluru have already begun operating their in-house farms for producing organic leafy vegetable. Its demand is rising rapidly owing to its quality. So, it is almost impossible for a ‘traditional kisaan’ to compete with an ‘urban farming corporate’. 

I do consider the opinion that many Indian farmers are poor, landless and have meagre income. Using inputs from contractors, with timely checks of quality, they can do well. A healthier option for them is to join hands with their likes and represent a bigger group which can then easily do the right farming business. There is surely scope for considering problems of small farmers and they should be considered in the bill or through any other means. Changes to the bill are quite acceptable but repealing is anyways not done. 

One request to all, your opinion is always valuable but please let farmers grow. You political stands can lead them to lose their lives. Free money is not always a solution, making an environment to work and grow is all that they want. 

Support Farm Bills to Support India!