Punjab to take tough measures on any move of disbanding MSP, foodgrain marketing: CM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday said his government will take tough measures to counter any move to disband the MSP system and creating obstruction in smooth agricultural marketing process.

The chief minister said he will also write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telling him that he should understand the problems of farmers, having himself been chief minister of the agricultural state of Gujarat.

"The Centre has tried to bring change in our farming sector. I have told them that I do not agree with them on this issue," Singh said, while pointing out that it was Punjab that made a significant contribution in raising the country's foodgrain output.

The Centre had on Friday notified two key ordinances to kick in agriculture reforms and help farmers trade freely and fetch better prices.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020 allows barrier-free trade in agriculture produce outside the notified APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees) mandis.

For the last 60 years, this work (agricultural marketing process) is going on. What is the need for bringing change in it, he said, adding that a record 127 lakh metric tonne of wheat was procured during this Rabi marketing season.

"What is the use of creating obstruction in what Punjab is doing? I do not understand why the Centre is doing this," the chief minister said.

He said his government will take tough measures to counter the move to obstruct the smooth agricultural marketing processes that had worked successfully for 60 years. "We will deal strictly with this issue," he said during his Facebook Live edition of #AskCaptain.

The chief minister expressed concern over the Centre's intent to do away with the minimum support system (MSP) regime.

"Talks are going on that the MSP system will be stopped," he said, adding the Punjab government would fight any such move tooth and nail, and would not allow the interests of its farmers, who had given the nation its food security, to be compromised in any manner.

He also dubbed the ordinance on allowing barrier-free trade in the agriculture sector as "violative" of the federal structure. He had also warned that could pave the way for disbanding the minimum support price regime as well as the foodgrain procurement regime, triggering unrest among the state's farmers.

The ordinance proposes to bar state governments from imposing taxes on sale and purchase of farm produce undertaken outside the mandis and give farmers the freedom to sell their produce at remunerative prices.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020 empowers farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers and exporters through advanced agreements on pre-agreed prices.

(Photo Credit: PTI)