From PM’s assurances to webinar-training sessions, Centre's outreach to farmers detailed

As the farmers' agitation against the three contentious agrarian laws enters its 16th day on Friday, the impasse between the Union Government and the peasants continues even after six rounds of discussions between representatives of both sides. While farmers have expressed concerns over the abolition of mandis and MSPs with the implementation of the three new laws arguing that it benefits corporates hugely, the Centre has constantly - on several occasions - assured farmers across the country that MSP will not be abolished. It is important to note that the Centre had also promised to provide a written assurance on the stay of MSP in their recent proposal to the farmers' unions which had been rejected on Thursday. 

The NDA-led Union Government has contended that the Opposition is attempting to instigate farmers with attempts of propagating misconceptions pertaining to the three reforms introduced. The three farms bills which received the President's assent on September 27 have been introduced to benefit the agricultural sector and the farmers, the Centre continues to assert. In a bid to allay farmers' fears regarding the contentious laws, the Centre has indulged in a massive outreach programme to clear the 'misconceptions' of the farmers. 

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On more than 25 occasions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has assured farmers of the benefits that these reforms are expected to reap. The Prime Minister in his Mann ki Baat address, Independence Day speech and during his rallies prior to the Bihar elections had smeared the Opposition's malicious campaign and repeatedly conveyed the provisions of the laws for the benefit of the farmers. He has also asserted strongly that the MSP - one of the major concerns of the farmers - would stay despite the implementation of the laws. 

The Union Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar has spearheaded the six rounds of discussions so far with the farmers' representatives along with Union Minister Piyush Goyal and MoS Commerce Som Prakash. The first round of discussion was held on November 13 while the last round concluded on December 7. Apart from holding deliberations with the farmers, the Centre unleashed a massive outreach programme to connect with the farmers at the grass-root level in a bid to explain the reforms introduced. 

READ | Ravi Shankar Prasad Reveals '92 Lakh Consultations Done' On Farm Laws, Lambasts Opposition

1,37,054 webinar & training sessions conducted

In June 2020, 708 trainings and webinars were organised covering 21,231 farmers. In July 2020, a total of 873 training and webinars were conducted reaching out to 26,196 farmers.  36,102 training and webinar sessions covering 27,07,977 farmers were conducted in the month of October 2020 whereas November 2020 witnessed 97,679 such sessions covering 64,36,198 farmers. Thee total number of training and webinar sessions conducted were 1,37,054 reaching out to 92,42,376 number of farmers as on between June to November 2020. Farmers were called for training at a commonplace in the Gram Panchayat while 2.23 crore SMS messages have been sent to farmers during the month of October. 

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Prior to even introducing the bills in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, the Ministry of Agriculture consulted with various experts and officials regarding the three bills. As per official sources, feedback on the three bills was obtained from officials in APMC mandis and through multiple meetings with the FPOs through video conferences. The Ministry had also consulted with farmers unions and introduced changes suggested by them. 

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What are the agrarian laws? 

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 aims at freeing the farmers from the constraints of the state Agriculture Produce Market Committees whereby they would be able to sell their produce anywhere. Meanwhile, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 protects and empowers farmers to engage with processors, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters for farm services. This entails the provision of contract farming. On the other hand, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 specifies that the supply of foodstuffs including cereals, pulses, potato, edible oilseeds, and oils shall be regulated only under exceptional circumstances.