Agri bills introduced in Rajya Sabha; Tomar said MSP will continue

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday said minimum price or MSP based procurement of agriculture crops from farmers will continue and is t related to farm bills that seek to give cultivators freedom to market ir produce.

Days after ir pass in Lok Sabha, Tomar introduced Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 in Rajya Sabha.

bills are facing staunch opposition from farmer bodies as well as from within ruling coalition. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, food processing minister from Shiromani Akali Dal party, resigned from government last week.

K K Rsh (CPI), Derek O'Brien (TMC), Trichi Siva (DMK) and K C Venugopal (Congress) moved resolutions for sending two bills to a select committee of House for consideration before y are taken up for pass.

Speaking at introduction, Tomar said two bills are "historic and will bring a revolutionary change in farmer's lives".

y seek to remove restrictions on marketing farm products and allow cultivators to eng with private companies to sell ir crops.

"Farmers will get freedom to sell ir produce at any place and person of ir choice," he said adding bills were brought after feedback from stakeholders that Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) was t doing justice to farmers.

bills seek to bring competition and ensure fair price to farmers, he said.

"re are misconceptions being spread about minimum support price (MSP). MSP is government's administrative decision and t linked to bills. MSP based procurement was re in country, is re, and will continue," he said.

Under MSP,  government guarantees procurement of crops such as wheat and paddy at minimum prices from farmers.

Opposition parties, as well as SAD, feel bills are first step toward removing MSP which will force farmers to make distress sales to private companies.

Rsh said country is witnessing massive agitation by farmers over bills. "I request minister and government to see wrath of farmers and withdraw se orders and bills." bills seek to replace emergency ordinances issued earlier.

agri bills, he said, are being dubbed as COVID relief pack for farmers but in effect, se are "pack for corporates".

"How can it be COVID pack? COVID pack could have been loan waiver for farmers," he said.

Agriculture, he said, is a state subject and union government was "snatching powers of states".

He said bills will be throwing farmers at mercy of corporates.

Farmers do t have bargaining power and y cant enter into a contract with corporates from a position of strength, he said.

Opponents of bills see m as an attempt to dilute country's public procurement system and lead to exploitation by private companies.

Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell ir produce outside tified APMC market yards (mandis). This, government says, is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels.

Farmers will t be charged any cess or levy for sale of ir products under this Act, according to government.

It will open more choices for farmers, reduce marketing costs, and help m get better prices. It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers in areas with shorts at lower prices.

Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to give farmers right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price.

It seeks to transfer risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors.

Tomar said this legislation guarantees cultivators price y negotiate at time of sowing itself.

A third bill, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 that seeks to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion, and potatoes from list of essential commodities and will do away with imposition of stock holding limits, is to be moved separately.