It is to be noted that thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting against the new farm laws which they claim will dismantle the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporate houses.
According to the Prime Minister, agriculture reforms will increase synchronisation in the sector and help create better logistics and cold chain infrastructure.
The Prime Minister reiterated that agricultural reforms are done to empower farmers and improve their financial conditions.
The farming community has expressed apprehension that three new laws — Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 — would pave the way for dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.
Enacted in September, the laws have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.
