Farmer protests find support

Many groups are standing in solidarity with the farmers protesting in Delhi

Over the past week, thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting in and around Delhi demanding a repeal of three agricultural laws.

Activists, NGOs and citizens are doing their bit in Bengaluru. On Monday, Aikya Horata, a coalition of farmers, workers and Dalit groups, took out to a march. The All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee organised protests in all district centres in Karnataka on Tuesday.

The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene have announced protests from December 7, the day the Assembly session begins.

“The dharna will be against the amendments to the Labour Act and the attitude of the central government towards farmers,” says B Nagendra, president, KRRS.

The protests will be held at Maurya Circle. “We are demanding that the amendments to land laws be scrapped both at the Centre and the State. The recent amendments to Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1961, and Karnataka APMC Act, 1966 and Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 should also be tabled,” he says.

On Wednesday, a group of lawyers demonstrated in front of the Bangalore City Civil Court.

Meeting with the govt

On Thursday, the government met farmer leaders in Delhi.

The farmers gave a representation in the first half of the meeting. In the second half, agriculture minister Narendra Tomar, and others spoke on the government’s behalf.

Tomar told the farmers that no changes would be made to Minimum Selling Price (MSP). The farmers union, however, said the talks had made “little progress”.

The next round of meeting was scheduled for December 5.

Closer home, Karnataka’s agriculture minister BC Patil on Thursday addressed farmers in Ponnampet, Kodagu. “The farmers who commit suicide are cowards. Only a coward who can’t take care of his wife and children commits suicide,” he said. Former chief ministers HD Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah called out the minister for his insensitive comments.

Fix the loopholes

Dr Prakash Kammardi, former chairman of Karnataka Agricultural Pricing Commission, says the government should retain and strengthen
democratic bodies such as the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (AMPC).

“The only job of the farmers is to grow. All post-production activity should be the government’s job. The new model will allow the private and corporate sector into the system, which will further marginalise farmers,” he says.

Background

Two private bills presented in Parliament in 2018 by Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetty have resurfaced.

Despite the pressure from farmers and support of 21 parties, including the Congress, the Bill could not be enacted.

These are: The Farmers’ Freedom from Indebtedness Bill 2018 and The Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Price
(MSP) for Agricultural Commodities Bill 2018.

The first called for waiving all loans of peasants, a right to institutional credit and the option of obtaining protection from a debt trap in case of natural disasters. “Farmers are simply asking for the bare minimum, to get what they had invested to supply. If MRP exists to protect consumers, why can’t we protect the producers?” Kamreddi says.

Voice of support

Suresh Rao grows tomatoes, capsicum, coconut, chilli, and ragi on his land in Hoskote, Devanahalli, Malur, Narsapura and Kolar.

He believes that the bill is a great step to remove middlemen. “It will prevent these agents from pocketing all the profits,” he says.

The APMC Act of 1966, which regulates the marketing of notified agricultural produce, he says, is not working for many farmers.

“You have to remove the agents and brokers for it to work. At the moment, we offer them 10 per cent, and pay for transport. In the end, we don’t even get payment in time,” he says.

Bills in question

The Rajya Sabha just passed two of the three Bills collectively referred to as the farm bills.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill allows farmers to sell their produce outside the government-controlled marketing yards. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill creates a framework for contract farming, allowing agreements betweens and buyers even before production. While both sound good on paper, farmers are protesting, because the current system protects them, while the new laws remove any kind of government intervention. In many states, the governments set minimum price for agricultural produce such as rice, wheat, and in recent years, some pulses and oilseeds.