'New farm bills have instilled hope in farmers'

Kodagu BJP unit president Robin Devaiah said that the new farm bills that were passed in the Parliament had instilled hope in farming community by ensuring rightful prices to their produce.

Addressing mediapersons here on Wednesday, he said that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020, passed by the Central government, allowed the farmers to sell their crops at the market of their choice. This will ensure profit for the farmers, he added.

Earlier, the farmers had no choice other than to sell their produce through APMCs. The rate fixed by the middlemen were final. According to the amended law, the farmers can sell their produce in other states as well.

Devaiah further said, “The farmers can directly negotiate with the food processing industries to finalise the rate for the produce. The menace of middlemen will be put to an end. Therefore, the farmers should cooperate in the implementation of the new farming acts.”

BJP State Krishi Morcha Secretary Dr Navin Kumar said that the government had taken special measures to safeguard farmers’ interest even amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

He meanwhile lamented that 86% of farmers in the country, who are carrying out agriculture on 5 to 10 hectares of land, were not coming forward to take up profitable farming while some are willing to carry out farming on smaller lands.

The new acts will benefit both. The farmers should be convinced about the uses of the new acts. The opposition parties are protesting against the acts without knowing them, he added.