Farm bill 2020

Farm Bill or The Indian agriculture acts of 2020 were three acts initiated in our Parliament in September 2020. The bill was approved in September 2020 in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It was given assent by President on 27 September 2020.

1. FARM BILL 2020 Presented by Divya Madhurima M

2. The background to the farm acts On 2017 , the central government had released a number of model farming acts . The Standing Committee on Agriculture ( 2018–19 ), however, noted that several reforms suggested in the model acts had not been implemented by the states. A committee consisting of seven  Chief Ministers was set up in July 2019 to discuss implementation. The committee is yet to submit its report. The centre promulgated three ordinances in the first week of June 2020.

3. ABOUT India is an agricultural country. More than 70% of India's population is directly or indirectly involved in agriculture related work. These farmers sustain the entire country but it is a sad truth that they are struggling with starvation. Recently, the Central Government has passed new agricultural bills for the benefit of farmers and the good of the agricultural sector. But farmers and state governments are opposing these agricultural bills.

4. Indian agriculture acts of 2020 The  Indian agriculture acts of 2020 , often referred to as the Farm Bills, are three acts initiated by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The  Lok Sabha  approved the bills on 17 September 2020 and the  Rajya Sabha  on 20 September 2020. The President of India,  Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent on 27 September 2020. They inspired the  protests against the new acts , which gained momentum in September 2020. On 12 January 2021 the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the farm laws and appointed a committee to look into farmer grievances related to the farm laws.

5. THREE BILLS The Farm Bill or the Agriculture Bill 2020 is a combination of three bills recently passed by Parliament. These bills are; Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020. Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020. Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.

6. Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020. Agricultural trade in India could only be conducted in APMC  market yards  ( mandis ). Allows trading in " outside trade areas “ such as farm gates, factory premises,  warehouses ,  silos , and  cold storages and prohibits  state governments  from levying any market fee or  cess  on farmers, traders, and  electronic-trading platforms  for trading the produce of farmers in such areas. To promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade of agriculture goods.

7. Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020. Farmers can enter into a contract with protect agriculture firms , processors, wholesalers , exporters, or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce by a pre-agreed price. Marginal and small farmers, with land less than five hectares to gain via aggregation and contract (marginal and small farmers account for 86% of total farmers in India). To reduce cost of marketing and boost the farmer’s income.

8. Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 . Removes foodstuff such as cereals , pulses , potato , onions , edible oilseeds , and oils , from the list of essential commodities, removing stockholding limit agricultural items produced by Horticulture techniques except under "extraordinary circumstances“. This provision will attract private sector / FDI into farm sector as it will remove fears of private investors of excessive regulatory interference in business operations. To help both farmers and consumers by bringing in price stability.

9. Pro’s & Con’s Pro’s of the bill: Problem of middlemen can be solved. Balanced supply. Increased investment in agriculture sector . Price stabilization. Con’s of the bill: Lack of Transparency. Sometimes APMC’s are useful. Can be problematic for Small Farmers . Risk of Exploitation .

10. Conclusion The majority of agriculture marketing already happens outside the mandi network , with only 7000 APMC markets operating across the country. Bihar , Kerala and Manipur do not follow the APMC system at all. However, most private buyers are currently small traders at local mandis. The removal of stock limits and facilitation of bulk purchase and storage through the amendment to the essential commodities act could bring large corporate players into the agriculture space . Although they will bring much-needed investment, they could also skew the playing field , with small farmers unlikely to match them in bargaining power .

11. References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Indian_agriculture_acts https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-11/Farm-Acts-2020.pdf https://gradeup.co/farm-bill-2020--a-detailed-analysisupsc-gs-paper-iii-i http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-4859-benefits-of-farm-bill-2021.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzyBL5M_2Nk&t=209s

12. Thank you