“That which has been done well has been done quickly enough.”
—Augustus, Roman emperor
ON January 22, 2021, the prolonged dialogue between agitating farmers’ associations and the ostensibly patient government ended in a stalemate. Or is it a checkmate? Again, what happened on the Republic Day, 2021, was it part of the strategy of the movement launched on the Constitution Day, 2020? Only time will tell. For the time being, the government has offered to put the laws on hold for a year and a half; but the farmers will settle only for repeal.
The three laws are—the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (Promotions and Facilitation Act hereafter), the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 (Empowerment and Protection Act hereafter) and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
At present, the farmers are required to sell crops through licensed commission agents (known as “arhtiyas” in Punjab and Haryana) at designated “mandis” (agri-markets) regulated by the state governments under their Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Acts. Commission agents earn 1.5 to 3 percent of the sale value for services, while states earn mandi fees paid by the crop buyers. Government agencies buy produce meeting their quality standards at the minimum support price (MSP) during the procurement season that lasts 60 to 90 days. Thereafter, private traders buy the produce through commission agents at market price. About 6 percent of farmers benefit from MSP.
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