NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, who has recently slammed the Modi government over farmers’ protest, on Saturday, stepped up attack saying that the removal of stockpiling limits on food grain, pulses, onion, potatoes, oilseeds may lead to apprehensions that corporates may purchase commodities at lower rates and stock pile and sell at higher prices to consumers. Pawar, who participated at the all-party meeting in the wake of commencement of the budget session of the parliament has thereby echoed views expressed by the farmers' unions that the farm laws will hurt their incomes and leave them at the mercy of large corporations.
Pawar in a series of tweets shared his views on farm laws and its impact on farmers.
“I am also concerned about the amended Essential Commodities Act. According to the Act the government will intervene for price control only if rates of horticultural produce are increased by 100% and that non-perishable items increase by 50%,” he said.
However, he claimed, “New laws will adversely impact the MSP procurement infrastructure thereby weakening the Mandi system. MSP mechanism has to be ensured and strengthened further.”
“New agricultural laws restrict the powers of the Mandi system i.e. the collection of levy and fees from the private markets, dispute resolution, agri-trade licencing and regulations of E-trading,” former union agriculture noted.
Pawar admitted that “Reform is a continuous process and no one would argue against the reforms in the APMCs or Mandi System, a positive argument on the same does not mean that it is done to weaken or demolish the system.”
He recalled during his tenure, the draft APMC Rules - 2007 were framed for the setting up of special markets thereby providing alternate platforms for farmers to market their commodities and utmost care was also taken to strengthen the existing Mandi system. Pawar’s statement came days after BJP and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in a bid to expose opposition role on farm laws had revealed that NCP chief had written to him in 2011, seeking amendment in the existing APMC Act.
