As the farmers from Punjab have gathered Punjab on Delhi-Haryana border to protest against newly implemented farm laws, the Apple producers from Himachal Pradesh are saying that they are very happy with new changes because they do have to pay a bribe to government officials to sell the produce and money directly comes to the bank account.
A farmer, Layak Ram says, “Earlier we had to go to Delhi. Now we sell apples directly to the centre.” Also, the private procurement centres in the district help them to earn more.
Himachal Pradesh: Apple growers in Shimla say that private apple procurement centres in the district is helping them earn more, as they don't have to deal with middlemen anymore. A farmer, Layak Ram says, "Earlier we had to go to Delhi. Now we sell apples directly to the centre." pic.twitter.com/jfPwlOnmvF
— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2020
I gave them 12,000 crates of apples last yr & around 10,000 crates this yr. Payment is made directly into our bank account. Earlier, we used to spend a lot on paying grading officials, labourers, on commission etc. Now we save a lot & earn good money: Layak Ram, an apple grower https://t.co/DHjbumg0Zc pic.twitter.com/7UTr1ckdJI
— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2020
“I gave them 12,000 crates of apples last yr & around 10,000 crates this yr. Payment is made directly into our bank account. Earlier, we used to spend a lot on paying grading officials, labourers, on commission etc. Now we save a lot & earn good money,” said the farmers from Himachal Pradesh, as per a report by ANI.
The farmers from Punjab, fooled by Congress and Akali Dal and fueled by Khalistani elements, are protesting against the three farm laws without even witnessing the results of these laws. Once something against farmer’s interest happens due to newly implemented laws, then the protest is justified, but the protest in anticipation that these laws would be bad for farmers, is definitely a foolish task.
Kaushalendra Kumar, a farmer from Bihar, who earns crores of rupees every year by selling vegetables, is another great example of how liberalization of farming could help farmers to earn more. A topper of India’s top management college, IIM-Ahmedabad, Kumar decided to sell vegetables- at a time when farming is seen as an unskilled and lowly profession- even after graduating from such a prestigious college.
The Nitish Kumar led government has already repealed APMC act in 2006 and, therefore, it was allowed to sell the products directly to the market. Kaushalendra started bringing the farmers together to sell their produce directly to the market, and today more than 35,000 farmers across six districts are part of his foundation.
“Several initiatives across the country are helping farmers through, say, solar energy provision or getting the farmers’ markets online. And I noticed that these are isolated programmes, though wonderful by themselves, do not make a farmer completely independent. I decided to integrate several initiatives instead of starting something unique myself,” he said.
“Our agenda was to help farmers optimise their income through fair means while offering the end-customer with the choicest of fresh vegetables and fruits,” he adds.
The Modi government introduced three farmer bills to cut the bureaucrats and middlemen from the agricultural sector and link farmers directly to the market. What the Modi government is trying to do is to provide an opportunity for thousands of Kaushlendra across the country who could liberate the farmers and themselves from poverty.
The three bills would free-up the farmers to sell the products directly in the market, minimize the government power to regulate the stocks of essential commodities which includes various agricultural products, and formalize contract farming. These bills would cut the ‘middlemen’ and improve farmer’s income, but the opposition including Congress which promised to introduce the same reforms, are now opposing these bills and misinforming them for their petty politics.
Mr. Modi should exempt these agitating farmers from Punjab from these Farm Reform Laws with a condition that they cannot come back when they see the rest of the country’s farmers flourish under these reform laws.