Why Farmers protest in Delhi?

 

1. Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020

Bill	Concerns
Bill will allow the farmers to sell their produce outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) regulated markets, which are government-controlled mandis. The law will allow farmers to directly sell their produce to cold storage, warehouses, processing plants and even to the end consumer.	Bill will do away with the government procurement process and the Minimum Support Price (MSP)-based procurement regime, which will impact the farmers.

 

2. Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020

Bill	Concerns
Bill aims to create a framework for contract farming. Under its provisions, the farmers will have to enter into contracts with agri-business firms, exporters, wholesalers,  processors, or large retailers for the sale of their future produce at a pre-decided price.	Due to their distrust in corporates and they fear that large corporates will take over contract farming. The bill gives an upper hand to the corporates, who will have an edge in disputes being big exporters, wholesalers and processors.

 

 

3. Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2019:

Bill	Concerns
Bill aims to remove commodities like pulses, oilseeds, onion, potatoes and cereals from the list of essential commodities, do away with stock holding limits, attract foreign direct investment into the farm sector and help both farmers and consumers and bring price stability. Bill makes way for a competitive market environment and cut wastage of farm produce.	Price limits set for extraordinary circumstances are so high that they might never be invoked and that the bill will enable large companies to stock up commodities and dictate terms to the farmers, which may lead to less prices for the cultivators.

 

The farmers want the Union government to either withdraw the three farm bills or guarantee them the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops by introducing a new law.