Why Are Farmers Protesting? Your Guide To Understanding The Agitation

Farmers who have gathered from various states continue at the borders of Delhi continue to protest as talks with the government remain inconclusive. Here's a guide to understanding why farmers are protesting.

Image (PTI)

New Delhi: Farmers who have been protesting for the past 11 days have called for a nationwide strike. The Bharat Bandh will continue from 11 AM till 3 PM. Although essential services will not be affected since some taxi unions have also joined commuters may face some issues. Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and other states, have been protesting at the border of Delhi, against the government, over the new farm laws, passed by the government in September. The call for a strike was decided by farmers after the fifth round of talks with the Centre failed. What Farm laws are the farmers against? The farmers are protesting against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. These were passed by the Central government despite protests from opposition parties and farmers. These bills allow farmers to sell their produce outside the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) mandis to whoever they want effectively cutting the commission of the middleman. Legislation on contract farming also allows farmers to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms.   The PM had called the 3 agrarian bills the 'Rakhsha Kawach' for the farmers. What do farmers fear? The farmers have expressed concerns that they are afraid of not getting paid at the MSP anymore. Farmers want profitable sales in the form of minimum support prices (MSPs) to be a legal right. They feel that the bills will eventually lead to the dismantling of the mandi system and they will not get an assured price for their crops. The farmers have also demanded a separate ordinance to provide a clear provision that if any agency buys the crop of the farmer below the MSP, then legal action will be taken against it. The Centre has refused to give statutory legislative guarantees to protect assured marketing of farmers' crops on MSP. What are the protesting farmers demanding? The farmers want the Central government to roll back the Farm Bills and they also want the withdrawal of the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, fearing it will lead to an end to subsidised electricity. What is the government's stand? The government has maintained that the MSP will continue and the Farm bills will actually empower the farmers by giving them more options. They have also said that the farmers are being misled and have blamed the opposition for it. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said that the opposition parties are "opposing the Narendra Modi government for the sake of opposition, forgetting their own work in the past" Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has said that some political parties are trying to spoil the atmosphere and that Congress is spreading misinformation and misleading the farmers over the new Farm Laws. He added that opposition parties are trying to disrupt law and order in the country. What happened during the talks with the central government? The first round of talks was held in October, but since ministers were not present during the meeting the farmer leaders walked out. The next round took place on November 13 and the seven-hour meeting remained inconclusive as the government refused to roll back the laws. Since the farmers began the protest in various borders around Delhi, three talks have been held so far. But in all of them, the farmers have remained adamant about their demands. In the latest meeting that was held on December 5, the centre promised to come with a concrete plan for the next round which is going to be held on December 9.