Does this new Farmer's Bill affect all 100% of the farmers in India or only a select few who are protesting?

Bhanwar Lal November 28, 2022

The new farm bills will affect only a limited number of farmers where the government purchase is strong, as the state of Punjab otherwise, it is beneficial for more than 80% of the farmers in India.

The Bills aim to change the way agricultural produce is marketed, sold, and stored across the country. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, allows farmers to sell their harvest outside the notified APMC without paying any State taxes or fees. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, facilitates contract farming and direct marketing. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, deregulates the production, storage, movement, and sale of several major foodstuffs, including cereals, pulses, edible oils, and onion, except in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

Most of the slogans at the farmers’ protests revolve around the need to protect MSPs, which they feel are threatened by the new laws. These are the pre-set rates at which the Central government purchases produce from farmers, regardless of market rates, and are declared for 23 crops at the beginning of each sowing season. However, the Centre only purchases paddy, wheat and select pulses in large quantities, and only 6% of farmers actually sell their crops at MSP rates and they are mostly concentrated in Punjab and small pockets of Haryana.