“Belonging to the farmers’ community from Maur Kalan in Punjab, I feel extremely elated with the latest announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the repealing of 3 Farm Laws. This decision came after lakhs of farmers across the country started camping at Delhi borders and many other parts of India from November last year. They have been demanding a complete repeal of the farm laws and I feel it is a good decision because these farm laws are made for the farmers and if they are not happy, the government should consider their opinions.
As a first-generation graduate, my family never wanted me to be a farmer but my passion for agriculture and compassion towards small & marginal farmers brought me back to my roots. After my brief stint with farmers at Punjab Agricultural University and TII, I recently ventured into a social enterprise called ‘Gramya Ventures’ which works for the empowerment of farmers across the villages. We directly work with the farmers in Punjab, Maharashtra and Madya Pradesh to make the shift from chemical farming to organic farming.
When I read about the three farm laws which were passed by the government, I felt that it could lead to new technological interventions to the existing procurement system of the farmers’ produce. The intent behind these three bills was to promote barrier-free inter and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets between farmers and traders. However, there are certain loopholes in these laws which the government failed to address and make necessary amendments to resolve the problems.
As the technology is increasing, I certainly feel there should be new ways in providing alternative methods in the production, procurement and marketing of the produce. The government should emphasize on nature aligned farming practices such as Organic and Natural farming as well as a premium market for quality produce by educating the local farmers and customers. Moreover, the government should also provide a support system to the new agro-based startups so that there’s healthy competition and no monopoly in the market. These startups should be provided with equal opportunity in the market in order to ensure new ways of production, procurement, storage and marketing along with the existing Mandi system.
The government should also provide statuary backing to the Minimum Support Price and also ensure the farmers get the premium price for the Produce
As an agricultural researcher, I certainly feel that there should be a holistic approach in initiating the end to end farm management system right from the production, storage and marketing and it is the responsibility of the government, corporations and start-ups to provide the solutions to the existing problems of the farmers.”