Will farm bills benefit farmers in Bihar?

There has been a heated debate on the controversial farm bills as to whether it will benefit the farmers in Bihar as the state government had already abolished the APMC act in 2006. There has been a steady decline in the agricultural growth rate which has decreased the income of the farmers.

Patna: In a study of agriculture in Bihar from 2001-02 to 2016-17, the state's agricultural growth rate has been less than the average agricultural growth rate of the country. According to the report, after the abolition of APMC, the prices of paddy, wheat and maize increased volatility along with the income of farmers. The uncertainty in prices also persisted due to which farmers could not decide how much land should be attributed to a particular crop to avoid losses. This uncertainty was the cause of the low rate of growth of agriculture.

Opposition ready to fight

In the Lok Sabha, the opposition attacked the government on all three bills related to agriculture. While the opposition is calling these bills anti-farmers, the government said that these are in the interest of the farmers. Congress is also opposing the farm reform bills. But in the past, the then Finance Minister, during the time of Manmohan Singh, had suggested abolishing the Market Committee Act. Later, this issue was also included in the manifesto of the Congress party. Now, along with Congress, Bihar's main opposition party RJD is also ready to take up a last-ditch fight.

Farmers to benefit from new agriculture bill: Experts

Agricultural experts say that the new agriculture bill will benefit the farmers as they will get the freedom to sell their crops on their own wherever they like. Buying and selling can also be done through e-trading. And also, farmers will be able to get a good price for the crops. This is also good news for the farmers of Bihar because they have a monopoly in the cultivation of litchi, Malda, mango, banana and sugarcane.

Farmers' income will be doubled: Agriculture Minister

"The Congress party had talked about abolishing the APMC Act in the 2019 manifesto but surprisingly, there are calling it'death warrant for the farmers. With the passage of the bill, the farmers of Bihar will be free from the clutches of middlemen. Farmers will now be able to sell their crop at a higher price. Confusion is being spread about MSP, said Prem Kumar, state agricultural minister.

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Bill will give relief to farmers: HAM Party

Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) Party's national spokesperson Danish Rizwan said that this bill will provide relief to the farmers especially who are facing the brunt of flood and drought. This bill is going to prove beneficial for states like Bihar.

Bill in interest of farmers: JD(U)

"Farmers have been demanding for a long time that they should get the right to fix the price of their crops. The central government has given this right to the farmers through the bill. The opposition is spreading confusion about MSP. The Prime Minister made it clear by increasing the MSP that the MSP is not going to end in any case," said Jai Kumar Singh, JD(U) leader.

Farm bills are against farmers: RJD

Attacking the Centre over farm bills and terming it as 'anti-farmers' bill, RJD spokesperson, Bhai Virendra said," This bill will also give corporates rights over agricultural products. The situation of the farmers will get worse. The opposition to the bill will continue.

What do economists say

"Farmers are not going to benefit much from this bill. But if the government decides that companies will not buy the produce of the farmers at a lower price than the MSP, then in such a situation, farmers of Bihar will definitely get benefits. Bihar has 96.5 per cent marginal and small farmers. The Santa Committee report also said that the minimum support price covers 6 per cent of the farmers. In the same situation, 94 per cent of farmers should have got benefit in Bihar, but this did not happen," said DM Diwakar, economist.

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