'MSP will remain': Narendra Singh Tomar assures farmers, next meeting on Dec 5

New Delhi, Dec 4: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar assured that "the Minimum support price will remain and therefore the farmers should not fear that it will go away" to the representatives of 40 Farmers’ Unions who were invited for the fourth round of talks here at Vigyan Bhawan. The farmers' unions have agreed to further participate in the next meeting on 5th December.

 

 

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said to the Unions that the MSP will remain and therefore the farmers should not fear that it will go away. He thanked "the farmer's organizations for flagging their concerns and assured them that the dialogue will continue."

 

 

 

The Agriculture Minister participated in a dialogue along with Railways and Commerce Piyush Goel and Minister of State for Commerce Som Prakash. Senior officials from the Agriculture Ministry and the Ministry of Food Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution also participated in the dialogue.

 

The Agriculture Minister once again reiterated the government’s commitment to the welfare of the farmers. He requested the representatives of the Unions to present their point of view and the flag the issues which they felt were contentious. The representatives of the farmers unions raised the question of the constitutional validity of the three laws. The government also explained the constitutional provisions under which the Central Government legislated these laws.

 

On the other hand, the farmers brought out issues related to the APMCs. They said that there has to be a level playing field between APMCs and Private Markets and Trade Yards. They also said that there is a need for proper registration of Trade outside APMCs. The issue of protecting the land of farmers in the Contract Farming Act was also raised.The farmers unions also requested that the MSP system should be made legal. Regarding dispute resolution system in the new Farms Acts the unions said that there is a need for an alternate dispute resolution system. The need for registration of contract farming was also flagged.

 

The Secretary Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Sanjay Agarwal gave a detailed description of the Farms Acts and the measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture for the welfare of farmers and those measures taken to benefit agriculture during the lockdown period to keep the supply chains active. He said that the Farm Acts have been framed keeping in mind the farmers' welfare.