Willing to continue talks with genuine farm unions, says Narendra Singh Tomar
16-December-2020

Union Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the government is willing to hold talks with the genuine farm unions to break the logjam over the three farm laws. Tomar also reiterated that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will continue as it is and underlined that the new laws have been welcomed in various states across the country.

"The government is willing to continue dialogue with genuine farm unions and is willing to find a solution with an open mind," Tomar said on Tuesday after a meeting with members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kisan) from Uttar Pradesh, according to a statement issued by the Agriculture ministry.

The union submitted a memorandum to Tomar with suggestions regarding the Farm Acts and the MSP. It has also decided to end for now its protest, which it was holding at district levels in Uttar Pradesh. They have not been part of nearly 40 farmers' groups that have been protesting on various borders of the national capital and had attended the recent rounds of talks with the Centre without any breakthrough.

The BKU (Kisan) leaders suggested that farmers be given an option of going to civil courts in case of a dispute. They also suggested that the Panchayat head should be accorded the same importance as the head of the mandi to safeguard the rights of the farmers in small towns and villages.

In the case of the Essential Commodities Act, they suggested that it should prevent hoarding and black marketing. The union leaders also suggested that electricity rates for irrigation should be reduced and electricity should be available for longer hours in Uttar Pradesh. They also proposed that standards for crops should be decided at the procurement centres so that farmers do not face any problem in selling the produce.

"The minister explained the laws in detail and we realised the laws are really good. We had some doubts, he cleared them all. The minister said he will look into our demands," its president Pawan Thakur said. "If our demands are not met, we will protest again," he added.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, are currently staying put at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in protest 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. They have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations. However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture. The government argues that the three farm laws will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.