Port Blair, Dec. 23: The All India Kisan Sabha, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Unit salutes the Indian peasantry’s unprecedented protest against three Farm Laws viz. (1) The essential commodities (Amendment) act 2020. (2) The Farmers produce trade and commerce (Promotion and Facilitation act 2020. (3) The Farmers (empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020.
As laws that blatantly favour the interest of big business in agriculture. With passage of these laws, the Agriculture Sector Federal Structure of the Constitution and Public Distribution System (PDS) would be destroyed and food security for the country will be in jeopardy.
In a communication, the Kishan Sabha, A&N Islands have tried to explain their views on the 3 farm laws:
Politics of 3 Farm Acts- The enactment of the three farm Acts denotes the surrender of the Modi government in front of corporate capital. The State has abdicated its responsibility on food security, assuring minimum support price and guaranteed procurement of farm produce. The most dangerous out of these three Acts with immediate consequences will be ‘The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020’ which deregulates the trade of grains, pulses, edible oil, oil seed, onion and potato. This will legitimize black marketing and hoarding and corporate houses can stockpile, make value addition and appropriate profit by squeezing the farmers and plundering the consumers. This will endanger the food security of the people especially the poor through systematic abolition of Public Distribution System (PDS) and privatization of Food Corporation of India (FCI).
The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020 is an onslaught on the federal nature of the Constitution of India. Agriculture is listed in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution and Union government has no unquestionable authority to enact laws on the subject without taking the State governments into confidence. The clauses in this Act permits corporate forces to engage in interstate and intra state trade of farm produce without any kind of regulation with the aid of E- trade platforms.
The corporate dominance on E- trade and digitalization of farming process will ultimately lead to monopoly control on production and productivity. There is no obligation for corporate forces to heed market regulation, auction system, market fee, cess or levy on these trade activities. Thus this Act is granting unlimited freedom to corporate capital under the slogan of ‘One Nation One Market’ though the propaganda by the Prime Minister is ‘freedom to farmers’.
Ultimately this will snatch away all the financial resources due to the State governments under the centralized GST system of taxation making them just a feeble adjunct of the mighty Union Government. This sort of unitary system of governance controlled by the corporate capital will ultimately harm the equitable distribution of resources and the equilibrium of development process thus causing discontent and disruption among the people and destroying the unity of India based on our rich diversity. All the State governments have to come forward to oppose this enactment in order to protect the interests of the States and the unity of the country.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 deals with the crucial question of land management, procurement, processing and price. The provisions of this Act enable corporate capital to enter into contract farming thus pooling vast tract of peasants land under the corporate management. This paves way to centralization and monopoly control over land resources and land use thus leading to reverse land reforms to cater the corporate interests. Also the menace of corporate forces compelling the peasantry to cultivate profit oriented cash crops instead of less profitable but socially essential food grains is a matter of serious concern. This Act will eliminate the system of peasant agriculture and promote corporate agriculture, cultivation of large tracts of land under corporate monopoly. This will further intensify the already widespread trend of pauperisation and proletarianisation of the peasantry.
The small and middle peasants will be forced to lose land and farm animals being converted to landless Labour adding to the migrant workers wandering across the country or abroad in search of jobs and wages for sustenance.
Though the title of this Act mentions ‘agreement on price assurance’ there are no provisions in this Act ensuring Minimum Support Price or the system of procurement of farm products based on realization of MSP. This is the kind of travesty experienced by the peasantry under the regime led by PM Modi. The Act facilitates trade and services between unequal partners ultimately forcing the large mass of the small and middle peasantry to abide with the unequal and unjustifiable agreements on price and procurement being dictated by mighty corporate houses without any protection of even the judiciary. No civil court has any jurisdiction; hence farmers cannot go to the courts to redress their grievances as per the provisions of this Act, said a communication from the All India Kisan Sabha, A&N Islands.