Centre’s ordinances to be disastrous for farmers: Jakhar

Jakhar said that the continuation of MSP is no guarantee that the existing system of open-ended procurement will continue

Punjab Congress unit president Sunil Jakhar on Monday flayed the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020, that were recently approved by the central government.

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“These ordinances are not reform but a conspiracy to make farmers dependent on corporate houses,” said Jakhar. He added that these “so-called reforms are in line with the recommendations of the Shanta Kumar Committee report prepared by a former BJP CM to dismantle MSP and FCI.”

“Union minister for agriculture and farmer welfare Narendra Singh Tomar, food processing industries minister Harsimrat Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh had termed the three new ordinances as beneficial for farmers, especially those in Punjab. They said MSP will continue, but their statement hid more than it revealed,” he said.

Jakhar said that the continuation of MSP is no guarantee that the existing system of open-ended procurement will continue. “Instead of replicating Punjab’s successful model of agriculture mandis, the Centre has allowed marketplaces without regulation, where 15 crore farmers will sell their produce,” he added, claiming that implications of these “tragic announcements” will be disastrous in Punjab.

He said the state will lose around Rs 5,000 crore revenue and will not be able to carry out rural development works without mandi fee.