₹10,000 crore and trust⁠— here’s what may convince the farmers to end the protest against the new laws

• The idea behind the three new laws liberalising agriculture must be welcomed but that is not a case against the farmers’ right to protest.
• The existing system has barely worked and there is a need for a fresh thought and approach to end the distress that farmers face every year in most parts of the country.
• The farmers from Punjab are up in arms because they fear losing the assured procurement by the government at a minimum support price, and being at the mercy of corporate buyers.
• While the Central government may choose to compensate for any loss of revenue for farmers, the fears around APMC stem from a lack of trust.

Farmers are protesting three new laws passed by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre in New Delhi. The idea behind the three laws is to liberalise agriculture whereas the farmers, particularly those from Punjab, fear that they will lose the assurance that their produce will be bought by the government at a set price⁠— something they have enjoyed for decades.


The other big fear, across the country, is the dependence on corporates because the new laws may kill the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), a regulatory body that is in charge of building and managing a dedicated marketplace where farmers can come and sell their produce.

The first one may be an easier problem to solve
Business Insider has earlier argued that the idea behind the new laws must be welcomed but that is not a case against the farmers’ right to protest. The existing system has barely worked and there is a need for a fresh thought and approach to end the distress that farmers face every year in most parts of the country.


There is a need to build trust, assuage their fears and, maybe, compensate them for the legitimate losses that may occur due to the new laws. According to one estimate, by an eminent agricultural economist, Ashok Gulati ⁠— who supports the new legislations⁠ — a ₹10,000-crore package for the farmers in Punjab should suffice.

Right now, the farms in Punjab ⁠— one of the country’s most prosperous, receiving more subsidy and irrigation than any other part in India ⁠— primarily grow paddy and wheat, and rely on the government to buy the produce. Gulati is of the view that farmers in Punjab are caught in an MSP trap and the new laws will help them get out of it.


The second issue stems largely from lack of trust
And as another senior journalist, Harish Damodaran, the Editor for rural affairs and agriculture for The Indian Express ⁠— who said it would be retrograde to make minimum support price (MSP) a legal right⁠— has argued, there is only one contentious issue: whether agricultural produce should be sold outside the APMC market?

Farmers ⁠— and more importantly, state governments that make a lot of money from the levies at the APMC markets ⁠— fear that these laws will eventually make these mandis ineffective and leave them at the mercy of corporate buyers.


The government has repeatedly assured the farmers that APMC markets will continue but that hasn’t worked. Adding a safeguard provision in the law, aside from developing trust and the art of convincing, may be the need of the hour.

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