“Let this Act be implemented once. For one-two years, experiment according to this Act and see. If you think this is not a profitable Act for farmers, I can say with certainty, knowing the Prime Minister’s intentions, whatever amendments are necessary, we will be ready to do them all.”
The Essential Commodities (ECA) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 deregulates the production, storage, movement, and sale of several major foodstuffs, except in the case of extraordinary circumstances.
The new laws usher in long awaited reforms that have been part of the agricultural reform thinking for two decades, when the Shankarlal Guru Committee first advocated for a more liberal agricultural marketing structure. The earlier laws created structural problems and led to market distortions which are now finally being addressed.
The prior laws disincentivized private participation, for example. The listing of agricultural commodities under the ECA prevented their bulk procurement. Since the ECA applies uniformly to the supply chain, it has disincentivized private entry into agriculture due to unpredictability of regulations and threats of stockpile expropriation while creating a grey market of middlemen. Stockpiling limits also create a significant risk to the agriculture food processing in
URL copied
Prime Minister Narendra Modi assures farmers again on farm laws.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared a letter penned by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in wake of the farmers protest against the new reforms being brought in the agriculture sector asking people to read it to know how it will help the farmers. PM Modi said the letter elaborately explains aspects relating to the agricultural reforms and how they will benefit farmers.Â
In the letter, the Agriculture minister talks about myths that are being spread against the new farms and the actual truth.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar s Letter to Farmers