Kusum Arora 
Jalandhar: Amidst the ongoing 10-month long protest at Shambu border in which farmers are pushing for a Minimum Support Price (MSP), the Union government’s ‘National Policy Framework on Agriculture Marketing’ has raised concerns among farmers that a “back door entry” of three farm laws, which were repealed in 2021, is being created.
The draft policy which was released on November 25, 2024, talks about dismantling Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) markets and promoting contract farming, which was one of the key points in the three farm laws that farmers had protested against.
Up in arms against the draft policy, the farmers said that while they were fighting for MSP, the Union government was all set to uproot the APMC market system in Punjab, which was the best in the country, take away the financial autonomy of the state and push the farming sector into privatisation.
Farmers have also questioned the timing of the draft policy, as the Modi government has given just two-weeks’ time to the states to respond.
The document has brought the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which led the farmers’ agitation in 2020-21 and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) leading the Shambhu and Khanauri sit-ins for MSP, on one platform. Both SKM and KKM held a joint meeting in Chandigarh and asked Punjab’s AAP government to call a special session of the Vidhan Sabha and pass a resolution against the draft policy.
Farmers protest near the Shambhu border on December 8. Photo by arrangement.
What is the draft agricultural marketing policy?
Released by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare under Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the draft agricultural marketing policy talks about 12 reforms, which include allowing private wholesale markets to be set up, and permitting the direct wholesale purchase by processors, exporters, organised retailers and bulk buyers. The policy document also declares warehouses, silos and cold storages as deemed markets, calls for an e-trading platform, a single point levy of market fee, a single unified licence, rationalisation of market fee and commission charges.
The major concern among farmers is contract farming, a subject which was a part of the three repealed farm laws, equipping APMC markets with specific infrastructure and services in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and the push for reforms in the state’s agricultural marketing laws and policies.
Emphasising on privatisation, chapter 7 of the draft reads:
“Private markets are required to create competition among them and with other channels of marketing including APMC markets. Establishing private markets improves farmers-market linkages. As a fulcrum, private markets would enhance the farmers net income. Though the majority of states have made enabling provision for setting up of private wholesale markets, yet private markets have come up in only a few states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.”
Modi government wants to dismantle APMC markets: SKM and KMM leaders
Talking to The Wire, senior SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said there was absolutely no doubt that the new draft agricultural policy was a “back door entry” of the three repealed farm laws.
“The Modi government’s message is clear that they want to break the APMC mandis in Punjab and bring corporate monopoly in agriculture. PM Modi is adamant to take revenge on Punjab, as we had led the farmers protest in Delhi. Since agriculture is a state subject, we have asked Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian to bring a resolution in the Punjab assembly and oppose the new draft policy.”
Rajewal claimed that the new draft agricultural policy would erode Punjab’s stake over its own resources and agrarian economy in the same way in which the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has “broken the backbone of federal states’ financial autonomy.”
“The new agriculture draft clearly talks about private players setting up silos, which is totally unacceptable when Punjab already has a successful model of APMC Mandis in place. If the Modi government wants to set up silos, then they should give this task to the Punjab Mandi Board under the Punjab government which procures food grains through state agencies like Markfed, Punsup, Pungrain and others,” Rajewal said.
Agitating farmers at the Shambhu border on December 8, 2024. Photo: Special arrangement.
The SKM leader emphasised, “We will oppose the new agricultural policy tooth and nail. Once again farmers unions will have to come together to fight a tough and a long battle with the central government.”
Rajewal said that rather Punjab’s AAP government should demand the opening of the Pakistan border for trade. “It is high time the Punjab government speaks for its rights before it’s too late. Under its Hindutva agenda, the Modi government’s message is clear that they want to sell the country’s agriculture to the corporates severely affecting farmers and the consumers. It will push the country in a spiral of chaos”, he added.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) coordinator leading Delhi Chalo morcha at Shambu border, Sarvan Singh Pandher also said both KMM and SKM are united against the new draft policy.
“While we are fighting for MSP, the Union government has brought yet another pro-corporate policy clearly signalling that it has no interest in addressing farmers’ woes. The government is more concerned about promoting privatization and the big corporations in agriculture,” he said.
Farmer leader Shingara Singh Mann from BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) union also said, “Read the new draft policy, it has clearly mentioned that its agenda was to promote contract farming, privatisation of mandis and an end to APMC mandis,” he said.
Mann also questioned the silence of chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s AAP government and said that they should hurriedly act against it. “Earlier also the Modi government had tried to impose the three farm laws during the COVID-19 pandemic but we fought against them. Now again, farmers will have to fight for their rights and Punjab would not be alone in this agitation. Soon Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states would join too,” he added.
He also asked the Modi government that if dismantling APMC mandis was such a success, then why labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were working in Punjab. “The farm labourers from these states have been telling us to save the APMC mandis, else Punjab’s farmers would also be ruined,” he said.
Agriculture economist speaks
Questioning the urgency of the agricultural marketing draft, renowned economist Ranjit Singh Ghuman from Punjabi University, Patiala said that the Union government highlighted the timing – the government has given just two-weeks’ time to state governments to respond to the policy.
“What was the urgency? Farmers’ fears are right because it talks about contract farming, private mandis and one nation, one market. The draft policy was raising questions over the intentions of the Union government for all the valid reasons,” he said.
Ghuman said that while the farmers were protesting for MSP for the last 10 months, there was no mention of MSP in the new draft policy.
“Rather, if the new draft policy comes into effect, APMC mandis and MSP will get diluted over the period of time,” he added.
The economist also said that MSP was the floor price or bench mark of crops. “If the new draft policy is implemented, it will lead to the mushrooming of the cartel system of corporations. Punjab will lose financial and agricultural autonomy, leading to massive loss of revenue through 3% each going as mandi fees and Rural Development Fund (RDF), respectively. If Punjab ends up losing 6% of its revenue earning, it will ruin Punjab’s economy. This also means that farmers would be forced to sow crops demanded by corporates, hence pushing the nation into food scarcity and a possible international crisis,” he said.
The economist advocated the need for a big discourse between state, farmers, and the consumers on the policy. “The Union government should understand that policies of this magnitude cannot be decided and imposed within two weeks’ time. India survives on agriculture and a decision related to it cannot be taken in haste,” he added.
Agitating farmers near the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana on December 14. Photo by arrangement.
Punjab agriculture minister’s meeting
On a joint call given by SKM and KKM, farmer leaders from various unions held a meeting with agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and Punjab government officials on December 19 at Chandigarh.
Discussing the agriculture marketing draft, farmer union leaders said that if the Union government was claiming that there was a need to increase the number of mandis, then they should construct more APMC markets and not bulldoze private markets.
Khuddian assured the farmers that he will discuss the policy with government officials and other stakeholders. “If imposed, the new agriculture marketing policy will uproot the APMC mandi system in Punjab. We will support our farmers,” the minister said.
Terming the draft agricultural policy as anti-farmer, anti-federalism, and anti-people Rajinder Singh Deep Singhwala from Kirti Kisan Union (KKU), said that MSP, which was the key demand of farmers, was missing from this policy.
“Under the garb of one nation, one market, the Modi government’s agenda is to push privatisation in agriculture. The 12 reforms mentioned in the policy talks about private market, direct marketing, PPP mode and declaring silos as deemed yards, which was nothing but a way to bring the three farm laws back,” he added.