19 organisations in HP back farmers’ stir

SHIMLA: About 19 social organizations, women's organisations and farmer's groups based in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday expressed solidarity with the three month long farmer's movement and made an appeal to President of India Ramnath Kovind to take steps to get the controversial laws repealed ,enabling an end of the farmers' stir.

In a joint statement, the organisations asked for strengthening minimum support prices, extending it to crops, especially fruits and vegetables grown for the market in Himachal Pradesh.

The statement is critical of the non-democratic manner in which the bills were passed in the parliament in a hurry in the middle of the Covid-led lockdown.

For a state like Himachal Pradesh where a large section of the population depends heavily on food grains produced by the farmers of the plains and distributed at subsidized rates through the PDS, these laws could prove to be a death knell. Even for those who are able to procure from the market, the rising prices of commodities would be a direct hit on their pockets.

Apart from the consumers, the farmers of the state will also suffer a setback. The absence of MSPs for fruits and off-season vegetables and lack of APMC markets here have already been a cause of concern for the cash croppers of the state.

In fact fruit and vegetable producer unions have been demanding extension of MSPs and better markets so that apple producers for example are not exploited by ‘middlemen' and private vendors. In the Terai region where there is a surplus of maize produce, farmers are forced to sell it at Rs 1000 to 1200 whereas Rs 1850 is the MSP – but the markets are too far for them to access.

The organisations included All India Democratic Women's Association, HP (AIDWA), Bhumiheen Bhumi Adhikar Manch, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Citizens' Rights Forum, Kangra, Ekal Nari Shakti Sangathan, Himachal Kisan Sabha Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective and Parvatiya Mahila Adhikar Manch, Save Lahaul Spiti and Spiti Civil Society.

The Organisations claimed that all the laws are designed to benefit the large corporate houses which would ultimately break the back of the farmers. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 has the potential of destroying the government-led APMC mandis.

“The second law on contract farming puts the farmers in the dock by not just opening them to risks when getting into contracts with companies but also by closing the door of the courts for redressal for farmers,” they said.