-The Indian Express There are around 28,000 active arhtiyas in Punjab out of which 50 per cent are the ‘Baniya Arhtiyas’ (traditional arhtiyas), while the other 50 per cent are ‘Zamindar Jatt Arhtiyas’ (mostly farmers’ themselves). Jalandhar: With passing of the Farmers’ Produce, Trade, and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the arhtiyas (commission agents) of Punjab are set to lose around Rs 1700 to Rs 1800 crore annually in ‘commission’. While the...
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Why the new farm laws will not level the playing field -Arjun Harkauli
-Down to Earth Creation of unregulated private points of sale will only ensure that the produce continues to be sold as before — at below MSP and without any government support More than 86 per cent farmers in India own or cultivate on less than two acres of land and have little surplus to sell. They are the victims of middlemen (arthiya) at the mandis (local exchange markets) and are forced, by...
More »70% of reverse migrants want to go back to cities -Prashant K. Nanda
-Livemint.com Government data claims that more than 10 million people went home after the lockdown, although experts and civil society groups say the number is much larger. Migrants who went home during the lockdown saw their incomes drop by as much as 94% and an overwhelming majority of them are ready to return to the cities, a survey by a team of retired government officers and academics found. The survey on covid’s impact...
More »Three Farm Bills and India’s Rural Economy -Vijay Jawandhiya and Ajay Dandekar
-TheWire.in With low levels of farmers' income and a lack of assured price mechanism, what impact will the three farm bills have in the long term on India's agrarian economy. Here's an analysis. Last week, the Union government passed three bills to replace the three ordinances that were enacted during the COVID-19 lockdown. These three bills, expected to bring revolutionary changes to agrarian context and help double farmers’ incomes are: The Farmers’...
More »Sowing seeds of doubt: Farm Bills leave farmers, commission agents and workers worried -Vikas Vasudeva
-The Hindu Farmers in Punjab are worried about the implications of the three new farm bills that will allow them to sell their produce directly to private players. Vikas Vasudeva reports on the concerns of farmers, commission agents and workers despite the government’s assurances that the legislation empowers them In June 2020, 55-year-old Shingara Singh in Fatehpur village in Patiala, Punjab, sold his spring season maize crop at ₹700-₹800 per quintal, far...
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