-The Tribune With APMC markets heading towards a collapse, the new set of reforms is aimed at encouraging corporatisation, with big business moving into agriculture, storage and marketing. As the experience of US/Europe shows, when unregulated markets become dominant, small farmers are the first to be pushed out of agriculture. Reiterating what former US Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz (during Ronald Reagan’s rule) had declared: “Get big or get out,” Sonny Perdue, US...

-Down to Earth Farmers across the globe are quitting their business, while the rural youth population is increasing. Who will grow our food? In 2019, the world started talking about a structural crisis impacting the planet’s most critical job —food production. The world’s food demand is rising but the number of people quitting, or not joining, farming is consistently growing. This raises an existential question: who will produce the food? In 2016, the...

-The Indian Express Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill: The government has sought to project the farm Bill as “creating an ecosystem” where farmers will enjoy the “freedom of choice” to sell to anyone, anywhere in the country. On many occasions, it isn’t the law but what it appears to convey and the context in which it is framed that holds relevance. This certainly is the case with the...

-Down to Earth Bhartiya Kisan Union spokesperson questions why Narendra Modi govt didn’t consult stakeholders before pushing 3 contentious Bills through Parliament The three contentious ‘farmers’ Bills have grabbed eyeballs even in the middle of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Narendra Modi has lost food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal from his Cabinet en route turning the controversial Ordinances into laws. The Rajya Sabha has been split down the middle and question...

-The Hindu There is good reason why opposition to the agriculture Bills may be a reflection of the genuine concerns of farmers In a virtual rally, the Prime Minister blamed the Opposition parties for misleading farmers about the three Bills on agriculture, in Parliament. While the Opposition may have taken up the cudgels recently, the fact is that farmers have been protesting against the Bills ever since it was promulgated as ordinances...