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Mamata Banerjee Supports Farmers’ Stir But Only Targets Essential Commodities Amendment Act

However, the CM’s move has to be seen more as an attempt to ensure that the weaknesses and deficiencies of agriculture in the state do not come to fore and keeping mum on the two Farm Acts is preferable, according to kisan union leaders from the state.
Mamata Banerjee Supports Farmers’ Stir But Only Targets Essential Commodities Amendment Act

Image Courtesy: Outlook India

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has extended full support to the ongoing farmers’ agitations against the two Farm Acts and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, which the farmers’ organisations want repealed. But as far as West Bengal is concerned, Banerjee has decided to concentrate on the amended Essential Commodities Act, taking into account the agri-business realities in West Bengal. The two-pronged strategy, she thinks, is more realistic and will pay politically, as Assembly elections are approaching and the political scenario is already heating up.

Sticking to her decision ever since she became the chief minister in May 2011, she did not allow her party workers to join the November 26 industrial strike and Grameen Bandh organised by the ten central trade unions, several farmers’ outfits and associate organisations.

But, without losing much time after the farmers’ outfits started their protest against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020  and the amended Essential Commodities Act 2020, TMC workers hit the streets at her instance to register their support for the agitating farmers.

This was her strategy of indirectly being in the company of all other parties extending support to the farmers’ demand to repeal the Acts, all of which were bulldozed through Parliament in September 2020.

As sources close to the CM and other senior TMC leaders explained, after the unexpected victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in as many 18 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, her national relevance saw a decline and, therefore, it is important for her to recoup her earlier relevance. The farmers’ agitation, which has brought virtually all anti-BJP political formations on one platform, gives her an opportunity to realise that objective and up the ante against BJP, which has declared its intention to fight the Assembly elections 2021 with all its might and resources with the objective of forming its first ever government in West Bengal, according to sources, who wanted to remain anonymous.

New Farm Laws and Their Relevance in Bengal

The Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm services Act 2020 allows contract farming for which farmers may enter into contracts with agents, traders, businessmen and multinational companies for producing an agreed crop at a mutually pre-determined price. The statement of objects and reasons for the law listed several advantages of which access to better technology tops the list. Economists and agricultural experts have voiced several apprehensions after identifying the provisions which they find anti-farmer.

Also read: ‘In Solidarity with Protesting Farmers’: WB Farmers Raise Issues with Procurement in State

But, the sources say that in West Bengal’s context, the advantages and apprehensions have very largely theoretical relevance because of the highly fragmented land holdings that have resulted, over the years, in a preponderance of small and marginal farmers, out of the estimated 70 lakh plus farmers. This ground reality may well deter prospective investors / buyers of farm produce. It may be difficult for them to achieve scale of operations.

Secretary of Rice Mills Association of Burdwan, Subrata Mondal, agreed with this contention while speaking to NewsClick. “The situation differs vastly from the one that prevails in Punjab, Haryana and, may be, in a few other states in that the farmers there are heavily dependent on mandis for selling their produce and government’s procurement. Although some mandis have come up in West Bengal in recent years, the fact remains that here farmers are not dependent so much on either mandis or government’s procurement,” he said.

Govt Procurement

The procurement drill is, of course, kept up by the state government for honouring its supply commitment under several programmes including welfare schemes, for example, mid-day meal. But, that is just about 20-25% in the case of paddy. For the current 2020-21 procurement season, rabi and kharif crop combined, the state government has fixed a target of 52 lakh tonnes – 46 lakh tonnes for itself and six lakh tonnes for Food Corporation of India out of the estimated paddy output of 240 lakh tonnes. The rice yield, post-paddy milling, is reckoned at 68%. 

Rice happens to be the staple food in the state and the consumption requirement of 158-160 lakh tonnes annually is not way behind the yearly production of about 165 lakh tonnes. Given this availability-demand scenario, farmers are able to sell it in the open market. There are no restrictions on open market sale. A part of the produce finds its way to the “informal export route”.

This situation automatically reduces the relevance for West Bengal of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, which envisions the creation of ‘one nation, one market’ and supposedly liberates farmers by giving them the freedom to sell their produce anywhere. The freedom to sell in the open market is already available to West Bengal’s farmers.

In these circumstances, Banerjee has decided to target the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020. This amendment deletes cereals, edible oilseeds and oils, pulses, potatoes and onions from the list of essential commodities and states that the question of regulation will arise under extraordinary circumstances, such as, war, famine, extraordinary price rise and calamity of grave nature. In that situation, the Union government will take regulatory measures through gazette notification.

Also read: Delhi Farmer Protests Resonate in Bengal, Several Rallies Held

However, kisan union leaders NewsClick spoke with appeared to suggest that Banerjee’s move has to be seen more as an attempt to ensure that the weaknesses and deficiencies of agriculture in the state do not come to fore and keeping mum on the two Farm Acts is preferable. However, it is another matter that in politically conscious West Bengal it won’t be that easy, assuming for a moment the worst case scenario of the Centre not budging, to implement the two farm legislations. Any attempt to enforce them will force us organise protests, the kisan leaders emphasised.

Secretary of Paschim Banga Pradeshik Krishak Sabha, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s farmer wing, Amal Halder, said the Trinamool Congress government has done little during its two terms to step up buying crops directly from farmers; thus forcing them often to sell their produce below the minimum support price because many of them are compelled to seek funds from private  moneylenders, locally called mahajans, as institutional financial aid in required quantity and for required duration is not available.

In such circumstances, their holding capacity is very limited and their need for cash assumes urgency. The procurement mechanism developed by the Left Front government by initially involving panchayats and later bringing cooperatives and self-help groups has totally disappeared and replaced during the TMC rule by a combination of brokers and rice millers. Halder told NewsClick the brokers “invariably are TMC cadres”.

The secretary of CPI’s farmer wing, West Bengal Pradeshik Krishak Sabha (B B Ganguly Street), Ajit Mukherjee, told NewsClick they have been telling the state government to step up procurement progressively to 50% of the paddy output from the current low of 20-25% at MSP and thereby improve the earnings of farmers who in the state are predominantly from the small and marginal category. The kisan outfits have also been repeatedly urging the Centre and the state governments to implement the M S Swaminathan Committee’s recommendation of paying farmers one-and-a half times the cost of their production. But their pleas have fallen on deaf ears, Mukherjee lamented.

Also read: Bengal Workers, Farmers Ready for Nov 26 General Strike; Artists’ Outfit Extends Support

Further, regulatory stock limits can be imposed only if there is a 100% increase in the retail price of horticultural produce or 50% rise in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural foodstuff. The increase should be over the price prevailing in the preceding 12 months or the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower. The most telling criticism against the provision is that it will hurt farmers and consumers, will benefit only hoarders as the price triggers envisaged are unrealistic; so high that they will hardly ever be invoked. 

In this context, it may be mentioned that in The Telegraph edition of December 4, former professor of Economics at IIM Calcutta Anup Sinha wrote, “In rendering the commodities inessential at the stroke of a pen, it makes their hoarding completely legal. Who benefits, once again? Big traders can now easily influence consumer prices keeping them as high as possible and manipulating farm gate prices by delaying buying till the farmers become desperate to sell at any price.

The farmers were not covered under the Essential Commodities Act. They were allowed to keep as much stock as they wanted to of their own produce. However, the ability to do so is extremely limited for almost all farmers in India because of the lack of infrastructure.”

The Bengal CM sees enough scope to build up agitation against the amendment, which has deprived states of their right to organise dehoarding operations and act against blackmarketing under delegated powers under the Prevention of Blackmarketing of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act 1980 in a bid to augment supplies of items that have become exorbitantly dearer.

During November and the first week of this month, potato prices in the state—which were earlier ruling between Rs 20 and 25 a kg—went up to between Rs.40 and Rs 50, but the chief minister lamented that the state government was unable to act in the interest of consumers as the amended Essential Commodities Act did not include the tuber and states’ powers had been usurped by the Centre, which did not hold prior consultations with the states.

She is of the view that people will easily see reason for TMC’s targeting the amended Act and agitation on this score will be 100% pro-farmer and pro-consumer, according to sources aware of  her action plan.

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