farmers

in several states in india are

protesting against the new agricultural

bills

passed by the central government

thousands of farmers

from states like punjab and haryana are

taking part in

dili chalo a pretest march towards the

national capital

they belong to several organizations

such as all india kisan sangesh

coordination

rashi kisan maha sang parde kissan union

tear gas and water cannons were used to

disperse the farmers

at delhi borders to prevent them from

entering the city

the three controversial bills on

agriculture reforms

were introduced in the parliament in

september

according to the government these bills

make it easier for farmers to sell their

produce

directly to private buyers and enter

into a contract with private companies

it allows farmers to sell their harvest

outside the notified agricultural

produce market committee

or apmc mondays without paying any state

taxes

or fees

but the farmers want apmc mondays to be

restored fully

because they play an important role in

the agricultural trading ecosystem

most of the slogans at the farmer’s

protest revolve around the need to

protect msps

or minimum support prices which they

feel are threatened by the new laws

these are the preset rates at which the

central government

purchases produced from farmers

regardless of market rates

they demand the msps to be made

universal

so that all buyers government or private

will have to use these rates as a flow

price below which sales cannot be made

more than half of all government

procurement of wheat and paddy

in the last five years has taken place

in punjab and haryana

more than 85 percent of wheat and paddy

grown in punjab

and 75 percent in haryana is bought by

the government at msb rates

farmers in these states fear that

without msps market prices will fall

the new agriculture reforms also take

away the state government’s ability to

regulate agricultural markets

the state governments are concerned

about the loss of revenue from monday

taxes and fees