Farm reform laws will rescue farmers from middlemen: Kiren Rijiju

GUWAHATI: The new farm-reform Bills will help the farmers; and the Agriculture sector will be able to get rid of middlemen and also tackle various other bottlenecks. The Bills will also make farmers prosperous in the North East.

Addressing a press conference at the Assam Administrative Staff College here on Thursday evening, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Sports and Youth Affairs and Minister of State for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju claimed that present dispensation at the Centre has brought about the biggest-ever reforms in farm sector since the Independence.

Rijiju also said that the new reform legislations would empower the farmers to sell their produces in any part of the country, and also to overcome all obstacles created by middlemen and other forces. The farmers will be able to sell their produces at a price they deem to be fair and at a time of their choosing.

Rijiju further said that many forces are trying to ''mislead'' the farmers without going through the clauses of the farm reform Bills. "Being lawmakers of the country, the onus lies on us to enlighten the people about the new farm legislations and also the benefits that the farmers are likely to gain. That's why I have come to Guwahati," he said. Earlier in the day, Rijiju – Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal West Parliamentary Constituency — visited his home State and had interactive sessions with cross sections of people on the new legislations in Arunachal Pradesh.

Last month, the Parliament passed the three bills namely — Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.

Rijiju said unlike their counterparts in Punjab and other parts of the country, the farmers in the North East could not reap the benefits of the 'Green Revolution'. He, however, asserted that the new legislations would help farmers in the NE to become prosperous and could make the region a trade hub.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who was also present at the press briefing, spoke briefly about the various reforms that his government has brought about in the State's Agriculture sector.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries Rameshwar Teli also asserted that through the new Acts, the government would provide all support — including technical — to the farmers to double their income by 2022.

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