Why is your mainstream media so strongly against the Farm Bill 2020 in India, a friend who is also into agriculture abroad asked me, what can be so wrong about freedom of movement of agri-produce? The days of forced cultivation of specific crops should have vanished by now, right?
It’s a remnant of our Mughal and British era of slavery, when traders held sway over producers and manufacturers, and the mainstream media in India has been controlled by the trading community for decades now, was my answer, and along with them, a complete eco-system of lobbyists and associations which try to propagate the trading business instead of ground up production.
Indian Express – Goenkas
Times of India – Sahus & Jains
Hindustan Times – Birlas
All with deep links to Kolkata. Which in turn is famous for the Calcutta Fruit Merchants’ Association and Machua Bazar Fruits Merchant Association. Remember this case?
And then this?
After that, look deeper into who controls FICCI, ASSOCHAM and now even CII.
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At its simplest, the new Farm Bill means that the real farmer can now sell agri produce straight from the fields, and collect the money owed there and then. In global commercial terms this is known as EXW or “ex-Works”, Where the full risks of loading, transporting, insurance and everything else is on the buyer. As a manufacturer-seller, often as a seller who is weaker than the buyer, which is what a typical farmer is, this is the best way to do business.
In global terms, if freight and insurance are removed from the equation, then the differential between ex-works and the other end of the spectrum is known as CIF or “Cost Insurance and Freight”. Wherein the goods are delivered to a destination of the buyer’s choice and all risks are on the seller. This is how the MSP regime works at the mandi.
In India, the gap between EXW and CIF for farm produce can be and is up to 30%-35%. Sometimes more if there are inter-State or even inter-District movements by road. Moving agri-produce by rail, as is increasingly being done now, removes many of these inter-State obstacles. But road transport is still essential. This 33% takes away and digs a huge hole in the possible profit to the farmer. This 33% also represents the vested interests that are sought to be protected by those objecting to the new Farm Bill.
There are multiple risks for farmers who are forced to sell to mandis which city-dweller types have often got no clue about. So let position two articles written by people who know ground up what commerce really is, on the subject.
One is this and for other one click this link.
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The era of improved agri-produce as a way to not just make India the bread-basket of the world but to also bring wealth as well as respect to even the smallest of farmers has just begun. Go to real rural India if you want to see how the middlemen category are protesting to understand better.
Veeresh Malik was a seafarer. And a lot more besides. A decade in facial biometrics, which took him into the world of finance, gaming, preventive defence and money laundering before the subliminal mind management technology blew his brains out. His romance with the media endures since 1994, duly responded by Outlook, among others.
A survivor of two brain-strokes, triggered by a ship explosion in the 70s, Veeresh moved beyond fear decades ago.
