FARM BILL

What is Farm Bill ?

        The Indian Farm Reforms of 2020 refer to three agricultural bills passed by the Parliament  of India 27 September 2020. The bills collectively seek to provide farmers with multiple marketing channels and provide a legal framework for farmers to enter into pre-arranged contracts among other things.

History of Farm bill:

• Every five years, the farm bill expires and is updated.
• Each farm bill has a unique title, and the current farm bill is called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and expires in 2023.

Three Agricultural Bill:

• Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act
• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act
• The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act

About Bill: 

        One bill relaxes restrictions governing purchase and sale of farm produce, the second relaxes restrictions on stocking under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA), 1955, and the third introduces a dedicated legislation to enable contract farming based on written agreement.

Activity Againist The Bill:

• Farmers and others have called the bills "corporate-friendly and anti-farmer."
• Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat kaur Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal resigned from her post in protest against the bills. Farmers all over the country have held protest against the bills.