The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 as well as the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 despite the opposition as well as BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal terming it an “anti-farmer” move and some staging a walkout, and widespread protests by farmers in various states over the issue.

Thousands of farmers in Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been staging protests since the government on Monday introduced these Bills in the Lok Sabha on the opening day of the Monsoon Session to replace the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 promulgated on June 5.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks provides a new ecosystem in which farmers and traders, as per the government, will enjoy freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of their produce and facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce.

Farmers’ produce will go outside the physical premises of the markets or deemed markets notified under various state agricultural produce market laws to provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading.

Meanwhile, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, that replaces the ordinance, aims at providing a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers.