Farm bills are anti-farmers, meant to help corporates : Khammam Farmers

Khammam: While the BJP leaders and activists are celebrating the passing of farm bills in both the houses of Parliament, the farming community is opposing the bills.

Farmers of Khammam district said that they will not get any benefits from farm bills. The Union government, which is going big on privatisation of public sector entities like Indian Railways, Coal India, BSNL, is now targeting agriculture field, they said.

T Rambabu, a farmer, said that farm bills, Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 are a big loss to them.

Alleging that the Union government's decision is totally against the interests of farmers, many farmers in the district burnt the copies of farm bills at several places in the district on Tuesday.

Speaking to The Hans India, a farmer Bathula Satyanarayana of Wyra said that the farmers of the State as well as in the country will suffer as trade of agriculture products will go into the hands of corporate sectors. Allowing corporate sector to do business in agriculture products is a worrying development and threatens sustainability of farmers. He observed the Union government's slogan - One Nation and One Agricultural Market system - is wrong.

Another farmer, K Venkateswara Rao said that both the farm bills will pave way to exploit farmers by corporate forces, though the Centre is trying to depict passing the bills as a pro-farmer move. He said with agriculture being a State subject, the bills are against the federal cooperative spirit. "We do not want any tinkering in Agriculture Market Committees and the minimum support price, he said.