BC FARMER PROTEST
Saved by @Alex1Powell

A farmer from Abohar - Fazilka region of Punjab has the following to say..
I have been actively farming for 2 decades now & I have witnessed many things happening at the APMC’s..I have seen classification of C grade grain miraculously change into B grade..
Similarly I have also

 witnessed the weigh bridge weigh in the empty truck at 39 tons and the full truck at 55 tons and later found that the unloaded truck weighed 43 tons at another weigh bridge.
There are over 30,000 registered arthiyas in Punjab.
These 30,000 employ another 3,00,000 sub agents or
sidekicks or people who wouldn’t have made it into doing anything anyplace were it not for the patronage network of these 30,000. There are only 1500 farming villages in Punjab.
So 3,30,000 divided by1500 is about 220 people on average per village doing the work of middlemen.
Why is this the case? It’s a long story and high time people are made aware.
We had a food shortage & a hand to mouth existence until the 1970’s.
Norman Borlaugh pioneered a variety of wheat which gave 10 X the yield but needed 3X the fertiliser.
The Punjab was chosen as the battleground against hunger. Enterprising Sikh farmers worked hard to create what we know as the Green Revolution.
Since there were huge shortages, laws were made which didn’t allow for stockholding or selling at farm gates.
Then came the Essential Commodities Act/
APMC Act (farmers were compelled to sell only at APMC’s to licensed traders - remember license permit quota Raj)
As an assurance to the farmer for his hard work, Minimum Support Price(MSP) was guaranteed..
No matter what the quantum the sarkar would pick it up & provide farmers with a minimum amount as compensation per quintal or ton as the case maybe..
Getting money out of the sarkari treasury was a laborious process. Thus was born the breed of middle men who walked the corridors
of power & worked with corrupt sarkari babus! Not forgetting political patronage! Thus networks flourished..
220:1 is the ratio of middlemen to a single village in Punjab today..
This business got integrated backwards &
corruption was professionalized..
For instance there are families who own very large tracts of land (100 acre plus holding)..
The thekedar comes & takes the theka of growing on the land. For those unfamiliar with the word, Theka is also referred to as contract. I know there are grumblings about corporates
contracting with farmers directly now. I also know why. You should too.
Anyway to cut a long story short plenty of farmers do not receive their due at the end of each cropping season..
What is grown?
What grade or quality?
For how much is it sold?
For how much is it sold?
Would it have fetched a similar price in the open market?
Where is it sold?
How is it sold?
Who’s the end beneficiary?
Does anybody consume it or does it go waste?
Was there a better way to do what’s being done?
Does anyone care to think on the above questions?
As long as 1receives his cheque why should he care?
The Jamkhedkar committee reports that over 40%of the grain acquired under MSP by FCI is either unfit for consumption or is simply wasted.1out of every 2 kgs acquired is wasted..
Years of corruption have today given birth to this..
MSP has ensured that there is no necessity to seek a profitable enterprise..
It has also given birth to the patronage networks which survive off the sarkari treasury and refuse to breakaway..
It has given rise to a political class which thrives & survives on corruption n dishonesty
There was no sunset clause on this. Nobody foresaw a time of surplus production on food grains..
Result is other states like Haryana, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan & MP all produce surplus of grain
They also have their own MSP mechanisms which have proliferated & created similar political patronage networks..
Since more is acquired at Mandis in Punjab, grain from UP/Bihar also find their way into the mandi system of Punjab..
The trucks being under weight and over paid for &
the grades changing are common malpractices. One can go for a few days to the mandi & figure out how to make a killing by doing this..
Soon enough, you will also be one of those “know it all” in the mandi. After all information is power
All this is paid for by you dear tax payer
The annual bill for this is approximately 8 lakh crores.
Why don’t the farmers grow something else?
Something more profitable?
The truth is if I am being paid for doing 'NOTHING', why bother with competing!
What is the incentive to compete?
I would rather go and picket the roads leading into Delhi to ensure that the existing system isn’t threatened..
QUITE A RACKET!!!!!!!!
WHAT A SHAME!!
#ModiHaiToMumkinHai
#ModiWithFarmers
#BharatBandhNahiHoga
Long thread my friends..
Tagging
@mayfair1958
@shivaniojha
@rohit121171
@aparnasridhar7
@chittukuruvi4
@JumbuTweeple
@SriRamya21
@Maha_periyava_
@ind_vignesh

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@8pmgyan
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The farmer is not our saintly anadata!

Yes they deserve respect for what they do but it's fact that he doesn't do anyone else a favour by growing foodgrains. Remember farming is his occupation that earns him a livelihood that provides for his family. Just like the rest of us.
1

No one is forcing a #farmer to carry on farming if he can't make it pay for itself.

We have witnessed farmers migration for better life in states like Bihar, Jharkhand and UP.

2

We know that farmers are given free power, free water, subsidies on seed, subsidies on fertiliser, MSP, and others. Farmers are not even charged income tax.

Even after all this benefits if "Large Farmers" can't be profitable there is something wrong in their intention!

3

It is true that farming is subsidised around the world. But not to the extent that is being demanded in India. Both in absolute terms and in relative terms our farm subsidies are very high.

It is still ok but the benefits should be given to small and marginal farmers

4

We need to allow consolidation of farm holdings and our subsidies need to be rationalised.

More than our farmers it is the landless labour of rural and urban India that deserves our sympathy and government support.

5
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Ruchit G Garg
Ruchit G Garg
@ruchitgarg
Ever wondered how MSP for crops is calculated ?

Below is an attempt to present a simplified view, followed by some pertinent questions (just to have better understanding, not taking sides)&

The MSP is usually based on the recommendations by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP

This estimation is usually done based on three types of calculation methods. These are A2 method, A2+FL method and C2 method.

As per the A2 method, MSP is set 50% higher than the amount farmer spends on farming including spending on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and labour.

C2 method includes A2 factors + economic value of the efforts of family members working on the farm + the value of other spending including rent and other assets. After calculating these, MSP is set at 50% above the derived amount.

A2+FL method is middle ground between the other methods were the MSP is set 50% higher than the amount that derives the amount farmer spend on farming on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and labour and the value of labour provided by the family members for agriculture.
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The Farm Law Protests mask the Blatant Inequality of Rural Punjab where Dalit farm labour derisively known as seeri are oppressed.

If these poor labour demand any pay increase, they are boycotted by landlords often with collusion of district administration.

When these labourers start demanding pay increments, the landlords rain down on them with majoritarian might. Any collective action is crushed with village-wide “boycotts.”

The boycotted Dalit farm labour of Punjab are unable to procure sauda, the household supplies. Milk becomes out of reach, so does fodder for the precious livestock. They are barred from using the common shamlatland for grazing the paltry cows and goats which they own.

In village Mahan Singh Wala, this rural apartheid was announced by the gurdwara. In places like Amirke, Faride Wala, Dhotian, Sardarpura, Gandav, Sakohan, Lehra Khana and Khiva Khurd, the labourers either faced violence or had to walk miles to procure the household supplies.

All these boycotts were recorded within a matter of few months in the year 2012.

In fact, over time, this has become a time-tested political strategy in rural Punjab and such boycotts could potentially last for years.
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@vimoh
To the office-goers who think the #FarmersProtest is misguided and that the laws are actually good for them. Imagine this: Imagine that the government, without asking you or anyone, passed laws that made it possible for your employer to pay you as little as ten rupees a month.

Now imagine that when you said this was unfair, they told you this is for your own good because you have also been given the freedom to work anywhere in the world, for any company of your choice. They also tell you that if you want, you can even work for individuals.

Now, I am sure this was really easy for you to imagine if you work over the internet. But in order to really understand this, imagine what would happen if you couldn't. What if you had to go to work physically every day and what if your work involved physical movement of goods.

I think you will be extremely pissed. I think you will not like it at all. You have a life that involves commuting to work. You have your expenses sorted out. It is easier for you to deal with your salaried life than to manage ten thousand work engagements spread out all over.

Now imagine that you told the government you don't like this decision and that you will like things to go back to the way they were. Imagine you are ignored completely. Imagine you gather up your fellow office-goers and march to the seat of power to make your voice heard.
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Mohammed Zubair
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@zoo_bear
Do read this thread. 🙏
Since Farmers protest, Troll Army has been hyperactive digging out old and unrelated vidoes/images and linking it to Farmers protest to demean the protesters. Just like they did for CAA/NRC protesters in Dec-Feb.
Here are a few #AltNewsFactCheck
1/n

A photo that predates both the farmers' protest and the introduction of agricultural reform ordinances approved in June was falsely shared as Muslim man disguised as Sikh to participate in the agitation. #AltNewsFactCheck
2/n
https://t.co/y37jn81Gw9


A photo of an elderly woman participating in a farmers' protest in Punjab in October was shared with the false claim that she is 'Shaheen Bagh Dadi' Bilkis Bano who was present in the recent farmers' protest. #AltNewsFactCheck 3/n

https://t.co/VU524UGTw4


An old video of few Sikhs along with Pakistani fans raising pro-Pak, Khalistan chants during cricket World Cup match in UK is viral as farmers' protest. BJP's Priti Gandhi, Punit Agwaral shared this and later took it down. #AltNewsFactCheck 4/n
https://t.co/i2f2myjfxK


A photograph shot during anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh in February has been shared with the false claim that it shows 'Hathras Bhabhi' at farmers' protest. #AltNewsFactCheck 5/n
https://t.co/ucZ6s44j5U
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