Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian said on Friday that legislation would provide several advantages for farmers in the continuing debate over the three new farm laws. Farmers primarily from Punjab, Haryana and UP are protesting against the Price Guarantee (Empowerment and Protection) Farmers Agreement and the Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 and the Necessary Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
We're economists and we're debating economics. And economics claims that there are many advantages to it (the farm laws), Subramanian said during a press conference.
The three farm laws, implemented in September, have been envisaged by the central government as major agricultural sector reforms that will abolish intermediaries and enable farmers to sell anywhere in the world.
The protesting farmers, however, expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way to remove the Minimum Support Price protection cushion and eliminate the mandi scheme, leaving them at the hands of big corporations.
President Ram Nath Kovind also highly defended the three new agri laws on Friday, saying their advantages have quickly begun to hit 10 crore small farmers.