Common interests get peasants, arhtiyas together on one platform

Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 11

Commonality of interests and changing profile of the trading community over the years, where big farmers have not only ventured into business, but have also developed sizeable control over trading activities in grain markets, have brought farmers and commissions agents together on one platform against farm ordinances.

The coming together for the “Kisan Bachao, Mandi Bachao” rally in Pipli of farmers and commission agents, hitherto considered in conflict of interest with each other, has surprised many.

Ever since the times of Sir Chhotu Ram (1881-1945), considered a messiah of the farming community, commission agents had been portrayed as the ones who exploited farmers by charging exorbitant rates of interest on loan advanced to farmers at the time of need.

Gurnam Singh Chanduni, president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, who had announced the rally, said when both farmers and commission agents faced a threat to their existence due to the ordinances, personal differences did not matter much.

“If grain markets do not remain and when farmers will not get minimum support price for their produce, what will both do? When wheat is available for Rs 1,550 per quintal today, who will give Rs 1,900 to farmers when there will be no MSP? Similarly, paddy today is fetching Rs 1,200 against an MSP of Rs 1,868,” said Chanduni.

Inderjit Singh, vice-president, Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha, said the existence of farmers and commission agents had come under a question mark due to these ordinances.

“Once big corporates enter contract farming, farmers will be totally left on their mercy while commission agents will disappear from the scene due to amendments in the APMC Act,” he added.

Gurjeet Singh Mann, a progressive farmer from Sirsa, said commission agents did not carry the same profile as they did during Sir Chhotu Ram’s time.

“Over the years, big farmers have been venturing into the business of trading in agricultural commodities in grain markets along with farming. Once only people from the Agarwal community monopolised business in grain markets. But today, one-third of commission agents in any grain market of Haryana are from farming background. Being politically active, they dictate terms where collective decisions are to be taken. In a way, interests of farmers and commission agents are interlinked and interwoven,” he said.

Speaking about the ordinances, Mann said these were far more complicated for a common farmer to understand and make an assessment of their immediate and long-term impact.

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