Reject Centre's agricultural marketing policy: Farm unions to Punjab govt

Farmer unions in Punjab have called on the state government to reject the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, arguing it is detrimental to the state's interests and its farm-based economy.

Representatives from 15 farmer unions in Punjab held a three-hour meeting with the state’s Agriculture Minister, Gurmeet Singh Khudian. During the meeting, the farmer leaders expressed their concerns that the policy promotes privatisation in the food procurement business, which they believe could lead to monopolistic practices in agriculture.

The Agriculture Minister assured the unions that an all-party meeting would be convened soon to discuss the policy before the state submits its response to the Centre. Although the state was originally required to send its response by December 10, it has requested an additional three weeks to thoroughly examine the policy. The Punjab Government is expected to discuss the policy during the Winter Session of the Vidhan Sabha, scheduled for the second week of January 2025.

Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of the BKU Ekta Ugrahan, criticised the policy, suggesting it could be a covert attempt to reintroduce the contentious provisions of the three farm laws, which were rolled back by the Centre following the 2020-21 farmers’ protests. He vowed the unions would oppose the policy "tooth and nail."

The meeting was also attended by Dr Sukhpal Singh, chairman of the Punjab Farmers and Farm Workers Commission, Dr Ajmer Singh Dhatt, Director of Research at the PAU, Ludhiana, and officials from the Agriculture Department.