IMF backs India’s farm laws but wants govt to take care of jobs
21 Jan 2021
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that the Indian government's decision to roll out new farm laws and easing marketing restrictions would benefit farmers and enhance growth of the rural economy. The global organisation, however, said it could adversely affect interests of certain groups and that these groups should not be left to fend for themselves.
The three farm laws enacted by the Narendra Modi government have the potential to represent a significant step forward for agricultural reforms in India. The measures will enable farmers to directly contract with sellers, allow farmers to retain a greater share of the surplus by reducing the role of middle men, enhance efficiency and support rural growth, IMF’s director of the communications department, Gerry Rice, said at a virtual press briefing on Thursday.
He was replying to an online question by PTI’s Lalit Jha about the recently enacted three farm laws and the protests in India seeking repeal of the laws.
The IMF spokesperson said that the social safety net needs to be strengthened for those who could be affected by the farm laws.
“So again, we believe they can represent a significant step forward. However, it is crucial that the social safety net adequately protects those who might be adversely impacted during the transition to this new system. This may require further strengthening of the social safety net and insuring that the job market can accommodate those that may be impacted by the reforms. And, of course, the growth benefits of these reforms will depend, critically, on the effectiveness and the timing of their implementation, so need to pay attention to those issues as well with the reform,” Rose said.
IMF’s support comes at a time when farmer bodies, mainly from Punjab, backed by opposition parties and anti-Modi groups have been protesting against the three farm laws for about 50 days.
The protestors are not interested in explaining their concerns ar the taking solutions from the government. They just want the laws to be repealed.
The three laws, namely, The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, are anathema to the protestors, for they fear these laws are meant to bring corporate into farming to the detriment of farmers.
And the ninth round of talks between the protesting groups and government representatives also ended in failure as the protestors stuck to their demand for a complete repeal of three farm laws. The government asked them to be more flexible in their approach and expressed willingness for necessary amendments, as the two parties decided to meet again on 19 January, possibly the last before the coming Republic Day celebrations, before which the area needs to be fortified.
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