Why Farmers Are Worried About New Laws; It's The History

The new farm laws may further widen the inequalities in the sector, shows our analysis of similar legislations from the past. By weakening the government’s price guarantee system, the laws may end up hurting small and marginal farmers, who form 80% of the sector and 23% of those who live below the poverty line, say critics.

Small and marginal farmers tend to get lower prices for their produce than big agriculturists. With no land reforms and a majority of farmers having marginal land-holdings, the deregulation will only widen income inequalities.

For instance, India’s sugarcane industry was delicensed in 1998, but there was no significant rise in farmers’ incomes.

Farmers continue to have to agitate for their dues, and smaller farmers have to supplement their incomes from farming with other sources.