Farmers’ protest limited to one state, rest in favour, says Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar (Image: Twitter)

The ongoing farmers' protest along Delhi borders is only limited to one state and the government is in talks with the farmer unions to resolve the issues, said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

"The ongoing protest is only limited to one state, but we are discussing with the farmer unions and soon we will find a way to resolve it," Tomar said at a virtual conference organised by industry body ASSOCHAM.

He was quick to add that agriculture is on the priority list of the government and resolution will be done at the earliest.

Tomar also said though there is a protest in one state, most of the farmers are in favour of the new agricultural laws.

Addressing the conference, he also said the government’s initiatives taken during the COVID-19 pandemic for the growth of farm sector, including Rs 1 lakh crore fund for creating farm-level infrastructure and 10,000 FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) will help farmers’ community.

Tomar said the government is targeting to set up 10,000 FPOs in the next couple of years, of which around 3,500 are already in various stages of completion.

FPOs are formed by a group of farmers to sell their produce. FPOs have the potential to give farmers better bargaining power and help make agri-market more transparent.

In Punjab and Haryana, thousands of farmers have been protesting for more than two weeks against the recently enacted farm laws, as they fear the new laws will lead to the dismantling of the MSP (Minimum Support Price) and mandi system and leave them at the mercy of corporates.