If someone has a doubt about the Essential Commodity Act, whether it would benefit the farmers, I would strongly say 'Yes'.
I am dead sure that the essential commodities act would help the farmers in a big way. Earlier, when there were restrictions and limitations to store the commodities, there were no buyers from the farmers due to the fear of excess holding of the commodities. The farmers were at loss due to perishable commodities.
Now the farmers are free to sell their products and buyers can buy an unlimited amount of products, store them, and dispose of them at their convenience. They can undertake contract farming and earn a good sum. They can put up their prices to the buyers.
With the advent of improvement in food technology, nothing goes waste. Take the example of tomatoes that is being made into sauces & Ketchup and exported. Look at potatoes that are made into lovely chips and exported. No cereal goes waste. They are fried and packed and exported. The same is the case with oilseeds used for cosmetics. All fruit products like Mango, apple, Guava, Grapes, lemon, etc are being extracted, packed and sold as juices.
Corn is used for making Whiskey, Potatoes for Vodka, Barley for beer, Grapes for wine, and Sugarcane for Rum. We must thank the technology. Nothing is stocked and wasted. We must be thankful to the corporates for giving the proper shape to the farm products purchased from the farmers.
There is no question of hoarding or stocking to make money. The farmers, the buyer and the customer would be very very happy.
My simple explanation should make you understand better about the essential commodities.
It would be an unwanted fear of stocking and hoarding by the buyers to sell it at higher prices. Such things should be highlighted and discussed to convince the farmers by the government and Supreme Court.
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