Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday highlighted the on-the-ground changes catalysed by the recently-promulgated farm bills by his government to signify their importance amid growing dissent and calls for their withdrawal.  

Addressing the nation through the 70th edition of his ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme, PM Modi said that an agriculture company in Maharashtra paid a bonus to maize farmers. 

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“When asked about the bonus, they said that the recent laws have enabled farmers to sell their produce anywhere and gets them the right price. They decided to share the extra profit with the farmers as well,” PM Modi said. 

“This shows that they (farm laws) have created a lot of scope for big changes on the ground,” the prime minister added. 

Farmers, especially in the states of Punjab and Haryana, along with opposition parties, primarily Congress, have vehemently denounced the three agriculture laws passed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament. 

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PM Modi also lauded a women’s self-help group from the state of Jharkhand for their ingenious mobile application aimed at empowering local farmers. 

Highlighting their efforts in the creation of the ‘Aajeevika Farm Fresh’ app, which can be used to order fresh fruits and vegetables, he said that they have helped farmers get the right price for their produce. 

He also spoke about a Madhya Pradesh resident, who he said helped bring together around 4,000 farmers through digital means. 

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Atul Patidar, resident of Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district, helped farmers buy and sell agriculture goods such as pesticides, insecticides, seeds, etc through an E-platform farm card, PM Modi said. 

“Farmers can also rent modern agricultural equipments on that platform. Thousands of deliveries were made during the lockdown,” he added.