In Punjab, for grains procured from farmers, the payment does not go to them directly. It reaches the commission agents and then to farmers, wherein farmers never get the price they deserve for their crops.

Punjab government, led by Captain Amarinder Singh had been refusing to implement the direct payment of farmers for their produce procured through government agencies, for a long time.

On Friday, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal agreed to make direct payments to the farmers, eliminating the middlemen and thereby freeing farmers from their clutches.

Punjab Finance Minsters said, “it was left with no choice, but to implement the scheme as Centre said it will not lift the grains if the new system was not followed.”

Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal had rejected the state government's demand to give more time to implement direct bank transfer (DBT) of minimum support price (MSP) to farmers.

The move is bound to create ripples among the farmers, the arhtiyas and the political class in the agrarian state, where the commission agents have traditionally been carrying out the procurement for the government agencies, but one of the most contributing sector of the Indian economy, Agriculture, is bound to flourish with this.

The commission agents known as Arhtiyas play a big role in the farm scene of the state. There are estimated to be around 48,000 Arhtiyas in the state. They are also mostly moneylenders who lend farmers at exorbitant rates of interes, ranging between 18 to 24 percent.

Arhtiyas have majorly been responsible for the suicides of farmers in Punjab. In 2018, it was estimated that farmers in Punjab owe over ₹80,000 crore to various banks and private money lenders.

Arthiyas for long have been opposing and delaying any kind of e-procurement or e-payment to the farmers, but the centre has been consistent on their words.

The new move will create more revenue for the farmers and lead to overall development in the agricultural sector. The much-appreciated move by the centre reiterates the famous quote “where there is a will, there is a way”.