The Congress government is all set to roll back amendments to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, restore the earlier provisions of the law and undo the changes made by the previous BJP government.
Need for amendment in the bill
- In 2021, following protests by farmers, the central government withdrew its own amendment that had allowed the sale of produce outside APMCs.
- In the budget speech, the Chief Minister of Karnataka said that the amendment in the APMC Act was one of the reasons for the collapse of APMC markets in the state.
- By amending the APMC Act, the previous government weakened the healthy marketing network and created uncertainty in the lives of lakhs of farmers who depended on APMCs for their livelihood.
- Before the amendment of the APMC Act, the total income of 167 APMCs in the state was between Rs 570 crore and Rs 600 crore in 2018-19, which has come down drastically to Rs 193 crore in 2022-23 after the amendment of the Act.
- Apart from this, we have many examples of private companies cheating and exploiting farmers in the open market.
- The government said that the expectations of the previous state government to raise prices and income for farmers through changes in marketing laws have not been fulfilled.
- Recently, the Karnataka cabinet approved an ordinance that will amend the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, despite objections from opposition parties. This will improve the convenience of farmers’ access to the market.
- The step of amendment has been made to protect the interests of the farmers, so that they do not get trapped in the burden of debt and the interference of middlemen can be reduced.
- Agricultural marketing refers to all those activities through which agricultural produce is delivered to the consumers, including Preservation and Storage, Processing, Grading and Standardisation, Collection. Are.
Point of revision
- The new bill proposed by the government essentially restores a key clause in the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) Act, 1966, which was removed through an amendment in 2020.
- According to this bill, now farmers are free to sell their produce anywhere such as market sub-yard, sub-market yard, private market yard or farmer-consumer market yard.
- The old law also provided for imprisonment of up to three months and a fine of up to Rs 30,000 for buying or selling notified agricultural produce outside APMC markets.
- The objections to rolling back the 1966 law were also that the 2020 amendment has led to exploitation of farmers by traders as there is no regulatory mechanism to control it and the government’s revenue has been affected by facilitating sales outside APMC markets .
Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) Act
- Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) is a marketing board set up by state governments in India to ensure that farmers are protected from exploitation by large retailers. Also, it should be ensured that the spread of farm to retail price does not reach an excessively high level.
- APMCs are regulated by states through the adoption of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Regulation (APMR) Act.
- Prior to independence in 1947, the major concern of government policy relating to agricultural marketing was to control the prices of agro-raw materials for food for consumers and for industry.
- However, after independence, a need was felt to protect the interests of the farmers and provide them incentive prices to increase the production of agricultural commodities.
- The problem of local moneylenders collecting large quantities of food grains from farmers at throwaway prices as interest was common throughout the country.
- Recognizing the shortcomings faced by farmers such as losses in terms of unfair prices, high cost of marketing and substantial physical loss of produce in the agricultural marketing system, several regulations were introduced by the Government of India to address these.
- The regulation and development of primary agricultural produce markets was taken up as an institutional innovation, and the creation of a well-organized market to regulate primary wholesale markets was considered an essential requirement.
- All food produce should be brought to the market and sold through auction.
- Market place i.e. mandi is established at different places within the states.
- Licenses are issued to traders to operate within the market. Mall owners, wholesale traders, retail traders were not allowed to buy produce directly from the farmers.
Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)
- Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) is a system operated under the state government. Agricultural marketing is a state subject.
- APMCs have yards/mandis in the market area that handle notified agricultural produce and livestock.
- APMCs were introduced to limit the occurrence of distress sale by farmers under pressure and exploitation from creditors and other intermediaries.
- APMC ensures fair price and timely payment to farmers for their produce.
- APMC is also responsible for regulation of agriculture market.