Agri-marketing set to go private

Special Correspondent
The Hindu. 10 April

-Bill may come up for discussion in Legislative Assembly today

-Government to come out with law on establishing private market yards
APMC yards in Bangalore to remain closed today in protest

BANGALORE: Even as various farmers' organisations and trade bodies are opposing the amendments to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees Act, 1966, the State Government has decided to further reform the sector and allow private participation in agri-marketing in a big way.

After several years of indecision on whether to allow the private sector to get into farm produce marketing, the Government will now come out with legislation for the establishment of private market yards and for direct purchase from farmers. It also proposes reforms in the regulation of the marketing of agricultural produce.

Under the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2007, introduced in the Legislative Assembly last week and which is likely to come up for discussion in the Assembly on Tuesday, the scope of the original Act of 1966 has been widened to allow the private sector to buy or sell notified agricultural commodities either directly or through agents, not only from the duly formed Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) but from one or more private sectormarket yards or farmer-consumer market yards.

Contract farming

The Bill seeks to allow contract farming, establishment of spot exchange for e-trading and setting up a revolving fund to implement the Floor Price Scheme to protect the interests of farmers against distress sale by assuring a minimum support price.

Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, president, APMC Yard Committee, Yeshwantpur, told The Hindu on Monday that all APMC yards in Bangalore would remain closed on Tuesday in protest against the proposed amendment to the APMC Act.

Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) State president B.C. Bayya Reddy told The Hindu that the sangha has extended support to the bandh call given by the APMC Yard Committee. The Bill had been tabled in the Assembly following pressure from the Centre and multinational companies.

The KPRS would launch Statewide protests if the Government passed the Bill in the ongoing session of the legislature, he warned.

The KPRS has been opposing the amendments stating that it would harm farmers by removing government control on the trade in farm produce.

A "particularly harmful" part of the amendment is the stress on contract farming. Contract farming will "eliminate small farmers" and lead to concentration of land in the hands of a few rich farmers, it stated.

The proposed legislation envisages improved regulation of agricultural produce marketing, development of an efficient marketing system, promotion of agri-processing, agricultural exports and establishment and administration of markets for agricultural produce.

The contract farming system contemplated under the proposed legislation provides for marketing of agricultural produce at a pre-determined price so as to ensure constant supply of commodities to the agri-processing sector while ensuring remunerative prices for farmers through value addition.

An Agricultural Produce Marketing Standards Bureau is also proposed to be set up for quality certification and branding of commodities to encourage export-oriented activities in the field of agricultural marketing.