State Agriculture Marketing Ministers’ Committee Calls for Amending APMC Act and Notifying Rules
Committee Submits its First Report to Agriculture Minister
The Committee of State Ministers in charge of Agriculture Marketing has asked States to amend the APMC Act on the line of Model Act and notify the rules at the earliest.
The Committee headed by Shri Harshvardhan Patil, Minister of Cooperation, Maharashtra submitted its first report to Shri Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries here today. Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Shri Harish Rawat and Minister of Agriculture in Uttarkhand Government, Shri T. S. Rawat were also present in the meeting.
The 11 Member Committee comprising Ministers of Agriculture and Marketing in States has called for providing choice of multiple and competitive market channel to farmers, independent regulatory authority to encourage private investors and simple and smooth license and registration of traders in mandis.
The Ministry of Agriculture had constituted this Committee of State Ministers, in-charge of Agriculture Marketing under the Chairmanship of Minister for Marketing and Cooperation, Government of Maharashtra on 2nd March, 2010 with ten member States of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, and Uttarakhand with Agricultural Marketing Adviser to the Government of India as a Member Secretary. The Terms of Reference of the committee are to persuade the States to implement the reform in Agricultural Marketing through adoption of Model APMC Act / Rules, suggest further reforms to provide barrier free National Market and to recommend measures for effective dissemination of market information and to promote grading, standardization, packaging and quality certification of agricultural produce.
The Committee has so far deliberated on various aspects of reforms including investment in development of marketing infrastructure, single point levy of market fee, waiving of market fee on fruits and vegetables and barrier free national markets, etc. with different stakeholders.
The Ministry has taken a number of initiatives to provide alternative marketing choices to the farmers for better price realization, promote private investment for development of marketing infrastructure, reduce wastages and to contain price rise by shortening the supply chain. These initiatives are intended for implementing market reforms in agriculture marketing so as to provide an appropriate regulatory and policy environment. The Ministry formulated a Model APMC Law/Rules on agricultural marketing in consultation with the States Governments and circulated to the States/UTs
for their adoption during 2003 and 2007 respectively. Several States have initiated steps for amending the APMC Act/Rules. However, there has been variation in adoption in the contents and coverage of reforms to the APMC Act/Rules across the States/UTs.
The major recommendations of the Committee are as follows: -
(1) States are required to amend the APMC Act on the line of Model Act and notify the Rules at an early date;
(2) Provide Choice of Multiple and Competitive Market Channels to farmers;
(3) Independent Regulatory Authority needed to encourage the private investors. To begin with, regulator from Government who should not draw salary from Mandi Board may be appointed;
(4) Simple and smooth license/registration of traders in Mandi – Provide Membership to Electronic Spot Exchange e.g. NSEL;
(5) Need for Viability Gap Funding to attract private sector investment;
(6) Agricultural Markets may be treated as infrastructure project so as to invite economic source of funding of FDI/ECB in addition to other Tax exemptions / facilities;
(7) Member States should waive off market fee on fruits and vegetables. However, Government of India must reimburse the loss to APMC;
(8) Investment in marketing infrastructure under RKVY be increased to minimum 10-15% of State RKVY spending;
(9) Market fee/cess should be maximum 2% of the value and Commission Charges should not exceed 2% for food grains / oilseeds and 4% for Fruit and Vegetables;
(10) Under direct marketing, if entrepreneurs provide minimum infrastructure facility and backward linkages to the farmers, market fee should be waived off;
(11) Independent (of APMC) district level authority may be set up for registration and dispute settlement in contract farming and no market fee should be levied;
(12) Member States should take initiatives to remove physical barriers like check gates etc. for smooth movement of agri-produce;
(13) There should be single window unified single registration for traders/ market functionaries across the States with validity period not less than 5 years;
(14) Contract farming sponsors and direct marketing licensee may be exempted from stock limit upto 6 months of their requirement on the basis of business turnover of last two years.
(15) Market fee/cess should be levied at first transaction between farmer and trader and its subsequent trading between trader and trader; it should be service charge.
MP:SB:CP:committee (8.9.2011)