Agriculture marketing reforms to provide marketing choices to farmers: FM Sitharaman

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (May 15) said that the government will bring a law to implement agriculture marketing reforms to provide marketing choices to farmers, adding "law will provide adequate choices to farmers to sell produce at an attractive price."

To provide assurance to farmers on agriculture produce price and quality, FM Sitharaman said the government will create legal framework to enable them for engaging with processors, aggregators, large retailers, exporters etc. in fair and transparent manner.

Key highlights of Agriculture Marketing Reforms, Agriculture Produce Price & Quality Assurance are given below:

1. Agriculture Marketing Reforms to provide marketing choices to farmers 

- Farmers bound to sell agriculture produce only to Licensees in APMCs 
- Such restriction of sale is not there for any industrial produce 
- Results in Hindrances in free flow of Agricultural Produce and Fragmentation of Markets and Supply Chain; 
- Less price realization for fanciers. A Central law will be formulated to provide 
- Adequate choices to fancier to sell produce at attractive price; 
- Barrier-free Inter-State Trade; 
- Framework for e-trading of agriculture produce. 

2. Agriculture Produce Price and Quality Assurance 

- Farmers lack an enforceable standard mechanism for predictable prices of crops at the time of sowing. 
- Private sector investment in the provision of inputs and knowhow in the agriculture sector hindered 
- The facilitative legal framework will be created to enable farmers for engaging with processors, aggregators, large retailers, exporters etc. in a fair and transparent manner. 
- Risk mitigation for farmers assured returns and quality standardisation shall form an integral part of the framework. 

3. Amendments to Essential Commodities Act to enable better price realisation for farmers

- Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was enacted in days of scarcity. 
- Need to enable better price realisation for farmers by attracting investments and making agriculture sector competitive 
- Agriculture foodstuffs including cereals, edible oils, oilseeds, pulses, onions, and potato to be deregulated. 
- Stock limit to be imposed under very exceptional circumstances like national calamities, famine with the surge in prices. 
- No such stock limit shall apply to processors or value chain participants, subject to their installed capacity or to any exporter subject to the export demand. 
- The government will amend the Essential Commodities Act. 

The Finance Minister also announced Rs 1 Lakh crore fund for agriculture Infrastructure for farmers, saying, "Financing facility of Rs 1,00,000 crore will be provided for funding agriculture infrastructure projects at farm-gate and aggregation points. The impetus for development pf farm-gate and aggregation point, affordable and financially viable post-harvest management infrastructure."

She also said that funds transfer worth Rs 18,700 crores has been done under PM KISAN in the past 2 months and PM Fasal Bima Yojana claims worth Rs 6,400 crores released in the past 2 months.