Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Farm marketing Act must be amended”

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has a good record in reforming the agricultural marketing system, but such measures need to be made concrete by amending the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees Act, according to U.K.S. Chauhan, Joint Secretary and Agriculture Marketing Advisor of the Union Ministry of Agriculture.

Speaking on the sidelines of a consultative conference on the APMC Model Rules organised by the Ministry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, he said clear-cut provisions need to be made in the law itself. “In terms of attracting investors—whether farmers themselves or corporates or MNCs—this is necessary.”

As for the reforms needed, Mr. Chauhan said clear licensing provisions need to be made for private mandis. While direct sourcing is being allowed in the State, it was not included in the Act. Similarly, contract farming need to be included in the Act, since it was already happening on the ground. “We need legislation, not just for the sake of permission, but to safeguard interests, especially farmers’ interests. Their land should not be in jeopardy.”

If the model agreement included in the Union Government’s model rules were made widely available in Tamil, it would let farmers bargain from a knowledgeable position and help prevent exploitation, Mr. Chauhan said.

Responding to the protests from Karnataka traders that amending the Act would ease the entry of large monopolistic private players, Mr. Chauhan said the Act was not meant to discriminate against small traders or APMCs. “We don’t want monopoly of anyone, whether MNCs or current traders. We want to create as many alternatives as possible for farmers. They should have the freedom to choose.”

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