Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday said he was planning to reduce the role of middlemen in agricultural markets by introducing a concept of the government itself buying the farm produce and selling to retailers. “I am now thinking of the government buying the agricultural produce from farmers and selling to retailers for a commission of 5%. I want to introduce this in the next budget to be presented in February 2019,” the Chief Minister told a press conference here. This is to ensure remunerative prices to farmers while eliminating middlemen, he added.
He pointed out that total sum farmers got after selling their crops in APMC yards last year was around ₹28,000 crore while the crops were resold to retailers by middlemen at ₹54,000 crore. He said such a system of the government itself procuring crops would go a long way in improving the finances of farmers.