After permitting farmers to sell their produce outside of their respective market yards or Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) even weeks before central government issued ordinance on the mattee, government of Gujarat has now decided to issue unified licences to traders to trade in agri commodities in any APMC in the state. No license is needed for trading outside APMCs.
Under the current mechanism, traders need licences issued by each APMC in case they want to buy and sell farm produce on a particular platform. But once the new mechanism is in force--a new law may also be introduced for the purpose--traders will get a single licence that will permit them to trade in all state APMCs. The Gujarat government is also considering allotting these traders a Unicode based on which other states can allow them to trade in respective state market yard.
Another proposal before the state Ministry Of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare is to levy small amount of cess on trades outside the APMC or market yard but within the state. The cess may be quarter of the cess presently levied when trades are done inside the APMC.
Yasin Baloch, Secretary, APMC, ministry of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmer Welfare, Government of Gujarat said, “We are considering measures to further improve market access for farmers and rules for that are under discussion and preparation. We are also working on a state-level electronic market yard or mandi platform based on the Karnataka model.”
THe Karnataka government was the first to link all state APMCs on an electronic platform, on which farmers and traders were allowed to sell. Farmers were getting the best available price within the state as quoted on the electronic mandi. It’s a 50:50 joint venture of the state government and National e-market Ltd.
The unified licence, which will be issued to Gujarat traders, may also be made valid for trading on the electronic platform. This platform will help farmers sell their produce on any APMC in the state that gives them the highest price. The infrastructure for this is crucial. Karnataka APMC offers a facility of grading and assaying of farm produce and higher grade produce fetches higher price. The state will also notify areas which will be considered as warehouses from where goods delivered will be considered valid to deliver to APMC trader also. This platform will be linked with e-nam platform created by the union government.
Gujarat government has also started taking action against market yards that were not holding auctions but collecting cess from the traders in the area. There are 30-50 APMCs in the state which, according to sources, have formed but were not conducting auctions or allowing trading either because land had not been allocated or for some other reasons. Farmers and traders have been trading directly. There was no market yard or its infrastructure. It had only office. One such market yard in Saurashtra has been asked to stop taking fees/cess. Actions against more such APMCs are expected.
·To issue unified trading license allowing trading in all APMCs
·Unicode will be issued which will help traders to trade in mandis in other states
·Finalising state level electronic market plan
·May impose marginal cess on trades outside APMCs
·30-50 state APMCs likely to be defunct going forward