Amended APMC Act by April: Pawar

The amended Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) Act will come into effect from April 2005, Union minister of agriculture, consumers affairs, food and public distribution Sharad Pawar said.

Sixteen states have already agreed to the provisions of the amended act under which contract farming would be allowed and farmers can sell his produce to any part of the country.

The central government is also planning to set up a fund that gives an incentive to those state governments that amend the APMC Act in line with the model APMC Act.

"We have amended the Act in the interest of the farmers. They will now have the right to sell their commodities anywhere in the country and will not be bound to sell to the mandi. The mandi taxation system will also be removed. The private sector, which has no role to play in the agriculture sector now, will now help in marketing agriculture produce," Pawar said.

He was in Ahmedabad on Sunday to address a session on agriculture at Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry. One of the major constraints on greater agricultural development is the APMC Act of states, which prohibits transactions outside the mandi system.

Even states that allow transactions outside the mandi, mandate that, while procurement may be direct, companies need to pay a mandi tax. So far, the model APMC Act of 2003, which has allowed for the participation of 'modern forms of distribution' has not yet been implemented fully by a number of states.

States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have amended the APMC Act just enough so that ITC can go ahead with its e-choupal strategy.

But it will take some time for the other states to implement the model APMC Act, primarily because of their reluctance to change the existing supply lines.

"India's long-neglected agriculture sector is all set to grow faster. We have improved a lot since independence. In the last few years, it has grown at an average rate of 2.8 per cent only, and there is a need to step up the growth in this sector to the region of 4.5 per cent, which can be done by the help of genetic seeds. Only then will India's GDP growth cross 8 percent, and rural income and rural employment increase," Pawar said.