Displaying total unanimity on the issue of agricultural marketing reforms, agriculture ministers of states decided at their meeting here today to set up a task force for suggesting measures to accelerate this process.
Besides outlining the legal, policy and financial measures needed for modernising farm marketing, the task force will frame a model law to regulate the markets and ensure competitive marketing.
The panel will be headed by the Union minister of state for agriculture in-charge of rural marketing and have agriculture ministers from selected states as members.
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The meeting of the state agriculture ministers was convened by Union agriculture minister Ajit Singh. Issues like legal reforms for promoting competitive marketing; direct marketing of produce by the growers to the consumers; contract farming; rationalisation of market fee structure; pledge financing; and warehousing receipt system came up for discussion at the meet.
Most states felt that it was necessary to dispense with the present system of wide-ranging controls and curbs on marketing of agro-commodities and pave way for introduction of greater competition. The growers had so far being denied competitive prices for their produce, they maintained.
Many states felt direct marketing and contract farming programmes were necessary to integrate farm production with national and global markets. Besides, there was need to bring in professionalism in the management of markets and market fee structure.
The states agreed on the need for substantially stepping up pledge financing and introducing negotiable warehousing receipt system for agricultural goods to avert distress sales by farmers. The Reserve Bank should evolve simple guidelines in this regard, they recommended.
Moreover, the states suggested that adequate banking facilities and credit should be made available to the farmers and the agro-processing industries.
However, they also sounded a note of caution. While promoting the alternative marketing structure, adequate safeguards must be put in place to avoid any exploitation of farmers by the private trade and industry, they averred.